Music Licensing
Learn how music is licensed, and how existing music can be used in your productionMusic Licensing
Developed by Jason Tomaric, FilmSkillsABOUT THIS LESSON
Are you interested in using a popular song or existing soundtrack in your movie? Music - just like movies and books - is protected by copyright law, which restricts its usage to the owner of the copyright. In recent years, many record labels and studios have begun cracking down on illegal downloading and usage of their work, making the legal use of this music somewhat confusing for users. In this module we’re going to explore the legal way to license and use music for your movie. Protect yourself, respect the rights of the music artist, and learn how to properly license music for use in your production.
- 33:15 video that takes you behind the scenes of the licensing process
- Illustrated companion guide
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- What is a music license
- When you need a master license and/or a sync license
- How music publishers make money
- Costs in securing a license
- How to work with stock music libraries
- How to work with music in the public domain
ABOUT THE LESSON AUTHOR
Jason Tomaric
Director, Cinematographer Los Angeles, CaliforniaJason J. Tomaric is an Emmy, Telly, and CINE Award-winning director and cinematographer of four internationally-distributed feature films, dozens of national television commercials, music videos, and the largest film training content library in the world, published author of 8 books - used in many top universities, and creator of AccuSkills.com, an industry-changing learning management platform.
Jason has worked in Los Angeles and around the world in over 20 countries. His clients include Disney, NBC/Universal, National Geographic, McDonald’s, Toyota, Scion, Microsoft, and Paul Mitchell, with narrative work screened at Sundance, Slamdance, and South by Southwest film festivals as well as on Netflix and on all broadcast networks.
Jason has taught and/or guest lectured at some of the nation's most prestigious film schools including UCLA, Columbia College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, San Francisco State, University of Notre Dame, and numerous film festivals.
Jason has written eight industry-defining books, all sold in bookstores, and used in film schools around the world. The American Society of Cinematographers hails Jason's books - "There are no wasted words in Tomaric's tome, which concisely summarizes each facet of the director's craft. It's difficult to think of a step in the process that Tomaric fails to address."
Jason’s DVD training series on Hollywood film production have trained filmmakers in over 40 countries, with distributors in Europe, Hong Kong, New York and Australia.
In 2010, Jason launched FilmSkills, which combines the world’s largest film training video library with his proprietary learning management system. Adopted by 47 universities within the first year, FilmSkills is now the leading industry-standard training solution for motion picture and television production.
In 2015, Jason launched AccuSkills.com, an industry-changing learning management platform that bridges the gap between academia and industry.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS LESSON
Frank Salvino
Post-Production Supervisor, "The Grey," "I am Sam," "Little Children," and "17 Again"Frank Salvino graduated the University of Kentucky with a BA in Telecommunications and was the VP of feature post-production for New Line Cinema for nine years.
More recently he has served as the post-production supervisor for The Grey, starring Liam Neeson, I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Little Children with Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly.
Jim Lang
Composer, "Ransom," "Dinosaur Train," "Hey Arnold!"
Ken Batchelor
Senior Vice President, DMI Music & MediaKEN BATCHELOR, Senior Vice President, DMI Music & Media. His responsibilities include negotiating music rights for the songs embodied in all DMI projects. He was instrumental in securing and developing strategic partnerships with, among others, Universal Music Enterprises, Aretha Franklin and Sinatra Enterprises. His efforts in A&R garnered two GRAMMY® awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for Natalie Cole/STILL UNFORGETTABLE. Recently music supervised feature documentary Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth/American Masters/PBS. Batchelor joined DMI in 1999 from Universal Music Group where he served in various capacities.
Batchelor is a voting member of the GRAMMYS® National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). His professional associations include the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), California Copyright Conference (CCC), Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP), National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP), voting member Country Music Association (CMA), ASCAP, BMI, Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences Foundation, Faculty Mentor/University of Southern California Thornton School of Music Popular Music Program and serves as an Associate Board Member of the American Brain Tumor Association.
Kevin Kaska
Composer, Orchestrator "The Dark Knight," "Inception," "Man of Steel," "Anchorman 2," "The Lone Ranger," "Life of Pi," "Battleship," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"American composer, arranger, record producer, and conductor, Kevin Kaska is one of America’s leading young musical talents. His orchestral compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations have been played by over 50 symphony orchestras worldwide, including John Williams and Keith Lockhart with theBoston Pops Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra (five CDs), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (recorded on CD),New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (recorded on CD), Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band, Skitch Henderson and the New York Popsat Carnegie Hall.
In 2012 Kevin Kaska orchestrated music on the Academey Award winning film score Life of Pi. Film composer John Debney asked Kaska to orchestrate his music into a 70 minute concert choral symphony based on the themes he wrote for the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ (Academy Award nominated score). Kevin Kaska also orchestrates for film composer Hans Zimmer, including The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
Kevin Kaska is one of the few musicians to hold a Guiness Book of World Records. The World Harp Congress commissioned Kaska for a work that was premiered with the largest harp ensemble in recorded history. Kaska conducted the concert of 232 harps in Amsterdam, July, 2008.
His work includes: Inception, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sherlock Holmes 1 & 2, ParaNorman, Savages, Step Brothers, the 2012 Oscars, and the mini-series The Pacific.
Steven Saltzman
Music Editor, "Ghost Rider," "The Preacher's Wife," "Movie 43," "Priest"Music Editor & Composer Steven Saltzman has a diverse musical background. His education includes a Bachelors of Music Degree in composition and film scoring from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He also studied composition with Boston Conservatory composer, John Hess, and continued to study composition and orchestration with Dr. Albert Harris, as well as attended the BMI Film Scoring workshop with Earl Hagan.
While on the East coast Mr. Saltzman composed music for WGBH and ABC Television, animated films, a variety of commercials as well as for the theatre in Boston. Steven eventually moved to California to pursue his dream of working in Hollywood scoring motion pictures. There he composed the score for numerous independent films, commercials and syndicated television shows.
Steven has composed the music for The Chicken From Outerspace, an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Award of Merit animation film. He has worked with various composers including Klaus Badelt, Nathan Furst, Mark Mothersbaugh, J.A.C. Jaview Navarette, Redford, Larry Groupé, and Ernest Troost. Steven has also been awarded three Golden Reel Award Nominations and a 2005 Golden Reel Award for his music editing.
His work includes:Priest, Seven Days In Utopia, Straw Dogs, The Hole, The Answer Man, Dragonball: Evolution, WAR, Inc., The King of California, Strange Wilderness