How to Score A Score: Takeaways from Music Industry Professionals

I received the wonderful opportunity to listen in with Platinum Rye Entertainment's Amanda D. Levine & Jordan Passman of ScoreAScore about music licensing. I wanted to share a few key things that I found super helpful, as someone who has a huge interest in this area:

🎼Music Licensing & Pricing

Amanda shared that we’re starting to see digital music licensing fees change within the industry. When it comes to licensing, there will always be songs that have “premium value" which are well known songs that we know and love. For example, take PaulRussell's latest hit, ‘Lil Boo Thang.’ This song includes a premium value song, ‘Best of My Love’ by The Emotions which pretty much everyone has heard of. I learned that artists have to grant approval each time songs are licensed which means that pricing will change, as people decide how they want to be valued and compensated.

🔎Hidden Fees within Contracts

Music unions such as Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and American Federation of Musicians (AFM) have varying requirements and stipulations that its members, agencies and brands must follow, especially if something is recorded under a union contract. Additional funds, outside of the base fee for licensing a song, could be required, depending on the music utilized for a commercial or advertisement. For instance, songs that feature a 150-person choir could subject brands and agencies to additional fees, should it feature union members. We’re also seeing more film studios maintain the rights to music, so that brands aren’t faced with a hefty licensing price tag. 

🌐Geo-Gigs & Geo-Blocking

These two terms are quite similar and it gives musicians and other artists the ability to restrict your media to where you can only view it in certain regions. This is usually helpful from a negotiation standpoint, which can directly impact (and hopefully) decrease licensing costs. 

💿Samples & Interpolations 

Here’s my favorite topic! We often hear samples in Hip Hop due to its connectedness to nostalgia, coolness and popularity. Sampling is taking the musical work from someone else (think copy, paste) and then seeking out approval from its original owners. Commonly, publishing will maintain a larger portion of the rights to the song. When it comes to interpolation, an artist isn’t directly extracting a composition but rather pulling inspiration. Think of it as reworking the melody of an existing song. This also involves giving the artist(s) a heads up and paying associated fees.

📝Tips for Musicians Looking for Companies to License their Music

• Rap is getting back into the mix! (Never left, in my opinion)

• People love the opportunity to hear music that makes them feel good!

• Assess the risks when emulating or sounding like another artist. 

• Network, utilize your resources, attend concerts 

• Research commercials and look to see what agencies are creating the ads you love

• Stay positive! Stay authentic! 

Special thanks to Amanda & Jordan!