When a “Simple” Music License Becomes a Month-long Process

I want to write about something that happened a few years ago, because I think it’s an experience that a lot of composers can probably relate to, especially if you work in the film/media industry.

A little disclaimer: this is just my personal experience. The laws and practices can be different in other countries.

A few years ago, I composed music for a commercial that ran on TV, radio, etc. I kept all of my rights and gave the company a license to use the music for a certain period of time. As always, I immediately registered the music and all of its cutdowns with my PRO, Buma/Stemra.

The company came back to me to renew the license a few more times. It sounded very simple. They sent me the music cutdown they wanted to use and asked for my new rates.

But a few years after, for a renewal, when I listened to the music, I noticed something strange: this was not the music that had been finalized and approved by the client at all. It was one of my earlier sketches.

When you compose for a project, you can easily make 10–15 different sketches before arriving at the final piece. In this case, they had kept several of my sketches and wanted to use one of them.

And this wasn't just a different cutdown of the original music. In terms of composition, the main theme, key, musical structure, etc. it was completely different from the final work. It was essentially another composition that I had never approved as the final music. (It wasn't even properly mixed and mastered!)

This was strange to me because the sketch had never been approved as the final music. It was simply something I had made and delivered during the creative process. I honestly hadn't expected them to keep my sketches and use them years later.

As I understood our agreement, this use was not covered by the original license. If they wanted to use this different composition, it needed to be licensed separately.

Of course, I brought this up. And then things started changing.

First, they disappeared. Then they came back and said they didn't know what had happened or if this different piece had been used.

Then they asked, okay, what now? They actually wanted to use this new piece anyway.

Then they decided they didn't want music at all.

Then, weeks later, they came back again and wanted another version.

Eventually, after quite a lot of back and forth, we agreed on a license for that specific sketch.

The lesson learned

Always clarify what happens to your sketches.

If you're sending multiple sketches to a client, make sure it's clear if they are allowed to keep them, use them, archive them, or use them in future projects, and under what terms.

And register all your music and sketches with your PRO. In my case, that's Buma/Stemra.

If a piece of music is used, registration gives them a way to identify and track that use and, where applicable, collect royalties for you.

From their side, perhaps each individual email was a small thing. For me, every change meant thinking about licensing, rights, contracts, cue sheets, Buma/Stemra registration, files, invoices, deadlines, and exactly what I was giving permission for.

And this is something I don't think we talk about enough as composers. When someone asks you for “just fifteen seconds,” they are not necessarily asking for just fifteen seconds.

There is the music itself, but there is also the license. The territory. The medium. The duration. The campaign. The different versions. The cue sheet. The registration. The contract. The invoice. And, sometimes, a ridiculous amount of email and phone calls. :)

I also realized something about my own boundaries:

I've always had this feeling that I should keep clients happy. I was taught, in a way, that if you are easy to work with, flexible, and generous, people will come back to you. And I do believe that being kind and flexible is valuable.

But there is a difference between being flexible and accepting any unclear situation.

I don't mind helping someone when something is genuinely small. But I also want to be much clearer in the future about exactly what's being licensed and what happens to all the other music and sketches that are sitting in someone's archive.

Because apparently, when you send someone a folder full of ideas, you should not assume those ideas will disappear into the void.

They might be sitting on someone's server few years later, waiting to become the soundtrack to a completely different version of a commercial.

And honestly, after this experience, I think I'm going to be much more careful about that.

Not because I don't want to work with people.

I do.

I just don't want a “simple little music request” to take a month of my mental energy again. Next time, I will write about a recent experience with a performer regarding composer's rights.