How does music licensing work when it comes to reruns and DVD/streaming releases of tv shows?
I'm curious why certain shows from the same era of television have issues related to licensing music that was on the show when it originally aired and others don't.
For example the show Felicity which ran in the late 90s has the same music in the background of scenes that played when the show originally aired vs a show like Daria which also ran in the late 90s. The DVD release of Daria didn't happen for a long time because all of the tracks used when the series originally aired had to be replaced due to the amount that would have had to be spent on royalties for the music.
This seems to be an issue for some shows and not others. Is it purely a budget issue or do other things play into a show's original soundtrack needing to be replaced during re-release?
Best Answer
It's not just about the budget, but the amount of negotiation required with different parties.
It will depend on how many record labels and artists are involved, and their relationships with the company putting out the DVD.
It also depends on how important any particular track is to the scene it's used in - some pieces of music will be easier to replace than others, so that will affect the negotiations.
This is further complicated by the fact that there are two separate licenses required for any piece of music - one for the songwriting (owned by a publishing company) and one for the recording of the song (owned by the record company).
So there are a lot of factors and a lot of people involved. Here is a good article on how this works in practice.
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Do TV shows have to get permission to use songs?
Two different rights must be granted for a song to be included in a television show or movie: A synchronization license (typically called a sync license) is issued to grant permission to use the underlying song. This license is issued by the song's publisher.How do I get my music in movies and TV shows?
1- Get a publisher that will find, negotiate and sign licensing opportunities for you. Ditto's Music Publishing service can now pitch your music for opportunities in music, film & games! Find out more. 2- Place your catalogue in music libraries and benefit from the traffic these platforms get.How much does a TV show have to pay to play a song?
The synchronization fees charged by music publishers for major studio films are usually between $15,000 and $60,000 (with the majority ranging from $20,000 to $45,000) but can be lower if the music budget is small or higher if the song is used several times in the motion picture, if the use is under the opening or ...How do you license music for streaming?
1) Video streams: You can obtain the necessary synchronization licenses (video streams), print licenses (lyrics), and master licenses (copyrighted audio recordings) through Easy Song's Custom Licensing services. Alternatively, you can attempt to locate the copyright owners yourself and request permission.Music Licensing \u0026 Copyrights For Dummies
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Answer 2
It's all basically has to do with contract negotiations how you tell them it'll be used in what context how much of the song or music will be used. also from the time they first started using it until the reruns or DVD comes out who now has the rights to the song or music? So they start negotiations again and if the new owners of the rights don't want to agree to what the show wants to give them then they have to use something else.
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