The Evolution of Music Licensing

Whether you’re creating a streaming ad or working on a feature film, you need the perfect soundtrack to develop something truly impactful. This usually entails licensing a song or composition for your creative work, which can elevate it to the next level in terms of quality and audience engagement.??

Music licensing involves paying money to the owner of a composition, whether that’s an individual artist or a publishing company. Because the process has changed quite a bit over the years, it’s important for content creators to fully understand it to make the best, most cost-effective production decisions.??

The Early Days of Music Licensing?

In the past, musicians would develop sheet music featuring their compositions. They would also play performances in concert halls, much to the delight of their devoted fans. Fans would also clamor for sheet music, so they could try their hand at complex compositions on their own.??

This led to the creation of music publishers, who facilitated the sale of sheet music from composers to the public for a fee. Performance licensing soon followed, as some people were inspired to give public performances featuring their favorite composer’s pieces.??

Upon the creation of the first record players, the licensing process expanded even further to include vinyl recordings.??

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The Advent of Film and Television?

Film recordings meant that soundtracks could accompany the impressive visuals on screen. However, use of original compositions on film was quite a bit different than providing public performances. This led to the development of a sync license, which allows a film recording to be synchronized with pieces of music for a fee.??

Along with requiring film producers to license the music they wanted to use in their creations, the invention of television meant broadcasters were also included in the licensing relationship. For instance, a broadcaster could pay a fee to a music publisher that allowed them to use a certain song or composition for repeated broadcasts of a television show or movie.??

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What You Should Know About Modern Music Licensing?

The advent of the internet and streaming services further complicated the already complex process of music licensing. It’s now far more difficult to monitor the usage of copyrighted material, especially when it comes to social media. This lack of monitoring means that artists, as well as other owners of copyrighted material, could be losing out on profits.??

Production music licensing services have helped address some of these complexities by offering a large range of original songs and soundtrack options with flexible rights agreements that can be customized to suit your usage needs. This system allows artists to be paid fairly and content producers to easily search, download, and import high-quality music tracks without having to worry about copyright issues.??

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Music licensing can sometimes seem tricky, but Universal Production Music is happy to be your guide. We go the extra mile to ensure that production music licensing is made easy, regardless of what type of content you’re creating. We can also help you uncover the sound you're missing, thanks to our extensive catalog.