What is music licensing?

Music licensing is simply getting permission to use an artist’s music. Maybe there’s a song you love that you’d like to use in a video. Or, you run a cafe and want to play your favorite album to customers. Or, you’re in a band and you want to cover a popular artist’s track in an upcoming gig. If you want to use music that isn’t your own, more often than not, you’ll need a music license.

Asking an artist for a license to use their music is easier said than done. Artists work alongside labels, publishers, songwriters, composers, and performing rights organizations. You need to know who to speak to (we’ll discuss this below). On top of that, you need to know what type of music license you need. Except, there’s no one-size-fits-all option for everyone.

There are six traditional types of music licenses. Each one grants permission to use either the composition or the recording (aka ‘master’) of a song for a specific type of project.

Synchronization License	Permission to pair a composition with visual media e.g. TV shows, films, ads, YouTube.
Master Recording License	To use a recording of a piece of music for a video or audio project.
Mechanical License	To physically reproduce music e.g. manufacture CDs or record a cover.
Print Rights License	To print or reproduce a physical copy of an artist’s sheet music.
Public Performance License	To play an artist’s music in public e.g. cafes, concerts, and clubs.
Theatrical License	To perform an artist’s work on-stage in front of an audience.

If you’re questioning if you really need a music license, the simple answer is yes. Get caught using an artist’s work and you could be sued for thousands. No one wants that. Licensing copyrighted music isn’t as complicated as it sounds. We’ve put together this beginner’s guide to music licensing, that tells you everything you need to know and skips the boring technical details.

1. How music copyright works
2. What is a music license
3. The 6 traditional types of music licenses
4. Modern music licensing companies
5. Finding music you can license

How music copyright works

Before we look at the different types of music licenses, it’s helpful to understand how music copyright works. In a nutshell, if you create something, you have the legal right to say how other people can use it. That’s copyright law. But, a piece of music can have more than one copyright.

In the music industry, when an artist, musician, or composer writes a piece of music, they own the copyright to that composition. It’s a form of intellectual property. As the composition’s copyright holder, the artist has the legal right to choose how other people can use their composition.

But, if the artist records that same piece of music, the recording (aka ‘master’) carries its own separate copyright that is owned by the record label. As the sound recording’s copyright holder, the record label has the legal right to choose how other people can use their recording.

Traditionally, if you wanted to use an artist’s music, you may have had to contact their music publisher or record to negotiate how much it would cost for you to use their respective composition or recording. However, today artists, publishers, and record labels work with music licensing companies such as Music Vine so you can easily license their artist’s music.

What is a music license

In simple terms, a music license is a legal document that provides permission to use a piece of music, whether that’s a seven-note composition such as ‘Happy Birthday’ or the recording of a complex orchestral score by Hans Zimmer.

The fundamentals of a music license are what kind of project you’re using it for, and how you’re going to distribute your project. These two fundamentals will determine which type of music license you need, and how much it will cost to ensure you’re properly licensed.

The 6 traditional types of music licenses

If you’re looking to license a track from a popular artist, you may find that they’re represented by a number of parties and that you may need to source separate music licenses from several of them. Logistically, that’s why licensing mainstream music can be complicated. Here’s an overview of the six different types of traditional music licenses you may need if you're looking to license a track by a commercial artist.

Synchronization License

Gives you permission to pair a composition with visual media. So, if you want to use a song for a TV show, film, advert, website, YouTube, PowerPoint presentation, or streaming platform such as Twitch, then you would traditionally need a Sync License to do so. They vary in price depending on type of visual media, size of production, and scale of distribution.

Master Recording License

Gives you permission to use the recording of a piece of music for a video or audio project. For example, if you wanted to use a Beatles song in a ‘Best of the 60s’ compilation you would require a Master License for the recording, and a Sync License for the composition. Master Licenses often obtained from either the artist or the record label responsible for the master recording.

Mechanical License

Gives you permission to make a copy of a song. So, if you wanted to manufacture an artist’s music on CDs, or any other tangible form, you’ll need a Mechanical License. You’ll also need one if you want to record a cover version of an artist’s music, no matter whether you change the lyrics, composition, or anything else about the original recording to create a derivative work.

Print Rights License

Gives you permission to reproduce lyrics or sheet music for an artist’s music. This type of license is most relevant for people looking to create a music book or reproduce a song sheet. Similarly to a Mechanical License, let’s say an orchestra wanted to produce sheet music for their own arrangement of another composition, they would require a Print Rights License to do so.

Public Performance License

Gives you permission to play an artist’s recorded music in public. This is the most common type of music license, and applies to any situation where you want to play music in public, whether that’s your restaurant, co-working space, or graduation ceremony. Public Performance Licenses are distributed by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) such as BMI, and ASCAP.

Theatrical License

Gives you permission to perform an artist’s work on-stage, in front of an audience. Similar to Print Rights Licenses and Mechanical Licenses, if your theatrical performance draws inspiration from an artist’s work, it doesn’t matter how much it deviates from the original, you will need a Theatrical License from the copyright owner.

Modern music licensing companies

Licensing music from popular artists can be extremely complicated and expensive because there can be many parties involved, including big record labels and music publishers. While filmmakers and video producers are always on the lookout for incredible music, they don’t always have the extensive budgets and time needed to license mainstream music.

To make life easier, modern music licensing companies such as Music Vine work directly with copyright holders, such as artists, publishers, and record label companies, to offer a single license solution. They give you permission to use both the composition and recording of a song, and your licensing fee is based on the project you’re working on, and how you’ll distribute it.

Finding music you can license

Hopefully, you now have a solid knowledge of both traditional and modern music licensing, as well as how music copyright works. Like we mentioned earlier, music licensing is all about getting permission to use an artist’s music. All that’s left is finding a song you want to license.

Get started. Browse Music Vine, the music licensing company used by creators, video professionals, music supervisors, and filmmakers. You can find incredible music and generate a music license agreement immediately. Listen to Music Vine’s catalog of world-class artists, producers, and composers, and hear the difference.