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Getting Your Music Licensed – ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo

ASCAP 2012 Music Licensing

Getting Your Music Licensed in Film, TV and Beyond (presented by the Guild of Music Supervisors) was the first panel I attended at the 2012 ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo held at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, CA on April 19th.

The panel consisted of Anna Granucci (Founder, Music Supervisor & Film Producer – Scene Tracks Music; Guild of Music Supervisors), Andrea von Foerster (Music Supervisor – Firestarter Music; Guild of Music Supervisors), Janine Scalise (Manager, Business & Legal Affairs, Music – Starz Entertainment) & JoJo Villanueva (Music Supervisor – Format Entertainment; Guild of Music Supervisors); and was moderated by Jonathan McHugh (Founder – Song Stew Entertainment; Guild of Music Supervisors).

These music supervisors sift through thousands upon thousands of submissions and spend most of their waking hours listening, scanning and jumping around and within musical works for licensing in film, TV and more.  They walk the border between the art and the business related to it, searching for the right fit for the right clip at the right price.

Submissions come from all areas of the musical spectrum including indies, majors, composers and producers.  The panel stated that they like to work with trusted sources, or connectors (e.g. – Zync Music, LipSync, The Talent House & Secret Road), and that you get only one chance to make a first impression!

The theme prevalent throughout was to make sure your work is presentable and containing all information relevant to said submission.  Points were stressed in 3 different areas—legals, files and contact guidelines:

LEGALS:

 

– have contracts with relevant parties giving permission to pitch the work (and if you are not the owner of the copyrights or masters, include contact information for how to reach these owners)
– have the splits among co-writers and co-publishers in writing along with their associated Performing Rights Organizations (PROs)
– have samples and interpolations properly licensed and notated
– have all other legal paperwork in order such as Work for Hires
-music supervisors want NO surprises when it comes time for them to clear and use submissions

 

FILES:

 

– ALL work submitted should have correctly titled and labeled metadata embedded for easy search (artist, song title, record company, songwriters and publishers along with their corresponding PROs, producers, cue sheets and contact information)
– file quality of .wav, .aiff or 320kbps .mp3 with metadata applicable per type
– have all versions of the work available upon request: instrumental, vocal and final mix

 

CONTACT:

 

– E-MAIL, DO NOT CALL! How can they listen to you when both of their ears are tuned in listening to submissions?!
– DO NOT include attachments, instead include a download link that streams AND does not expire (e.g. – Box.net)
– indicate where you, or the artist (if submitting for others) is geographically located or from
– by embedding all relevant metadata in the submission e-mails can be short and sweet, to the point and succinct!

 

RITZY TIP: Make sure and verify each field is properly labeled per guidelines and double-check to see if links sent are active and working!

Other points include that some artists forego the immediate pay day in exchange for greater exposure and more plays, from outlets such as MTV, with hopes the final result will be close to, or sometimes surpass the upfront check. Creators were also encouraged to pursue indie projects whenever possible, to pickup The Hollywood Reporter and cross reference it with IMDb; and to be creative with their work by mixing up arrangements, allowing for intros, builds and hard outs at times, hence creating diversity in an artist’s catalog.