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Music License or Royalty Free Music? HELP!!!
I thought I saw a thread on this a while back but have not been able to locate it. There are many new Veeners now so I thought it is best to bring the issue of MUSIC up. Since I am opening a studio, I have become introduced to the wonderful world of music licensing… I wanted to cry just thinking about all of the companies I would need to pay! Does anyone have experience with this?? What do you do for your studio or business where you need to play music..? How much do you pay for music licensing? I've also been looking into royalty free music, and other things on ccmixter.org. I mean, for real…there are TONS of songs to chose from, but how many GOOD songs there are worth listening to is a different story. Does anyone know of a consistently good resource for finding music for studios, and even videos for youtube, etc. HELP!!!
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5 Replies
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Thanks chemi! There is some good info here but I am hoping someone has some updated info… The rates change every year, and there are a few of the music companies (like no one mentioned BMI). So how do I know which one to pay, or just pay them all, or is paying one just good enough…? I also am wondering where people get good royalty free music. I hear some good stuff, that isn’t loaded with ads, so I am assuming it is royalty free…maybe there is something I’m missing, or there is a go to spot that I haven’t found.
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Thanks chemi! There is some good info here but I am hoping someone has some updated info… The rates change every year, and there are a few of the music companies (like no one mentioned BMI). So how do I know which one to pay, or just pay them all, or is paying one just good enough…? I also am wondering where people get good royalty free music. I hear some good stuff, that isn’t loaded with ads, so I am assuming it is royalty free…maybe there is something I’m missing, or there is a go to spot that I haven’t found.
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The two you will need to pay are ASCAP and BMI. The only way to find out what your fee schedule will be is to contact them as it varies based on geographic location, square footage of your studio, expected audience etc…
In most cases you need to just pay them, even if you don't play any music they license since, music licensing law is one of the few places in US regs where you are guilty until proven innocent. If you don't pay, they will eventually send you a letter demanding payment and it will be your job to prove that you don't play any of their music and not their job to prove that you did.
It's a huge racket but its the way things are. Restaraunts, coffee shops, exercise studios and other establishments just pay these fees either directly or as a pass through with wired music services, simply because the cost and hassle of fighting it is too great.
The benifit is that if you are properly licensed you can play anything at your studio and never have to worry if its legal or not.
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Thanks so much! That’s what I needed to know 🙂 it is a peace of mind to have all of my I’s dotted and T’s crossed anyway, instead of cutting corners.
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