| So you’ve gone out to your local record store and bought yourself a CD with music on it that you’d like to use in your project….here are some tips on what you’ll need to do next. |
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| The first thing you should be aware of is that there are always two components involved in licensing previously recorded music. There is the publishing (which is the written component of the song, also known as the composition) and there is the master (which is the actual recorded version of a song by a particular artist). Publishing and master rights are two separate entities and need to be cleared and quoted on individually. Warner Special Products handles the master side licensing of recordings that are owned by Warner Music Group labels. |
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| Know your source and use it! Take a close look at the liner notes of the CD you’ve purchased. You should be able to find the name of the publisher (or publishers) as well as the name of the record company that owns the song you’re interested in. Please be aware that compilation albums usually contain master recordings that are owned by several different record labels. Do not assume that because Rhino Records put the compilation out that they would own the recording you’re interested in. Take a look in the liner notes for the song you’d like to license. You will more often than not find a courtesy line which lists the record company that licensed that track for the compilation. You should contact them, not the compilation label, for rights. Also, some albums are distributed by a company but not owned by that company, and you'll have to approach the original owners. Checking the "P in a circle" line on albums is a good way to get a clue about ownership of masters. |
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| Sometimes masters contain samples of other songs. You should always be aware of this and check the liner notes for indications of samples. If the master you’d like to clear includes a sample, you might also have to clear the song that was sampled (both the master recording and the publishing). |
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| It is also possible that more than one company owns a master recording, or a composition, for different countries or for different rights. You cannot assume that an ownership credit on an American-made CD is the same one you would find on one manufactured in another country. |
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| Above all else, remember that clearing music takes time, and licensing music takes money. Plan for it! |
