Q & A
Each month, MusicBizAdvice.com answers your questions about the music industry.
Licensing a
non-music voice sample from a TV show or movie?
Q.
How do
you obtain a license for a non-music-related vocal sample off a television
show or movie?--Anonymous
A. First
off, kudos to you for going about it the legal way. It’s good karma as well
as protecting you and your music.
If it’s
from a non-news TV program such as a sitcom or drama, contact the network or
the producers of the show and say it’s a licensing inquiry. Show ownership
varies from show to show, but they'll be able to direct you to the
appropriate person to speak with.
If it’s
from a news program, contact the network and say it’s a licensing inquiry.
You may have to speak with several people to track it down, as some news
clips original content owned by the network, others are in the public
domain, and still others, like Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”
are owned by other entities.
For a
recent film, contact the movie’s producers and say you’d like to license a
clip sample of the movie. (It will probably be easier if it’s an independent
film not released by a major studio.)
Make sure
you say it’s for the audio portion only, because it will affect the cost of
the license.
Be
prepared to state the exact purpose the sample will be used for, whether
it’s for a commercially released recording (and how many copies will be
pressed), or to be performed live, etc.
Important: Before
you call, do a little investigating and find out the company’s parent
companies, partners, and subsidiaries to be aware of possible politics
involved. For example, if the clip is from a sitcom on Network A, they might
not be too keen on it being for a live show that’s broadcast on their
competitor Network B’s radio network. Or, they might see it as
promoting their sitcom and be all for it, but Network B may choose not
to broadcast a song which contains content from their main competitor--which
is their prerogative, since it’s being broadcast on their network. These
kinds of politics exist with major film studios as well, so it’s good to
know who’s friendly (or not) with whom.
Also, if
a celebrity’s voice is involved there may be additional issues involved such as
use of Name
and Likeness, or if the person speaking is a professional voiceover artist.
In those cases
they may expect a fee as well, so decisions to use material from these
sources must be weighed carefully.
Finally,
if it doesn’t happen to work out, don’t take it personally. For various
reasons, major players’ licensing requests are often turned down, too. If
that’s the case, just consider yourself in good company. It may work out
next time.
Good luck!
Randi Reed
Editor-in-Chief / Founder
MusicBizAdvice.com
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