So you might think if you are just at the film festival stage that you don’t have to acquire the licenses to use any copyrighted music in your film. This would generally be wrong.
Attorney and former television documentary producer Gregory R. Kanaan notes in an article for MovieMaker that most film festivals, especially well-known ones, will require that you have all of the permissions for any copyrighted material in your film. You could still be sued for copyright infringement even if you are just screening at festivals. Nevertheless, if you really only intend to distribute your film to festivals, it may be that you can get away with the deal for a much smaller amount of money. But if you do intend to secure distribution, unless you want to rip that song out later, it’s better to just figure out the best ways to license within your budget from the beginning.
If you really want to individually license a well known song, you will need to get two licenses for the song, one for the composition itself (the “synchronization” license) and one for the performance (the “master” license). The synchronization license is typically secured through the publisher, and the master license is typically secured through the record label. In this case, you probably won’t have to deal with the Performance Rights Organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC directly, but you may benefit from using their databases to find the correct information you will need to get the right contact and licenses. Please check out “Acquiring Music Rights for Your Documentary” from director Faith Fuller for more information about this process and how to request permission to use music.
ASCAP’s site actually has some great help pages about the type of information that you would need to submit to gain the synchronization and master use rights (see the document “A Checklist for Using Music in Film or other Audio-Video Content”). This includes a synopsis of the film, the film’s budget, how the song will be used in the film, whether the film will be screened only in educational environments or at festivals, and whether you intend to secure distribution and in what format.
Music supervisor Brooke Wentz laid out some tips for acquiring music for Film Independent at an education event. One is that you can get film festival rights for probably $500 per side (synchronization and master), and then write in an option to get all media rights up to two years later, depending on whether you go to distribution or not. Another is that you can negotiate your rate with the artist or rights-holding companies. But also documentary director Chris Suchorsky notes in an article for No Film School that often the publisher and / or the record label will have terms that say that they must be paid the same as the other “side” of the song rights. Brooke Wentz created a company that helps with licensing and clearance of music for films, The Rights Workshop, if you wanted to hand this job over to another group. You can also hire a qualified attorney or music supervisor if the process becomes too complex.
In order to get a piece of music in a way that fits your budget, you may be able to negotiate a “step deal”, where you acquire the rights for all media initially at a lower price and then agree to pay more if your film grosses more than a certain amount, for example one million dollars. Also, Los Angeles entertainment attorney Dinah Perez notes in her article “Licensing Pre-Recorded Music” that there may be a “new use fee” required by the American Federation of Music. This is typically not charged for films that only screen at festivals, but it’s still good to keep in mind. Also, a new use fee may be due if the performer is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild (“SAG”) and / or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (“AFTRA”). If you are committed to having a particular piece of music in your film, you may want to contact these entities first to make sure of what these fees will be, since that may influence whether you can use it or what portion of your budget it will encompass.
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