Introduction
Do you have gaps in understanding how the music industry works — royalties and revenue streams like mechanicals, performance royalties, and sync licensing?
The best way to get a clear picture of the inner workings is to explore each major technological advance and then look at how intellectual property laws evolved to shape and monetize the music industry.
In Part One we covered music publishers and songwriters collaborating to print music and collect public performance royalties.
In Part Two we covered audio recording technology, mechanical licenses and radio broadcast royalties.
Let’s dive into film and television music synchronization!
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Songs in Film
Film revolutionized the entertainment industry and created new revenue streams for musicians.
- Early film technology could not include audio, so composers were hired to write scores that were performed live during film screenings in theaters.
- Later, technology was developed to synchronize audio recordings with film.
- Synchronizing audio with moving pictures enabled a new method to reproduce musical intellectual property, protected by copyright law.
- Each film screening is considered a public performance of the music.
- Cinemas, as businesses that sell tickets to show content to audiences, are responsible for paying performance royalties.
- Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) issue public performance licenses to these theaters. (Note: In the USA, movie theaters are not required to pay performance licenses.)
- Each film production creates a cue sheet listing every song along with its songwriter and publisher, type of use, and duration.
- The cue sheet is submitted to the PRO, which tracks film screenings and distributes royalties to the songwriters.
- The revenue generated from film screenings “performances” is known as “backend” income/royalties, which can continue for years, as long as the film remains in circulation.
Songs in Television Broadcast
Mid-20th Century
The evolution of television expanded in-home entertainment and provided new avenues for music to reach audiences, creating additional revenue streams for music owners:
- TV shows, like film productions, hired composers to write music and paid them an upfront fee.
- Music was also performed live on TV — similar to live radio bands.
- Existing songs and recordings are also synched into TV shows (more about synchronization below).
- When a show airs on a TV channel or network, it is considered a public performance of the music within the show.
- TV stations and networks are businesses that generate revenue by selling advertising in between broadcast content (which includes music copyrights), therefore they pay for the right to reproduce any music included in that content.
- Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) issue broadcast performance licenses to each station/network — similar to radio.
💡 TV stations pay backend performance royalties for music used in TV shows via their broadcast performance license with the local PRO. TV content producers DO NOT pay back end royalties, only rollover fees if the sync license renews.
- Each TV production creates a cue sheet listing every song along with its songwriter and publisher in every episode.
- The cue sheet is submitted to the PRO, which tracks the TV show as it is aired on different stations and distributes royalties to the songwriters.
Music Videos and Music TV
- The early 1980s marked the rise of Music TV.
- Radio-style curation in video format captivated audiences by adding a visual experience.
- Television boosted audience exposure to new music, increasing record sales and driving more radio play.
- The art of music video production evolved as creators pushed boundaries, influencing other media sectors.
Music Synchronization and Music Supervisors
As screen productions grew, the role of the Music Supervisor became crucial for managing music budgets, creative and licensing.
Music Supervisors handle all aspects of music in a production, including:
- Script Analysis: Determine music needs to enhance the creative vision.
- Creative Expertise: Which music will impact the scene most effectively.
- Music Budget: Outline the costs of licensing the required music.
- Hire Composer: Find and manage composers as needed.
- Creative Search: Source and clear music within the budget.
- Final Licensing: Negotiate and secure music licenses.
- Cue Sheets: Complete and submit cue sheets to the production
The relationship between music supervisors and music owners is essential for realizing a production’s creative vision. Music supervisors leverage their networks to expedite deals and often rely on connections with catalog experts for quick access to song ideas.
Sync Licensing
- A Sync License involves an upfront sync fee paid by the production to the music owners.
- The license specifies how the music will be used and distributed, such as worldwide, across all media, or limited to film festivals.
- The music supervisor provides the production company with a cue sheet with all the final songs and their details.
- The production company submits the cue sheet to the local PRO to ensure the songwriters receive performance royalties when the production is distributed around the world.
- The future performance royalties are paid from performance licenses paid by broadcasters, networks, stations, cinemas and other venues that air the screen content publicly.
Each sync placement of existing music requires two licenses — one for the song publishing and one for the audio recording.
In part four we make our way into the digital era with CDs, internet downloads and streaming services
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