The following dilemmas will be familiar to many creatives:
An agency produces a mood film to pitch their creative concept to a client, but needs a great piece of music to complete the concept before the budget is assigned to the winning bid…
A film is shot and edited offline using a popular song, because “no editor wants to cut to library music”…
A creative has their heart set on using a piece of music, but it is either way over budget or not available because the artist does not permit the use of their songs in advertising…
What are your options from here?
You could produce a soundalike, however as we’ve all seen before that risks not only copyright disputes but also damage to the public image of the brand.
You could propose an alternative song – this is a much safer option, but it can be difficult to shift a client’s attention once they’ve fallen in love with a particular track.
However, rather than focusing on solving existing problems, as with a lot of barriers in the creative industries it can be much more beneficial to shift focus and work out how to stop these issues arising in the first place.
Here are a few suggestions to nip any music disputes in the bud:
- Think about involving a Music Supervisor right from the early stages of the project (like us for instance!)
It can save a lot of time and stress in the long run if a Music Supervisor is involved right from the moment that music is first presented or discussed. Their expertise will provide guidance on which options are licensable and what could be a viable alternative that fits the creative vision.
- Don’t necessarily assume that a song is out of reach
Don’t ask, don’t get as the old saying goes. Artists that haven’t allowed their music to be licensed much in the past are gradually changing their minds about advertising sync as its reputation improves (and as the other available revenue streams evolve, but that’s a whole other article). Perhaps there’s something unique about the project that they can get behind creatively, or perhaps they will make an exception for a particular brand that they like. In these cases the fee might actually end up being lower than expected.
- That being said, try not to present iconic tracks that the client definitely can’t afford
This might seem a tad obvious, but iconic tracks often have a minimum fee requirement so if the music budget is extremely limited then it’s better to move on and develop alternative ideas. The minimum is often a challenge for very small uses where the rightsholders would not consider a fee that is high for the actual terms of use but low in general.
- If you do opt for a big track, try to provide an accurate price
Your Music Supervisor, who you got on board earlier, will be able to get this for you quickly and easily (and usually at a better price than if you tried to do it directly yourself). Having a specific quote can help prevent the client from falling too deeply in love with a track that’s out of budget, and make it easier to solidify a more realistic budget framework. It can be helpful to present the track along with the licensing quote as part of the concept presentation to make sure that everyone’s on the same page right from the off.
- Have a shortlist of songs ready before the pre-production meeting and shoot
Knowing that everyone is on the same page will save a few headaches later on. Having a few songs with you on set that you know are safe to use in the edit will set the tone and rhythm of those early versions and save having to do any drastic changes later.
As with a lot of creative obstacles, the key to getting around the issue is essentially communication and open mindedness. Being able to keep all parties well-informed and remaining flexible with ideas and solutions will make the process much more streamlined and less stressful for everyone involved.