Gareth Cousins, Composer and Producer of Music for Film, TV, Games and Advertising,
It is pretty much taken for granted that music is an important part of any advertising, marketing or branding campaign. The use of music in film and television has long since passed into common practice for all moving image media, from films to commercials to websites and everything between. But despite this it can be very hard to find information on how to find and brief a composer, the rights that you will need, or the costs involved.
1. WHY YOU NEED MUSIC
Before we go any further we should ask the question; why does my campaign need music?
Music has several functions when used in marketing, and you will need music if you wish to fulfill one of these goals:
a. Entertainment
If a moving image is made more entertaining, then it is quite simply more attractive to the viewer, which helps focus the attention on to the product or service that is being marketed. Nike are good at this (click on name for video link).
b. Storytelling
It is a basic attribute of music that it helps to tell a story, to guide emotions, emphasise dramatic moments and to bridge the gap across disjointed images. It helps convey the overall meaning of what is being viewed. See Carling Black Label Dambusters advert for an example of this.
c. Memorability
Music stays in the mind longer than the spoken or written word, or images. In the early days of TV advertising, jingles were used to help keep a brand name in mind, e.g. “Ho ho ho, Green Giant”, or “Mild green Fairy Liquid”. Advertising music is generally more sophisticated than that now (and society has moved on a bit!), but still helps keep a brand in a potential customer's mind – e.g. Lloyds TSB use a memorable orchestral piece with an instantly recognizable vocal melody.
d. Hidden Messages
Music is the perfect tool for providing a subliminal message. This is important because modern viewers are quite cynical and prefer a subliminal emotional appeal over a logical, informational one. Thus music can provide a message without the viewer being consciously aware this is happening. The Nikon advert is a good example of this.
e. Establishing Identity
Music is often associated with certain kinds of people (or demographics). It makes it easier to appeal to such groups by using their associated musical genre. Adidas often use this approach.
2. FINDING THE MUSIC YOU NEED
Once the need for music has been established, you will need to choose whether to commission a composer to write music for your specific purpose, or to use music that already exists; for example production or library music, or music already released by an artist or band.
Using music that already exists will be dealt with later in this article.
a. How Do I find A Composer?
If you choose to use a composer, what is the best way to commission original music?
Commissioning music means paying a composer to write a composition for a specific purpose. Anyone can commission a composer, and any type of music can be commissioned.
There are many ways to find composers:
i. Word Of Mouth – If you are commissioning a composer for the first time, this is probably the best way to choose a composer. Ask around, and if your contemporaries have had a good experience with a composer, the chances are good that you will too.
ii. References - You can check for references on LinkedIn, for example, to see who recommends that you work with a particular composer. Or screen credits can be verified on IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database, which includes some TV credits). This will help you establish the credentials of the composers recommended to you.
iii. Professional Bodies – Organisations such as PCAM and BASCA have lists of professional composers, with some biographical information, credits and contact information. These can be used as starting points.
iv. Online Directories – Companies such as Kemps or Mandy.com also have lists of composers. Bear in mind that these lists are not necessarily of professional composers who are affiliated with any major organizations. You probably would think twice before using a gas engineer who was not CORGI registered, so the same way of thinking should apply here.
v. Composer Websites – Google will of course return plenty of results if you search for a film, TV or advertising composers. You should be able to find showreels and examples of music written for advertising or marketing on the composer’s website.
Once you have a shortlist of composers you might like to work with, you should get in touch with them, perhaps to ask for more information or samples of work that may be relevant to the style you have in mind.
Your final choice of composer will be based on several factors:
=Trust – You will need complete confidence that the composer will be able to fulfill your brief, on time and on budget, and that the music will be of the highest quality. Recommendations and references will help you make this decision
=Budget – Obviously, there is no point in hoping to secure the services of John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra if you are working on a modest budget. That does not mean that your ambitions for the music cannot be realised though. Check whether the composer is able to fulfill your brief for the budget you have available, and whether the scale of their ambition matches yours.
= Resources – One way to keep costs down is for the composer to complete the project entirely within their own studio. Check whether the composer has the skills and resources to perform, record and mix the music themselves using their own studio and experience. This will make any later changes needed to the music easier to implement, will keep costs down, and will almost always result in a quicker turnaround.
= Experience – What has the composer done in the past? Does their music move you? You need to be inspired and impressed by the music the composer has written for other clients. The best composers can write music across a large range of genres, always to the highest quality. And they have the ability to change course mid-stream should you (or your client) decide to change direction from that originally briefed. It is common for an experienced composer to be brought in at a later stage because either a brief has changed, or a less experienced (cheaper) composer has not been able to satisfy the brief. It has big implications on the budget if things go wrong, so it is important to make the right choice in the first place.
b. How do I find existing music to fit my brief?
i. Soundalikes - A soundalike is when a song is written to sound as if it is another song. This might be necessary if a particular song is needed for a campaign, but it is too expensive to obtain a license from the original artist, record company or publisher. Unfortunately, it is not legal to do this, and the composer may be open to a charge of “passing off” from the original copyright holders. Although this is a bit of a grey area, it can have serious consequences, and it’s better to avoid. Another solution would be to commission an original piece of music that does not attempt to copy the arrangement or other song content of a song, but attempts to do the same job when synchronized to picture.
ii. Stylealikes - A stylealike is music created in the generic style of music made popular by particular artists. For example a Mersey Beat sound might be used to represent a generic early Beatles or Dave Clarke Five style. A contemporary pop dance sound might cover styles made popular by Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. This is perfectly acceptable as a brief, as it will result in original composed music.
iii. Relicensing a Commercial Recording – Clearing a commercial recording for use in a TV, online or radio campaign is a minefield. You will need permission from the owner of the recording (probably the record company) and the publisher of the song before you can use the recording. This is likely to be quite expensive and time-consuming. The information needed should be available from the PRS, or you could use a clearance company to clear the music for you.
iv. Arrangements – Making a new arrangement of an existing song (or recording a straight cover version) usually requires the permission of the song’s publisher. This can again be time consuming, but will be less costly than using the original recording. It is worth approaching a composer with production credentials if you wish to go down this route.
v. Library/Production Music – Using a music library company is one way of keeping production costs down. Music production libraries usually own all of the copyrights of their music, meaning that it can be licensed without seeking the composer's permission. Production music is therefore sometimes a convenient solution for media producers—they can be assured that they will be able to license any piece of music in the library at a fixed rate, whereas a specially commissioned work could be too expensive. A license for use of this type of music may be obtained from the PRS, with the rates as listed here. It is worth noting that this music will be non-exclusive, so the music may be used by anyone else who pays the same fee. If the available budget is low, it is worth approaching composers directly to see if they are willing to provide any of their existing music on a non-exclusive library basis – most composers are likely to have something available that may be suitable.
Finding out who owns the rights to existing music
The first point of contact should be PRS For Music. This organisation looks after titles on behalf of many artists. If you contact them with a list of the music that you would like to use, they will often be able to tell you who owns it.
Alternatively, you may be able to find the record company and publisher contact details from music directories such as Music Week - www.musicweekdirectory.com
When you contact the PRS or record company/publisher, supply them with the following details:
◦ The name of the company or individual applying for the licence;
◦ Main contact name, address, contact number and email details;
Song title, date of recording (if known) and the sound recording owner (eg record company):
◦ Project title and brief synopsis;
◦ Duration of film;
◦ Overall budget;
◦ Context of music used (scene description);
◦ Duration of music use (clip or full version);
◦ Territory of exploitation required e.g. worldwide;
◦ Rights required e.g. broadcast rights, online right;
◦ Length of licence required e.g. 2 years.
When you have a contract drawn up you'll need to check that the terms allow you to use the music everywhere you want to broadcast your campaign. The main elements you need to look out for are:
Geographical/Territory: “all world rights” is the ideal, which means that you can show your film anywhere in the world. This often costs more though so it is maybe more cost effective, if you want to use a well-known piece, to specify 'within Europe', or an individual country (e.g. 'in the UK'). Note - if you are considering showing your film online it is best to get 'all world rights' because online in its nature is worldwide.
Time/Duration: in perpetuity (which means indefinitely) is the ideal, but again if you’re dealing with well-known musicians or bands then you’ll probably get between one to five years.
Media/Platform: Ideally you want ‘All Media’. To show your film on websites you need to acquire ‘online rights’ (note - online rights could mean streaming or download rights or both).
Exclusivity: Exclusive music deals would be prohibitively expensive so often best to opt for non-exclusive use.
Promotional use for press and publicity use: ideally you'll want these rights so that you can use clips/trailers with music to promote your campaign.
3. HOW TO BRIEF A COMPOSER
Assuming you have now decided that you would like to commission original music for your campaign, and you have chosen a composer, how do you brief the composer so that they write the music you need?
i. Tell the composer about the project. Who is the client, what is the brand? What is the purpose of the marketing campaign. Is it aimed at a specific demographic? What keywords have been used to describe the product or service?
ii. Pass on any materials that you have such as storyboards, scripts, photos, sketches etc.
iii. If you have any music references that the client has approved, or if you know what direction you’d like to go in, provide mp3s or YouTube links for the composer to listen to. It is important that the music brief is for what is needed to make the marketing campaign work, rather than to ask the composer to come up with something that reflects your personal current musical taste. It needs to be relevant.
iv. How much music is needed – how long will it be, and will more than one piece be needed?
v. What territories and media will the music be used in?
vi. If you do not have a pre-conceived idea of how the music should sound, that’s fine! Let the composer make some suggestions and see what approach most excites you.
vii. If you require a demo of the composer’s ideas, expect to pay something for this.
viii. Discuss the budget with the composer. Let them know how much you have available for the music. You may find the guidelines later in this article useful for helping work a music budget out.
ix. Be clear as to when you expect to hear the first version of the music, and when the project will need to be completed by.
x. Providing commissioned music is usually a collaborative process between production company and composer. There will often be changes needed after the first draft of the music is submitted. Be prepared to be part of that process by letting the composer know what changes are required as soon as possible. Sometimes the best results are achieved by a system of feedback and honing in, and a good composer will have the patience to work with you in this way.
xi. Try to get the contractual side of things finalized as soon as is practical. The terms of the agreement will be based on the amount of music needed, the fees and associated costs involved in creating the music, the licenses needed and the timeframe for payment and completion of the project. Advise on the contracts can be found later in this article.
4. CALCULATING THE MUSIC BUDGET
PCAM (The Society Of Producers and Composers Of Applied Music) publish a guideline for composers fees, which may be used as a very rough indicator of how much it will cost to commission music. The truth of the matter is that there are not set fees for this type of work, and budgets will be vary greatly, both below and above the figures they suggest.
1. BASIC FEE – A composer’s basic fee is variable, and depends on their experience, how busy they are, and what they feel they should be charging. A figure of £1500 to £3500 as a creative fee for a composition is commonplace.
2. Should a cut-down be needed after the initial terms are agreed, a fee of around 50% of the original can be charged. For example, if the original fee was £2500 for a 1 minute advert, but a new 30 second version of the ad is made later, a fee of £1250 could be negotiated. If both lengths are made at the same time, the initial fee would usually cover both versions.
3. On top of the creative fee, a production fee is usually added separately. This will be dependant on the complexity and costs involved, and will be more expensive depending on the number of musicians and/or third party facilities needed. This fee can sometimes be reduced to zero if a composer with the necessary facilities and skills is engaged. Singers’ fees are calculated using Equity rates, and usually substantially inflate the budget.
4. USAGE FEE – These fees are charged in addition to the basic fee using the a percentage of the Basic Fee:
i. Satellite & cable TV: 100%
ii. Terrestrial TV: 100%
iii. Cinema: 100%
iv. Network radio: 100%
v. Cutdowns: 50% (normally 1 or 2 cutdowns are included)
vi. Client or Agency Website: Free
vii. Streaming and Non-Downloadable: Typically 150% of composition fee.
viii. FREE Internet - Streaming or Downloadable: Typically 150% of composition fee or arrangement fee.
ix. Paid Internet - Streaming or Downloadable: Typically 100% of composition fee or arrangement fee per URL.
5. THE RIGHTS YOU NEED
a. Music Rights Explained
Whenever a piece of music, or other creative work, is created, it becomes the Intellectual Property of the creator. This is true whether the music created is a 3 second sting (such as the Intel mnemonic), a pop song or a huge orchestral work.
In the UK, music rights are assigned to the PRS so that performances can be kept track of and the composers fairly compensated for their performances. The amount of royalty the composer receives depends on the length of the music and the medium it is broadcast on.
This is a very well established operation and has been going for over 100 years. The royalties gathered provide an essential stream of income without which the music industry (and composers in particular) would struggle to survive.
There is commonly confusion about how PRS royalty payments are made, and who makes them. Production companies or advertising agencies sometimes believe they are responsible for them, but this is never the case. These payments are the sole responsibility of broadcasters (such as BBC and ITV) or content providers (such as YouTube) who play a levy (called a blanket license) to the PRS based on the amount of music they use in a given period of time.
For this reason, composers are not able to give a 100% buyout of all of their rights to a piece of music they have composed, as is sometimes requested by clients. This is not possible while their music is controlled by the PRS (or by the associated companies abroad such as ASCAP or BMI). But it not necessary in any case, as explained above, the costs of broadcasting music are not borne by the composer’s clients, but by the broadcaster of the music.
b. What copyright exists in music
There are principally 3 types of copyright to consider when we talk about music copyright.
i. Composition or Publishing Rights (the underlying structure of the song, including melodies, lyrics, chords, etc.). This is usually controlled by the composer and/or a publishing company.
ii. Sound Recording or Master Rights (the fixed master recording and/or audio file). Record labels and recording artists or composers own and control the master rights.
iii. Musical Performance rights. These rights are usually owned by whoever owns the sound recording, and are the rights to use the actual performances the musicians and singers have recorded.
c. What rights do I need then?
You need to obtain a synchronisation license from the composer in order to use the composed music in conjunction with the images it was written to go with. That license will usually form part of the contract between yourself (as the music commissioner) and the composer. It is not usually necessary to own the Sound Recording or control the Publishing Rights, as the synchronization license will allow you to use the music exactly as if you did own those rights, when the music is synchronized to your project. You will not be able to use the music for any other purpose without agreement from the composer or company that owns the copyrights.
Standard Terms
The license will state whether it is exclusive or non-exclusive. For original music branding purposes it is probably better to negotiate exclusive usage so that the music is not heard in conjunction with another brand. (This will be more expensive).
It will name the project that the music will synchronised to. Any other usage will have to be negotiated separately.
The length of time the license is valid for, and in which territories, will be defined, as well as the media that it may be used in.
The fee payable to the composer in respect of the license rights will be stated, and a declaration that this includes all third party costs will be made.
A declaration will be made by the composer that the work is original, they own the work, and they are free to assign the rights.
A declaration will be made that the composer controls all musical performance rights (often all the instruments will be performed by the composer in any case), and those rights will also be granted as part of license.
There may be other terms included, but these are the rights you need to use the music. Standard composer engagement and synchronization contracts are available from organizations such as PACT. Or your chosen composer will probably be able to provide you with one.
6. GO FOR IT
You already know that you need music in your campaign, or you would not have got this far. I hope you find as much enjoyment in commissioning music for your project as I have always found in composing music for picture. If there are any unanswered questions, please do get in touch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gareth Cousins has 25 years experience in working on music for picture. Originally trained as an engineer/producer at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, he has since become a busy producer and composer of music for film, television and advertising.
Gareth Cousins has 25 years experience in working on music for picture. Originally trained as an engineer/producer at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, he has since become a busy producer and composer of music for film, television and advertising.Recent commercial work includes FIFA (2014 World Cup), Rolls-Royce, MIG, Motorola and Cadbury.
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