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Custom music license agreement - what should I do?

ShukeR

ShukeR

New Member
Hello everyone my name is Aviv and I'm on my first steps as a media composer.

I want to clarify that this is my first serious hired job, and I am not familiar with all the professional terms of copyright/license music, so I may sound "noob" in my explanation/questions. 😅

I've been hired by a video production company to compose 1 minute of custom music for one of their clients commercial.

The client asked for a couple of bids:
1. Using the music in their digital assets for unlimited time and one year of sponsored campaigns online.

2. Using the music for worldwide TV for one year.

3. Using the music freely as they want, they called it "Total Release" (I dont even know if thats a term in this business) but my guess is that they ment for a buy-out.

Anyway the client chose for now only bid offer number 1.

I've been paid by the video production company the amount we agreed on the bid offer number 1.

*I haven't signed with them any contract/agreement so far*

So my question is:
Should I send any kind of agreement that confirms that my music is being used as we agreed and that I own all the rights?

If so, I hope someone can teach me from their experience how to pronounce that kind of agreement.

I will also like to know how I can preserve some kind of rights if they will choose to expand for bid offer number 3.

I hope I've managed to be clear with my explanation.
Thank you so much for your time!
Click to read more...
 
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A lawyer really in all likelihood won't work here. Their fee will probably be almost as much - if not as much - as a project like this pays.

The party doing the hiring is supposed to be the one drafting the contract; not the other way around.

"Should I send any kind of agreement that confirms that my music is being used as we agreed and that I own all the rights?"

Well, of course. You always want to have a contract in place. If they decide to do bid #3 later, either that is written into the contract (which covers 1 & 3), or you do another contract if and when that time comes.
 
HarmonKard said:
A lawyer really in all likelihood won't work here. Their fee will probably be almost as much - if not as much - as a project like this pays.

The party doing the hiring is supposed to be the one drafting the contract; not the other way around.

"Should I send any kind of agreement that confirms that my music is being used as we agreed and that I own all the rights?"

Well, of course. You always want to have a contract in place. If they decide to do bid #3 later, either that is written into the contract (which covers 1 & 3), or you do another contract if and when that time comes.
Click to expand...
For someone completely new to this, I see it as a small investment....and a small price to pay for "ass covering". A consultation could also have educational value, and a good template for future gigs.
 
While it would be nice to have a contract, a good contract costs money and is likely not worth your time, here. Furthermore, you are not going to sue any of the other parties and they're not going to sue you - the stakes are just too low and suing people is expensive. People can threaten to sue each other to scare them into doing something, but that can happen with or without the contract as well.

For me, in this case, the contract is simply a thing we can all point to and remind the other parties what we agreed about in case people get confused (e.g., they try to go to the use defined in bid 3 even though they only agreed to pay for bid 1).

So for projects of this scale, I write in an email or add to my invoice the most basic terms of the agreement in very plain language. The basic terms of most music agreements are

1) Fee and payment schedule (e.g., half upfront, half upon completion, payment within X days of
2) Scope of work (e.g., length and purpose of music, will hiring add'l musicians be involved, etc.)
3) Exclusivity (will this piece be a "work for hire," meaning you give copyright to the client? Or do you maintain ownership and merely license the work to the client?)
4) Territories (e.g., US, North America, Worldwide)
5) Term length (e.g., 6 months, 5 years, perpetuity)
6) Media (e.g., Television, Theatrical, Internet, etc.)

For example, "For $5,000 composer agrees to a nonexclusive license for a custom composed piece of music with a length of one (1) minute with the following terms: digital media to be used in clients assets in all media, all territories in perpetuity; paid online promotions for in all territories for one year. Option exists to step up to worldwide TV for one year at $XXX dollars. Second option exists to totally buy out the copyright of the music for any use the client sees fit at $XXX dollars."

Hope this helps.
 
@ShukeR Where is your location (country)? this could matter.

If you are to sign a WFH, a lawyer would only cost a small fraction of your fee, so absolutely recommended there. You should not be taking legal/ business advice from forums and the internet, you get what you pay for, and if you don't pay...

The thing about doing this yourself is that you don't know what you don't know, so you may be surprised what a lawyer can offer. If you're gonna do this a lot, it is a sound investment, not only to clarify the current deal, and to protect yourself, but also as an educational investment. Work out a batch of questions to the lawyer, write down the answers, and make the lawyer draw up something you can re-use for future scenarios.

Also make use of your PRO and composer organizations in your country, they help young composers a lot in these matters, and often have an in-house lawyer who will review your deal and advice you.
 
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ShukeR said:
Hello everyone my name is Aviv and I'm on my first steps as a media composer.

I want to clarify that this is my first serious hired job, and I am not familiar with all the professional terms of copyright/license music, so I may sound "noob" in my explanation/questions. 😅

I've been hired by a video production company to compose 1 minute of custom music for one of their clients commercial.

The client asked for a couple of bids:
1. Using the music in their digital assets for unlimited time and one year of sponsored campaigns online.

2. Using the music for worldwide TV for one year.

3. Using the music freely as they want, they called it "Total Release" (I dont even know if thats a term in this business) but my guess is that they ment for a buy-out.

Anyway the client chose for now only bid offer number 1.

I've been paid by the video production company the amount we agreed on the bid offer number 1.

*I haven't signed with them any contract/agreement so far*

So my question is:
Should I send any kind of agreement that confirms that my music is being used as we agreed and that I own all the rights?

If so, I hope someone can teach me from their experience how to pronounce that kind of agreement.

I will also like to know how I can preserve some kind of rights if they will choose to expand for bid offer number 3.

I hope I've managed to be clear with my explanation.
Thank you so much for your time!
Click to expand...
Lawyer time!

best

ed
 
Not without divulging too much for my own affairs, I cannot overstate how important legal representation is in the music world, it changes the entire tone of the conversation and holds all parties involved accountable.
 
Let me ask you guys something. Seriously.

Please read:


I'm on my first steps as a media composer

this is my first serious hired job

hired to compose 1 minute of custom music


How much do you think he's getting paid? If he's getting $500/min (I find that very doubtful because of where he is in his career) that means he's getting paid a total of $500. If the lawyer is $500 (very likely) - he should hire a lawyer? What if he is getting paid $250? Still hire a lawyer?
 
HarmonKard said:
Let me ask you guys something. Seriously.

Please read:


I'm on my first steps as a media composer

this is my first serious hired job

hired to compose 1 minute of custom music


How much do you think he's getting paid? If he's getting $500/min (I find that very doubtful because of where he is in his career) that means he's getting paid a total of $500. If the lawyer is $500 (very likely) - he should hire a lawyer? What if he is getting paid $250? Still hire a lawyer?
Click to expand...
Absolutely 100%, especially at this point in the OP’s career…it’s a small price to pay for inevitable ass-covering. Not only for a contract, but as an official learning experience. I did this early on in my musical journey, and it was an invaluable investment. I still use that same contract template for certain productions (20 years later).
 
HarmonKard said:
Let me ask you guys something. Seriously.

Please read:


I'm on my first steps as a media composer

this is my first serious hired job

hired to compose 1 minute of custom music


How much do you think he's getting paid? If he's getting $500/min (I find that very doubtful because of where he is in his career) that means he's getting paid a total of $500. If the lawyer is $500 (very likely) - he should hire a lawyer? What if he is getting paid $250? Still hire a lawyer?
Click to expand...

It's an investment for his future, a small fee upfront pays dividends to his future negotiations. It's not for everyone but with anything in life, you can DIY some situations, but nothing beats getting help from experienced professional.
 
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