[NEohioPAL] Legally Obtaining Rights to Music for Your Film Installment #2 – Local artists and specially commissioned works

[Mary Ellen Tomazic]

*Legally Obtaining Rights to Music for Your Film *

*Installment #2 –Local artists and specially commissioned works*

*
*

*by Mary Ellen Tomazic*


       It is important to keep in mind whether you will actually need a well
known composition or recording to set the mood or tone in your film, or to
identify a particular period in time, ala `American
Graffiti’.[1]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn1>For
example, a filmmaker thinking of making a horror film using the music
of
a well known horror punk band such as The Misfits may find the music is too
expensive to license, and may want to go with a lesser known or local artist
of that genre. Several versions of the band The Misfits are registered with
ASCAP and their publishers administer licenses for their
music.[2]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn2>The
band Dead Vampires from Seattle
[3]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn3>,
on the other hand, are not registered with ASCAP, so permission to use their
songs in your film may be easier and less expensive to obtain. Songs by self
published local bands such as Dead
Federation[4]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn4>and
American Werewolves
[5]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn5>,
both from Cleveland, also may be less expensive and complicated to deal
with, and may be able to work out a composition specifically for your film.
A composer hired to score your movie should ask, “What do you want music to
do for this scene?”
If[6]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn6>a
director can answer this question, then the composer can avoid the
mindset
of trying to match a particular sound or style. Instead they can focus on
making the music do what the director wants and create a stronger story.

      Specially ordered or commissioned music is the other way to legally
obtain music for your film. You can hire a composer or band to write and
perform a complete musical score to your film, or just a series of musical
compositions. The employment agreement will typically require the artist to
compose the music and write the lyrics, arrange and orchestrate the
composition, and conduct or produce the recording. The agreement will
reflect that the composition(s) are a `work-for-hire’ and will belong to the
filmmaker or motion picture company, which will retain all copyrights. A
synchronization license can be negotiated as part of the agreement. The
composer usually is not entitled to royalties, many composer and songwriter
agreements do grant royalty rights to the writers which may include fifty
percent of the performance royalties, six to ten cents per sheet for sheet
music, a ten to twelve percent royalty for multiple song folios. If the
writer is also the producer of the song and or performs as the lead artist,
he or she will receive record production royalties of two to three percent
and “artist” royalties of four to seven percent. Compensation agreements for
composers and/or songwriters are often a blend of fixed compensation and a
royalty, with both greater fixed compensation and lower royalties or vice
versa.[7]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn7>Again,
the stature of the composer/artist in these music-for-hire
arrangements and the bargaining power of the filmmaker will influence not
only the amount of compensation but the structure of the contract and
possibility of royalties. If both the filmmaker and composer are unknown,
and both are starting their careers with no track record, the agreement
should be more flexible and the payments lower. As mentioned previously,
there are some composers and artists who offer their music royalty-free, and
charge just fixed fees for their
works.[8]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn8>The
band Midnight Syndicate is one that regularly composes musical scores
and soundtracks for horror and fantasy films. Their music has appeared at a
large variety of halloween and other haunted attractions including Universal
Studios' Halloween Horror Nights
XVIII<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_Horror_Nights>
 and Hugh Hefner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Hefner>'s infamous
Halloween parties, in movies such as Robert
Kurtzman<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476071/>'s
The Rage, and featured on television shows including Monday Night Football
and the Barbara Walters
specials.[9]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn9>The
band has recently released its own film called “The Dead Matter” which
is now available on
DVD.[10]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftn10>

* *
------------------------------

[1]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref1>Vincent
D. Paragano,
*Making Money from the Airwaves: The Basics of Music Licensing, *183-APR
N.J. Law. 10, 12 (March/April 1997).

[2]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref2>
www.ascap.com (ACE title search.)

[3]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref3>
www.myspace.com/deadvampires

[4]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref4>
www.myspace.com/deadfederation

[5]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref5>
www.americanwerewolves.com

[6]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref6>Tamara
Krinsky,
*Notes to play by, a primer on music and independent film*, 25 The
Independent Film and Video Monthly 35, at 5. (March 1, 2002).



[7]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref7>Paragano,
at p.12.

[8]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref8>One
website offering royalty-free compositions is PrimaryElements.com.

[9]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref9>
http://www.examiner.com/horror-in-national/review-of-the-dead-matter-film-debut-of-midnight-syndicate-s-edward-douglas-review
.

[10]<file:///C:/Users/Maryellen/Documents/Indieclub%20article%20%232%20music.docx#_ftnref10>
www.midnightsyndicate.com

Mary Ellen Tomazic is an attorney in Cleveland specializing in entertainment

issue such as copyright, trademarks, contracts and licenses for musical

groups and filmmakers.
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