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Ancillary income Income generated by a company for services outside its core business or primary product offering.
Approval right The agent, publisher or label representing the songwriter or artist must seek their content prior to licensing the music. This consent is the approval right.
Ask A request for a particular genre, style or mood of a song.
Below-the-line A film production term that centers on the ‘line’ in ‘below-the-line’: a separation between the actors, director, producers, and writers from the rest of the crew.
Blanket license A license used to give blanket permission to use any music from a specific catalog. This license is used in a situation where issuing individual music licenses for each piece or each use would be cumbersome. The licensing fees collected from blanket licenses go to pay songwriters and publishers.
Cease-and-desist letter A letter from a lawyer which puts an infringer on notice prior to any action, and usually contains a demand that a certain action be taken.
Clearance, clearing, copyright clearance The process of granting or obtaining permission to use music in a production.
Compilation album The assembly of a variety of songs from various sources to create one album.
Copyright A legal right created by the law that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution.
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Copyright infringement This occurs when someone violates the exclusive rights of the copyright owner, or essentially uses the song without permission.
Copyright law Part of the laws of the United States that protect intellectual property, including songs, writings and films.
Copyright splits The percentage designated to each writer of a song so that the total amounts to 100%.
Corporate use The use of music in a video or live event by a corporate client and/or its employees.
Cover song When a singer, other than the original recording artist of a song, rerecords his/her own version.
Creative Commons A copyright license that enables the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. A CC license is used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use and build upon a work that they have created.
Cue A singular piece of music use in a program.
Cue sheet A document which is filed with the performing rights societies and contains a detailed listing of each piece of music used in a film or television production in the order that it is heard in the production. The document includes song titles, writer and publisher information, song durations and use types. It is a delivery requirement of all public broadcasters and exhibitors so as to compensate songwriters for the public performance of their music.
Denial When a rights holder disallows use or says no to a music licensing request.
Digital platform Any platform where users can access digital audio and/or audio-visual content.
Exclusivity When one company represents a catalog of music exclusively or when a licensing deal is only allowing the use of a song to a company for a select period of time exclusively. For example, if a song is licensed to an airline company, no other airline company can use the same song for the term of the initial license.
Fair use A legal doctrine that states that some portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner, and that not all copying of copyrighted material is a violation of the law, provided the use is fair and reasonable.
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Indemnity A promise to defend one in court against a third-party lawsuit.
Initial rights Rights granted for the media requested by a filmmaker based on the expected media of distribution of a film, such as initial film festival rights.
Intranet A company or organization’s private secured network.
Jingle Mainly used in advertising: a short slogan, verse or tune designed to be catchy and memorable.
License When an individual or company grants permission to use a piece of music in your production they draw up a license, or agreement, that states the terms of the use. A license is essentially an agreement, on paper, that states how, where, when and for what fee a user is allowed to use the piece of art or, in this case, music.
Licensee The person being granted the music license; hence, a production company or entity.
Licensor The entity granting the license, or permission, for use of the music in a particular territory and term.
Master This refers to a particular recording of a song. The term derives from the physical tape that was used to create a recording; hence, the ‘master’ tape is the original recording.
Master use license The process of seeking permission from a label (or artist, if the artist is unsigned) to use a master recording in an audio-visual production.
Mechanical license This license grants the user of music the right to reproduce a song in a physical—LP or CD—or digital format, provided the music has already been commercially released in the United States by the copyright owner. This is strictly for the audio reproduction of a song. No visual component is involved.
Metadata Information on a single track that includes the writer(s) name(s), publishing company and the percentage of ownership splits of the writers.
MFN (Most favored nations) When one copyright holder receives the same compensation as another.
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Mnemonic In music, a pattern of notes or lyrics used to assist in remembering something, like a brand.
Music rights clearance The process of obtaining permission to use music in a production.
Music supervisor A qualified professional who oversees all music-related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and other existing or emerging visual media platforms as required.
One-stop shop The user can obtain permission or clearance of both sides of the song at one company, rather than through a number of people.
Opinion letter A letter usually written by a lawyer that gives advice based on the lawyer’s special knowledge and understanding of the law as it applies to a particular case. Opinion letters are usually drafted at a client’s request.
Option rights Rights that are requested with the initial rights, but are exercisable if and when you need them at a later date.
Performing rights organization or PRO An organization that collects and distributes performance royalties on behalf of writers and publishers (e.g., ASCAP, BMI or SESAC). They are essentially royalty collection agencies.
Poor man’s copyright Instead of properly registering your composition or work of art with the U.S. Copyright Office, you place the song in an envelope and mail it to yourself. When it is returned to you it has your name and a date stamp to positively prove that the work at least belonged to you as of the date on the stamp. The problem is, there is nothing in the law that acknowledges the validity or accuracy of this method.
Pre-roll The short video ads that appear online before a user’s selected content plays.
Production music library Stock or library music that is licensed to film, television, ads and other media clients. Pricing is available through a rate card sheet and both the publishing and recording rights are included for ease of licensing.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) A non-profit organization that brings television programming to public television stations in the United States.
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Public domain When no one can find any law that gives the legal claim to that property or work, or song. The original owner or creator’s rights have expired and anyone can use the music without permission.
Public performance license This license grants permission for music to be heard in public spaces, such as on the radio or television, via on-hold music or in an elevator, hair salon, local bar or other places of work, or even a public website. This license is secured by public broadcasters—say, a radio station or television network—or a business establishment where music is heard.
Publisher A company or entity that represents a catalog of songs or compositions by as few as one person to as many as thousands of writers. Its main objective is to protect and exploit the compositions and collect income for its song catalog’s various uses.
Quitclaim deed A quitclaim deed is a release, by the grantor or conveyor of the deed, of any interest in the property described in the deed. Generally, a quitclaim deed relieves the grantor of liability regarding the ownership of the property.
Reuse fees Additional royalty fees paid to musicians, singers or vocalists used on the recording session through their respective unions, such as AFM or SAG-AFTRA.
Re-titling When a catalog representative places a song in a production, and they re-name the song in order to claim a portion of the publishing. This allows the rep to receive back-end income, or royalties, from the public performance of the song he or she placed.
Sides An industry term used to define the publishing or recording of a song. There are two ‘sides’ to a recorded song, as there are two sides to a coin.
Song pluggers or reps Individuals who represent a select catalog and/or artists.
Soundtrack album Generally a CD or digital download release of the songs heard within a film or ‘inspired by’ the film.
Split dispute Wherein the total ownership value in and to a composition adds up to less than or greater than 100%.
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Statutory damages An award of damages granted by a court when a copyright owner’s work has been infringed but the owner cannot prove the actual losses he suffered, or the losses are too small to determine.
Step deals These deals allow for a conservative upfront fee, and then monetary bumps, or ‘steps,’ at different milestones.
Synchronization license This license grants permission to use a song which is locked to a moving image or other audio-visual body of work.
Term The period needed to license a song for a production.
Territory The territory where the production needs to license the music. This generally reflects the regional laws to which the license is subject.
Third-party licensing Exploitation of a recording that pertains to any money received by a label that is generated by not selling music.
Video-on-demand Systems that allow users to access general entertainment content when they choose to, rather than having to watch at a specific broadcast time.
Work-for-hire When an individual is paid a flat fee to complete a project and the work they created becomes the property of the employer. No copyright, if any, is retained by the creator.
Works of authorship A term used in the Copyright Act. Works of authorship include literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works.