How to identify music copyright owners when trying to obtain music licences for apps or services
Once you have an idea of the songs or music genres you would like to use in your digital product, the next challenge is obtaining the required music licences.
To legally use any specific song on your platform you will need to acquire a licence from the appropriate rights owners. These rights are divided into two parts: recording and composition. In this article, we will do our best to help you to understand what this entails.
- Recording
A recording refers to the actual audio that you hear from a song and is sometimes referred to as the master recording. This is the sound produced by vocalists and instrumentalists. The ownership of the audio recording typically lies with the record label.
How to Obtain the Rights for the Master Recording
To obtain permission to use the master recording, you would need to reach out to the record label or artist that owns the rights to those tracks. Once you know the song title and artist name, you can search websites such as Discogs and MusicBrainz for the relevant label information.
- Composition
The composition encompasses the underlying lyrics and melody of the song. Think of it as the information that is needed to be able to do a cover version of the song. These are created by songwriters and composers. The ownership of compositions usually lies with music publishers and songwriters.
How to Obtain the Rights for the Musical Composition
To obtain permission to use the publishing rights, you would need to identify the rights owners, which includes finding the songwriters and the publishers who represent them. This can be a challenging task, but you can use songwriting databases, directories, online searches, or even contact performing rights organisations (PROs) such as:
- ASCAP’s ACE Repertory
- Blokur Search or Drag and Drop metadata tool
- MLC Public Work standard search
PROs collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and can provide valuable information. Once you have the necessary information, you can reach out to publishers to discuss licensing agreements.
Important to Remember
Remember that to use the original master recording of any song, you must obtain licences for both the recording and the composition to ensure you have all the necessary rights for the music on your platform. The licensing process often involves negotiations to establish what is needed in terms of rates and royalty payments. Seeking legal advice or using music rights management services like Blokur can be helpful.
How Can Blokur Help?
Blokur can help apps by assisting them in securing licensing deals with record labels and handling their royalty reporting. Depending on your needs, this may entail helping you do the following:
- Obtain all relevant details about the songs you want to license, including information on publishers, writers, and shares.
- Set up agreements with music publishers to define the terms of royalty payments for the songs you license.
- Calculate the royalties you need to pay based on the extent of your usage of the licensed songs. This could include factors such as the number of plays, downloads, or streams.
- Create royalty reports that comply with the agreements you have with music publishers. These reports should accurately document your usage of the licensed songs and the corresponding royalties owed.
If you’d like to learn more about how to go about acquiring music licences or royalty reporting for your app or digital service, feel free to check out our simple seven-step guide to help you get started or get in touch with us today!
