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Music Synchronization

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Biletsky Law - Music SyncMusic that is featured in your favorite television show, motion picture, or even commercial can create a unique connection between you and the production. In many instances, you may identify the production through the song or visa-versa. The fact that such a connection can be created just by synchronizing a song with a particular production makes certain songs that much more valuable to a production.

And herein lies the synchronization license. A synchronization license is an agreement that allows the creator or producer of a type of visual media to use a particular song, or part of a song, in synchronization with a visual media project, or in the form of advertising for the visual project.

If you are either the creator or owner of a song or a visual production, there are several factors that you need to consider:

The Length of Use

The cost of a synchronization license will depend upon the length of the song and whether the entire song is being used or just a few seconds of a song. The length that the song is being featured in the visual production will largely dictate what kind of influence the song will have. Having a song featured in its entirety will often leave a bigger association between the song and the visual production.

In some instances, where an entire song is to be featured in a visual production, a hybrid license is used where the producer of the visual media pays for the entire cost of a song for the privilege of being the first to use the song. After the song’s use, the ownership of the song will then go back to the owner of the song.

Where is the Song being Used?

Another issue to be considerate of is where the song is being used. The impression that a song gives when being featured in the opening or closing scenes is substantailly different from the situational impression that a song being used only in a specific scene gives. Since music that is being featured in the opening and closing scene of a television show or movie commands such an important role, there are premiums that must be paid for obtaining permission to use the song in such a position.

On the other hand, music that is being used for small durations will vary in cost depending on the actual length of the use and the type of use. For the use of a song in certain controversial or explicit scenes, there may need some negotiation to use more popular songs in such a scene.

The Type of Synchronization

In addition to where the song is being used and how long of the song is being used, another pivital concern is the type of use. Type of use generally refers to how the song is going to be used in the production.

Background Instrumental
Generally, instrumental music is cheaper to license than music that has a singing component to it. With a background instrumental sync, the viewers cannot see where the music is being played from and only the viewers, not the characters, can hear the music.

Background Vocal

Slightly more expensive than background instrumental is background vocal. This type of synchronization is where there are words being sang, but you cannot see where someone is singing. This is music that only the viewers can hear but the characters in the movie cannot.

Source

More expensive than background sync is a source synchronization where again, you can hear the singing, but you cannot see the the singer. However with this type of synch, the characters in the movie can hear the song. This plays a different role in the production since the characters are able to interact with the music.

Visual Instrumental

In contrast to the types of synchronization mentioned above are visual synchs. Visual instrumental is a type of synchronization where the viewer can hear the music and also see where the music is coming from.

Visual Vocal

Probably the most expensive type of sync license is a visual vocal license where you can see the person who is singing the song that is being played. The license will be even more expensive where the original singer or band of the song is playing the music.

Visual Dance

Yet another type of licensing is a visual dance sync license. This license, as it sounds, has dance components which are visable to the viewer.

As you can see, there are many different issues that come together when negotiating a synchronization license. Before you decide upon what kind of music to use in your visual production, take into consideration exactly how you plan to use the song.

For more information, or for assistance with a synchronization license, contact Biletsky Law.

Happy Birthday Copyright

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Biletsky Law - Happy BirthdayThe timeless classic “Happy Birthday” has been around in some form since as early as the late 19th century. However, for the last 80 years, there has been an underlying ownership claim to the song which has required those who had performed the song to pay license fees or royalties.

First, a little background about the song “Happy Birthday.” In 1893 Patty and Mildred Hill composed a tune called “Good Morning to All.” Around 1912, lyrics were added to this tune and the song became “Happy Birthday to You.” Up until this time, there were never any registered copyrights for the song and it is even disputed if the song itself was written down anywhere. The reason that this is an important aspect of the story is that one of the requirements for a copyright to exist is that it be embodied in a “tangible medium of expression.” (See my blog post “WHAT’S IN A COPYRIGHT?”).

In 1935 a company named The Summy Company registered the copyright in a song entitled “Happy Birthday.” This copyright was then purchased by Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $5 million.

Modernly, Warner/Chappell Music has aggressively protected what the Guinness Book of Records calls the “the most recognized song in the English language.” Synchronization licenses (a license to use the music in a TV show or movie) can cost thousands of dollars with willful copyright infringement coming with a hefty $150,000 penalty.

In 2013, a class action lawsuit was filed against Warner/Chappell Music to refute their copyright claim to the renowned song. The class action was brought by Good Morning to You Productions Corp. on behalf of the individuals and companies who had to shell out sometimes thousands of dollars to use the song in television shows and movies joined the suit. One of the main arguments against Warner/Chappell’s ownership is simple, that the original tune, made in 1893, is no longer subject to copyright protection.

Like most other laws in the U.S, copyright laws have evolved over time. The largest milestones in copyright law in the U.S have been in the years 1790, 1909, 1976, and 1998. Without going too specific into each law, copyrights under the 1790 law enjoyed a duration (how long they lasted) of up to 28 years. Then the Copyright Act of 1909 changed the duration to a maximum of 56 years. The modern 1976 Copyright Act changed the duration to the life of the author plus 50 years. Finally, duration was changed to where we are today, the life of the author plus 70. As you can see from the duration of copyrights above, a work that was copyrighted in 1893 would likely not still be valid.

As of now, the suit is slowly inching towards trial with motions having been heard as recent as March of 2015. Either way, this trial is likely to last for a while as the battle between one of the largest music publishers in the world continues.

For more information on copyright laws, contact Biletsky Law