There are a lot of student / new composers out there who will be pleased to work on a project for just a credit. Sadly, if you have a well-known song in mind, there will always be licensing issues, but plenty of composers could write in the style of the piece but without infringing copyright or resorting to dodgy 'soundalike' compositions.

?url="http://www.original-music.net"?Original Music?/url? for film and TV.

there are a lot of composers out there on the internet these days as others have said. i would check out a site like: ?url="http://freelancemusiccomposers.com"?freelance music?/url?

In many countries, copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 50 years, so the copyright on the classical music has run out by far, and you can use Mozart, Beethoven, and so on without fear of breaking the law and being sued.

There are other pieces that are in the public domain, even though the author has not passed away, and you can use them. If you are doing a fan film (of, say, Star Wars) and are not going to profit from your film, the companies (say George Lucas) may allow you to use the theme song without charge.

Of course you also understand that while the actual piece written by
Mozart Beethoven, and so on is in the public domain the arrangements
and recordings are not.

Are you certain about using the John Williams "Star Wars" theme?

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

quote:

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Are you certain about using the John Williams "Star Wars" theme?

---

No, I'm not - any fan should write to Lucasfilm and get proper permission.

A good solution for using classical music is as follows:

Find a piece of classical music that you like (any recording will work for this purpose);
Find out if the work itself is in public domain (Some Ravel, Prokofiev, Stravinski, etc. may still be copyrighted in some jurisdictions around the world, such as the US);
Get the score from http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page or similar site that hosts public-domain classical works for free download;
Get musicians/students who would be willing to record this piece for free (craig's list, music schools and others might be good places to advertise). Obviously, you can't record a symphony orchestra in your home studio, but solo piano, or a chamber ensemble can be successful.

If you need to have that orchestral piece, get the score, find a proficient keyboard studio musician (easier to find than chamber ensemble) who would be willing to record the orchestral score into a sequencer using good sampled sounds (GarageBand with JamPack "Orchestra" is great for that). This gives you the freedom to modify the score to suit your picture, and the resulting sound can be perfectly acceptable. In fact, most big-name Hollywood film composers use computers and software (Finale or Sibelius) for their scores deliver the "polaroid" tracks to their directors first. These "polaroids" are computer renderings using built-in sample playback modules within Finale or Sibelius. The technology has advanced so much that a skillful musician can, with some effort, re-create a classical score that will sound quite like a live orchestra.

hi there ?8)?,

my name's Eric,
I make music & I have made interpretations/re-orchestrations of 3 pieces by Claude Debussy,
I've recently put some of my music for sale on a royalty-free music/video/picture/flash website that some of you may already know,
the Debussy pieces are the latest tracks I uploaded there,
so I invite you to pop-up & try them,
you might find them interesting ?:p?

they're not free, but very cheap affordable ?;)?
(depending on the use/license)
so please feel free to clic the link in my signature to give them an ear or 2,
& feel free to comment, crticise, request or advise ?:D? ...

& well, even if you don't like my music (or my renditions of Debussy's)
you'll surely find other affordable royalty-free tracks that you'll find useful on the website ...

BLESSINGS

Eric

try my (royalty-free) music here http://audiojungle.net/collections/316635-various&ref=Taotekid

quote:

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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul

quote:

---

Are you certain about using the John Williams "Star Wars" theme?

---

No, I'm not - any fan should write to Lucasfilm and get proper permission.

---

Chances are if you want to use a recording of a classical piece of music, the recording you're using is not older than 50 years old. So you'll still need to pay publishing on the piece in addition to the sync licensing fee.

David Schatanoff
D Studios Productions

Be very careful when reading some of this advice!

There are a number of 'rights' owned on a single music track you may be thinking of using. There are rights to use the SONG (normally owned by the publisher) AND rights to the RECORDING (normally owned by the record label). For most commercial releases there may be more than one 'right holder' to each 'side' of the rights to that piece of music.

If you later want to release the film on DVD, or post it online you will need extra rights from all the 'rights holders'. Even 'Royalty Free' music sites have very clear licensing terms and conditions. A future change of use or distribution of the film may contravene the licensing agreement. You need to research ALL of the rights holders properly and get all of their permissions IN WRITING. Failure to do so may be an infringement of copyright and lead to prosecution.

Don't presume that because music is old or commonly used that it is free to use - or in the public domain. There are many websites that list public domain music titles... not all of them are accurate. Also the law is different in varying countries. If you intend your film to be seen abroad you may need to check the requirements of each country regarding musical copyright.

Ignorance of the law is not a defence if you are taken to court! You could end up with a hefty fine and be left with crippling legal costs.

If in doubt get advice before syncing music to your film.

Regards

Paul Curtis
Creative Director
Mango Reel ? Independent Music Consultancy
A full-service music licensing and supervision consultancy for TV, Film and Advertising www.mangoreel.com

quote:

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Originally posted by Mango Reel

Be very careful when reading some of this advice!

---

Hi Paul, welcome to filmmaking.net.

What rights mentioned here should people be
careful about? Anything specific that is incorrect?

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Hi CI -

This is as relevent for non-profit work as commissioned film projects with distribution:

In my experience the ease of getting music for personal use - services such as iTunes, Napster etc - plus online file sharing/illegal downloads is creating an impression that music is easily downlaoded, a commodity, and that by paying any fee (purchasing CD etc) it can be used without limitation. There's some great options for music on a budget and some of the posters have listed a few of them already.

I love promoting new music for film but as a music supervisor spend a LOT of time helping indie filmmakers sort out the 'small print' - often when its too late! It can get costly to renegotiate licensing terms after production. If you're submitting projects to distributors / sales agents / festivals etc they'll start running if they suspect there will be legal implications or additional costs involved in securing 'rights'. I always remind clients that the sales company/distributor are interested in the completed film (including the soundtrack). Having to replace songs and re-edit the film (or worse pay extra licensing fees because a filmmaker didn't spend enough time checking details) always ends up as a compromise and can damage the impact of the original production.

The most important thing to do is get EVERYTHING in writing first. Even if using music from a band or a composer 'that wants to get their music in film / for credits / exposure' etc. Unless the filmmaker has got a licensing agreement (or written confirmation to use the piece of music) they leave themselves open to attack of copyright infringement etc... even if they've paid the composer / band money for the track. The copyright holder will always win in this situation and there is LOTS of criminal and civil case law in the public domain to support this. Without an agreement the composer can revoke the right to use the music on any number of grounds - whether it be financial, ethical, moral, religious... or just because they changed their minds.

Another thing you need is an indemnity or warranty from the band/composer about using samples in their music... this is becoming more of an issue with the large number of 'bedroom composers' wanting to get their music in film etc. If a piece of music includes an unauthorised sample in the work, the filmmaker can be liable legally unless they can prove they have made every effort to ensure the music is completely original. This can be a nightmare if not dealt with properly - the filmmaker may have no idea if the music contains an illegal sample of music work. Even some computer instrument & loop libraries have specific restrictions about using the manufacturer's material
in some contexts. A good example is when manufacturers allow musicians to download 'virtual instruments' for demo use. There is normally a clause in the demo licensing agreement that specifically forbids the use of that software for anything other than evaluation purposes... which means any use of that demo product on a film's score is illegal! Professional / experienced composers are aware of this and ensure they buy full versions of these products with the right license agreements to work in the media. Less scrupulous 'amateurs' may use pirated copies of the software - which are illegal copies (theft) and as a result threaten the validity of your project:

Imagine you've just spent your hard earned cash on your dream car. You've saved for it and are proud to be driving it. You had no idea it was stolen and bought it in good faith - but that doesn't make a difference when the Police tow it away and you've lost both your money and car! This is the filmmaking version!

Also if using 'royalty free' music libraries check the license agreements. The term 'royalty free' can be misleading and is not 100% accurate - but is a nice marketing tool. In effect buying a 'royalty free' CD or collection will normally allow you to use the music on that CD for your projects under a 'blanket license' - i.e. you can use the tracks as many times as you like under the terms of the license agreement. However you need to check the agreements and small print carefully. I've found quite a few agreements that are very specific about how the music can be used and if there are additional costs for changing distribution of the film etc. The danger is putting a CD on your shelf and building a library of your own (which is a great idea!) but the license agreements will be different from CD to CD (or download to download) and have different exclusions etc. You need to know what you can and can't do with the music.

I'm not trying to make the process difficult - quite the contrary. If you're max-ing out a credit card to make a 'no budget' short, or got a multi-million budget for a Hollywood feature, the implications are still the same. There's a great choice of music now available from many sources allowing filmmakers to be really creative. By following some simple 'best-practice' the process becomes easy and risk free for the filmmaker.

Remember: the filmmaker needs to show he has made every effort to secure all the correct rights and usage of the music. Having these things confirmed in WRITING is evidence of that (I even keep all emails etc logged with license agreements in a project folder so I can show all correspondance with clients and rights holders as part of my professional indemnity).

Hopefully you'll never need to prove it - but getting in to the habit of following 'best practice' early in your film career is the best way to protect yourself from costly legal costs if your work is ever challenged. This is about protecting yourself, your work, your reputation, and your filmmaking future!

Hope that helps

Regards

Paul Curtis
Creative Director
Mango Reel ? Independent Music Consultancy
A full-service music licensing and supervision consultancy for TV, Film and Advertising www.mangoreel.com

When you warned us to be very careful reading some if this advice I was
wondering what advice that was posted here was incorrect and not corrected.

What advice here on this thread were you advising us to be very careful about?

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Sorry - maybe it should have been clearer and got lost in my long post - my warning is to (1) be very careful if approaching people you don't know and accepting their music in your film - whether its free or otherwise. And (2) getting someone to compose and record 'sound-a-likes' or perform from sheet music of 'public domain' music is an area fraught with danger... especially if its an area the filmmaker or composer is not 100% confident where they stand legally.

There's firms of lawyers who specialise in this litigation and potential copyright infringement making nice livings off the back of it!

I personally know of several filmmakers in recent months who have used music they found on the internet from 'composers' / 'band' websites (with apparent permission from the 'composer') only to subsequently find the music had been 'stolen' from a REAL professional composer and retitled as if it was something different. This can be a major downside of sites like Myspace as there's little way of checking real ownership. I also know of cases where a band member presumed they owned the rights to a piece of music and granted a filmmaker the right to use it verbally - only to find later that the record label, publisher, manager, co-writer etc etc etc actually controlled some of the rights and refused to grant their share.

Shannon Coulter publishes a free ebook (I have no connection) that is well worth reading before making any advances to use music in a film http://boomboxserenade.typepad.com/boombox_serenade/ebook.html. There's no problem with WHERE to get the music (in the above posts) as long as you know WHAT you need and WHY you need to protect yourself and your film... 🙂

Regards

Paul Curtis
Creative Director
Mango Reel ? Independent Music Consultancy
A full-service music licensing and supervision consultancy for TV, Film and Advertising www.mangoreel.com

Makes complete sense. I would say, the only fairly safe area is when dealing with classical music from, say, 19th century and earlier (anything from Bach, through Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Bizet, Puccini, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Wagner, etc). I would very carefully check the legal situation for Ravel, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and others from the turn of the century. As long as you hire your own musician(s) to perform and record these public-domain works and make sure no specific legal language gives them any mechanical rights to the recordings, you legally own those recordings. Also make sure that the works are as originally published (i.e. a symphony for orchestra, a string quartet for four strings, etc), and not some contemporary arrangements of old works (Dvorak's New World Symphony arranged for marching band).

Otherwise, legal music will continue to present an annoying challenge for independent and aspiring filmmakers.

You're right, Paul. While your post is informative and very detailed
I did get lost finding the answer to my question. The advice on this
thread seemed pretty good to me. No one telling others that copyright
didn't matter or offering poor advice. Several suggesting to be very
careful, have contracts and/or use a lawyer. So I was really looking for
more specific reasons why you warned us to be careful when reading
some of the advice here.

Nothing specific jumped out at you as something to be wary of? You just
want to advice filmmakers to be cautious.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)