Music Licensing: Players and Opportunities pt.2

Since we've established what music licensing actually is, let's talk now about who the specific players are.  There are two sides of a licensing situation, the side who wants to use the song for a TV show or movie, and the othr side who gives permission for the song to be used.  The side who wants to use the music is called the "licensee".  Licensees are the movie makers, TV producers, music supervisors, music editors, or other production companies.  The other side is called the "licensor".  Licensors give permission for a song to be used in a film and are the artists, artist representative or administrator, publishing company, lawyer or other licensing service companies.  Independent artists can be the all of these people rolled into one if they have not signed over their copyright to another company, representative or publisher. Make sense?  Cool.
Independent artists and the music they make can be attractive to licensees who want to use their music.  Why? Because independent artists usually own all their rights and the licensee doesn't have to go to a whole group of people to get permission to use a song.  It makes the whole process easier.  The less people you have to deal with to clear a song, the better.  Remember in the last blog we talked about how it would probably be smart for an independent artist to get a representative to help them market/shop their music for a licensing deal?  Some options for help could be getting a publisher.  Now getting a major publisher like EMI or Sony or Universal is going to be hard.  Since major publishers like these usually deal with major artists.  But like anything else in this business, if you have the connections, it is possible.  Another option would be to get a very good entertainment lawyer.  These players can be very helpful in securing licensing deals and dealing with all the licensing paperwork that comes along with it.  Besides, movie makers like to deal with established publishers and lawyers because usually everybody is on the same page as far as understanding what needs to happen.  So, try to get yourself a good representative, whether is a boutique publisher, lawyer or licensing service.  Before bringing these people on board, make sure you ask what their fees are, who have they represented in the past, and what were the last few licensing deals they've secured.  This will help you to make an informed decision on if they will be a good fit for your music.  This goes without saying, but pay attention to the way the communicate, because you will want to be sure they are pleasant and professional since they will be representing you. Ok, stay tuned for the next post in which we will discuss approaches to meeting these players and they licensing agreement in detail.