What's The Difference Between Royalty Free Music, Copyright Free Music And Commercial Music For Advertising?

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LISTS & GUIDES

What's The Difference Between Royalty Free Music, Copyright Free Music And Commercial Music For Advertising?

By Savannah Hall

2023-06-19

So you’ve found the perfect sound track for your content. Now you need to go and license it. With so much music at your disposal, understanding the complex minefield of the different types of rights can initially seem quite daunting. Royalty free, copyright free, commercial, MCPS - what does it all mean?

Fear not! We’ve put together a handy guide to unpacking all of the jargon and outlining how music rights differ.

Royalty free music

Music royalties are recurring payments that are made to artists and musicians when their music is played, be that in an advert, public space or streamed online. In the UK, these are collected and distributed by PRS for Music, in other territories these royalties will be collected by other performing rights organisations (PRO’s). In some cases, however, an artist may allow their music to be licenced royalty free, meaning that they ask for a one off fee, without additional payment, or royalties, for subsequent use, though the exact use may be restricted to only certain kinds of media.

Royalty free music is one of the most mis-used terms in production music. Sometimes it is advertised as royalty free music, but in reality what they mean is that the library will not be collecting any royalties from the creator of the content, but from the platform that the content is hosted on. For example if your video is hosted on Youtube then Youtube has to pay a small performance royalty to the rights owner of that song.

Copyright free music

Music copyright refers to the legal ownership of a composition (publishing / sync) or sound recording (master). Copyright free music means that the music can be used without additional permission or a fee given to the copyright holder. The most common example of this is public domain music or a copyright free production library.

Where music is in the public domain, the rights may have been waived by the original copyright owner or, in most cases, the length of copyright may have been exceeded and therefore expired. The most common example of the latter are traditional songs or compositions by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart.

Typically the length of copyright is determined by the number of years since the copyright owners’ death, however, this varies by territory so it’s always best to check this in line with the required territories needed for your advert rather than assuming. For example, in the UK, the length of copyright is 70 years after the death of all writers; whereas in South Africa, it is only 50 years. With this in mind, if your advertising campaign is airing in the UK and South Africa, the rules for the UK would apply here as it is a longer length of copyright.

It’s also worth noting that if a composition is in the public domain then any sound recording may not be free to use. The master recording will typically need to be licenced, whether that is via a music library or a commercial record label. Out/Standard has a number of recordings of public domain compositions that can be licenced at production music library rates.

Commercial music

Music is commercial when it is released for the purpose of generating revenue, be that through sales, streaming or downloads. When licensing music for advertising, commercial music refers to songs that either already are publicly released or intended for public release by a record label or publisher for purposes beyond just sync licensing. Often the fees expected for licensing commercial music will be more significant than for library or royalty free music.

At Out/Standard, we have the privilege of working with a host of artists who have also released acclaimed work commercially, including Laura-Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes, Daniel Pemberton and Thomas Sanders of Teleman. Their work for Out/Standard is available to licence at production music library rates.

MCPS libraries

MCPS stands for Mechanical Copyright Protection Society and their rights are handled by PRS for Music. Production music libraries that fall into this category are those whose catalogues are registered and pre-cleared under a standard agreement with MCPS and whose fees align with a set rate card depending on the type of usage. The licensing process is administered on behalf of the libraries by PRS, making it a quick and often cost-effective alternative to using commercial music. Out/Standard is out of the MCPS model, meaning we can licence music to you with flexible and affordable rates.

OUT/STANDARD’s licensing model

OUT/STANDARD's USP is our ability to operate in a hybrid model to meet all possible music requirements from our clients such as being flexible with fees, tweaking tracks, or bespoke work at a very competitive price. OUT/STANDARD makes licensing simple and easy as we control 100% of our music. Our licences can cover any usage, territory and term you require. We offer flexibility with our licenses and pricing to work with every project. Our rates are in line with production library fees set by the MCPS (see below), most libraries will be tied to this rate card therefore they don’t have the freedom to modify fees like O/S. Out/Standard only produce high quality music crafted by real artists designed for picture. Hopefully once you hear the music it will speak for itself!

Please get in touch if you need more advice on any of the above.

LISTS & GUIDES

Who Has The Coolest Music Merch?

Artists used to be able to make money selling music. These days though, they are expected to make a bit more of an effort: some even get out of bed before noon! As a result, band merchandise has improved immeasurably from the days when it was enough to just print your band’s name on a crap t-shirt. In our years in the industry, we’ve seen countless tiny bands play a gig for less money than it took to fill their van with petrol. And then absolutely kill it on the merch table, taking 10 times more cash than their fee. Here is a list of artists who are making great merchandise to go along with their awesome musical offerings. DMA's recently released a handful of signed cassettes to celebrate the launch of their latest album, directing users to their store page to snap up one of the limited edition tapes. Kaytranada's Long Sleeve Bubba Tee Bubba made waves in 2019, earning Kaytranada a Grammy and making some history in the process. Along with a new three-song EP Intimidated, Kaytranada is feeding his fans well. He takes a minimalist approach with his merch, specifically with this long-sleeve featuring Kaytranada gazing at us through the shirt. Young Thug's Skateboard Deck Skaters and Thugger fans alike need to buy this Punk-adorned skate deck. Phoebe Bridgers made the full skeleton suit iconic Creepy but cool? First Aid Kits Super Cool Tote Now this is cool Rosalía sticker pack The 1975 tote bag Björk's Christmas ornament

EDITORIAL

How Has Tiktok Influenced Music Taste?

New Means Of Marketing For Emerging Talent The rise of TikTok has ushered in a new era of music discovery and propelled artists into unprecedented levels of virality. The platform's short-form video format, coupled with its algorithm-driven content recommendation, has transformed the way music spreads and resonates with audiences. Gone are the days of sifting through records of your favourite artists, now you need only open up TikTok and instantly you will be exposed to previously undiscovered tracks. The sheer speed at which songs can go viral on TikTok has significantly shortened the distance between undiscovered talent and mainstream success, fostering a democratised environment for music appreciation. This viral nature has not only redefined the traditional music industry but has also empowered a diverse range of artists to connect with a massive and engaged audience, breaking down barriers to entry and reshaping the landscape of popular music. The influence of TikTok's virality on music underscores the platform's role as a dynamic catalyst in shaping contemporary musical tastes and trends. Old Music, New Audience TikTok challenges, where users create and share videos set to specific songs, have turned obscure tracks into chart-toppers and provided a global stage for emerging artists; they have also brought old songs back into the mainstream. Last year, the success of Stranger things launched Kate Bush to the top of the charts 30 years after the release of her last chart topping album and who hasn’t seen people dancing to Sophie Ellis - Baxter’s “Murder on the Dance Floor” albeit in a slightly more ‘ahem’ “family friendly” format than Barry Keogan’s iteration in Amazon’s “Saltburn.” While virality is hard to predict and relies heavily on an element of luck, more and more artists are finding Tiktok as a means of bringing their music to an entirely new audience without spending thousands on expensive traditional means of marketing. Content vs Music. However, while Tiktok might give opportunities to artists at the start of their career or revitalise artists that have fallen out of the mainstream, it also comes with a huge burden. Artists are expected to be full-time content creators, editors and directors as well as musicians. Where Tiktok has taken power away from labels in terms of distribution, it has also increased the expectation on artists to come as the complete package. The result of this is that artists that want to focus entirely on their music can be overlooked on the grounds of lacking vitality or consistency of content creation. Impact On Music Taste The Tiktok Algorithm often favours similar-sounding hooks and audio that resonate with users. This, however, has sparked a conversation about the potential homogenisation of musical tastes, as the preference of certain elements may limit the diversity of music that gains mainstream traction on the app and subsequently within the broader music industry. Gone is the traditional verse - chorus - verse structure, with greater emphasis on catchy 15-30 second clips, leading to a shift where the hook takes centre stage. Consequently, there's a notable trend where artists craft their compositions with an eye on marketability rather than pursuing the artistic expression they genuinely prefer, giving rise to edits of tracks that better fit cinematic visual content such as the trend of “slowed and reverbed” remixes. This evolution raises questions about the fine balance between crafting music for virality and preserving the essence of authentic artistic creation within the TikTok-dominated musical landscape.

EDITORIAL

Bethann Hardison - A True Out/Sider

The name Bethann Hardison may not be familiar if you don't keep an eye on the fashion world, but you've definitely witnessed her tireless dedication to making the fashion industry more inclusive and diverse. At O/S we always strive to champion the OUT/SIDER, people who craft work that matters. It was a pleasure to work with our writer Niall Galvin who wrote the beautiful bespoke music for the trailer of the new documentary 'Invisible Beauty' by Magnolia Pictures which demonstrates why we owe Hardison a world of gratitude. Invisible Beauty explores Hardison's career from defiantly strutting onto the French and American fashion scene as an unmistakably Black model to being the first Black woman to own a racially diverse modeling agency to calling out design houses, including Calvin Klein and Prada, for their “No Blacks, no ethnics” attitude about casting models to starting the Black Girls Coalition. WE ARE OFTEN ASKED WHY THE NAME OUT/STANDARD? OUT/STANDARD was selected on its abstract curiosity. OUT/STANDING would have been too literal. I mean, we are outstanding but, well, you get the idea. OUT/STANDARD seems to reference the position we feel with the rest of the production music industry. Why settle for standard when there are much more exciting things you can do with music.

O/S MEETS

Ever Wondered What Your Favourite Beer Sounds Like? Did You Make Our Evening of Sensory Exploration?

Can music influence the taste of food? 😋 👀 The connections between our experience of flavour and sound has been a growing area of research over the last few years. With neuroscientists, chef’s and musicians all collaborating to test new insights. Always wanting to push the boundaries of creative exploration with music, we brought this to life for our 5th birthday party with our sensory exploration evening. 🧪 The experiment was conducted using a background soundscape that was developed by our sound engineers collaborating with research professors that explored associations between variations in style, pitch and tone alongside the perception of sour, sweet, bitter, and salty flavours. Did you make the cut? 🎬 Click below to watch the epic night captured in two minutes, alongside our brilliant curation of live music and DJ’s across the evening. https://vimeo.com/854392110

O/S MEETS

Holly Williamson Interview - Head of Music Big Picture LA

O/S MEETS

Calum Brice-Stevens Interview - Music Supervisor @ Intermission Film

The trailer industry has changed a lot over the last decade so O/S spoke to three experts in the field to gain their insight on the evolution of the trailer, what makes a great one, and new trends to look out for! Check out our interview below with Calum Brice-Stevens Music Supervisor @ Intermission Film 🔥🚀 Please describe your role and a brief history of how you got here. I'm an in-house Music Supervisor for the mighty Intermission Film. Looking after our music use around the globe, working closely with music partners to clear and negotiate rights, helping edit and production teams find the right sound for Trailers, Film/TV Marketing Content and Documentaries. Over a decade ago I graduated in Sound Design Technology with first-class honours from the University of Hertfordshire, from there I grafted in a number of runner/assistant jobs in Post-Production, two production music libraries and a sync agency. A love of weird tunes with an ear for a hook, and the ability to vibe with editors as the oil between the gears of production has led me to where I am today! What is it that makes a trailer great? Great source material, strong creative direction, a highly collaborative edit and production team that is willing to take chances, and ultimately, telling a story without giving it all away. How vital do you see the role of music in a great trailer? Try watching a trailer without music or sound design, and it's soon obvious... It makes or breaks it! What are the most memorable trailers that you have worked on or have been inspired by over the years, and why? Recently, our trailer at Intermission for RYE LANE from Searchlight Pictures. Getting to work with the venerable Kwes. was a blast and a real inspiration. From a style he'd forged for the film's score, he wizarded up something that not only captures the essence of the film, but also grabs the audience by the ears and throws them straight into a trailer. Another is WAR PONY for Picturehouse. A masterclass in teamwork making the dream work and fluid collaboration with producers - I'm always blown away by the editor's abilities to work music so seamlessly into a cut and this was no exception, resulting in something poetic and elevated. I'm grateful to be lucky enough to work with inspiring people every day. What are the most memorable pieces of music used on a trailer? An all time inspiration has got to be the first trailer for ROGUE ONE . Incorporating Ben Burtt's OG Death Star battle alarm Sound Design, with deconstructed John Williams' score slowly being pieced together over the trailer, ramping up tension and chills - simply slaps. What are the future trends in the trailer industry? Something that fulfills the role of musical punctuation in a new light, I'd wager. Replacing braams, single piano pings, flurries of staccato strings... Perhaps the days of whispery topline hook intros might be on their way out - we're definitely in the golden era of non-lyrical vocal motifs, such as our recent work for Picturehouse with CORSAGE and I think that's a trend not going away any time soon. Is the way music is getting used changing? Music's use is ever more fluid within trailers, you need only look at how so many blockbuster trailers hinge on a deconstructed vocal line or cover... Long gone are the days of a track simply playing out under an edit. I think more artists are seeing the value in being flexible with their tracks to help them work better in an edit above all else.

O/S MEETS

Gareth Molan Interview - Lead Trailer Editor/ HOP Coffee and Cigarettes

LISTS & GUIDES

7 Step Guide On How To Choose Music For Your Advertising Campaign 🚀

Music has the power to change our perception of our favourite brands and choosing the right music for your advertising campaign can take the spot to new heights. The already whimsical visual of the Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’ advert wouldn’t have been the same without the infectious drum break from ‘In The Air Tonight’ and José González’ version of Heartbeats is synonymous with multicoloured balls bouncing down a San Francisco street. Picking the right track is a real game changer. But how do you do this? We got the Out/Standard music team to share their best tips on how to choose music for your commercial. Be Emotional We’re not suggesting that you get deep in your feelings when creating your content, but an awareness of potential emotive responses is key. The music should add to whatever mood you are trying to convey, be it on the nose or purposefully ironic. For example, if the mood of the advert is sad, an upbeat song may take away from the sadness. Try to think of the music as an additional character, one who is coming in to steer the plot of the commercial to a cohesive conclusion. Set The Mood This is where you can have a bit of fun and play around with different songs and styles of music. Build a sonic moodboard or playlist of a range of tracks that you like and think could work and explore from there. Try out everything from old and new, well known to hidden gems - this is your chance to really explore. Perhaps even try something completely unexpected and throw in some curveballs, as this could inspire a surprising feel that syncs really well for your commercial. Importance of Music Consider what role music plays in your commercial. Take the John Lewis Christmas advert for example, where the music choice is a topic of conversation for consumers and music tastemakers alike even before the ad comes out. In instances like this, the music should be discussed as early in the process as possible. Consider how critical the music is and how much the overall feel of the commercial changes depending on the music. Planning Starting to think about music as early as you can in the process certainly helps in making the process smoother. This could be in the form of sharing an animatic or early cut of the edit, this can really help guide a music supervisor and it helps them to get into the ‘psychology’ of the project. Alongside a description of the ambition of the edit. Are you launching a new product or is this a rebrand? Forward planning on any specific deadlines for the project will help to ensure the most appropriate response as some ways of working take longer than others. Don’t Forget To Budget Whilst it seems as though we have the entire history of recorded music at our fingertips, freely available doesn’t necessarily mean free to use. Consider how much you can actually spend on the music for your commercial and budget accordingly. If you put a famous reference track on the first edit and the client likes it, it will be very hard to replace it. So have a few budget friendly options on the table and be realistic about what you can afford from the offset. If it is a well known song by a hugely popular artist, expect a fee that is relative to their popularity! Remember the Out/Standard production music library is flexible on its fees depending on your usage terms. We can always provide a cost effective solution. Who Is It For? Consider who your target audience is and what their preferred genres might be. What music may a 18 year old student from Bath connect with that a 45 year old nurse from Glasgow may not? Who and what genres speak to them specifically and which speak to a broad range of demographics. Consider if there are any genres that would not resonate. Check What Licence You Need Before your commercial goes live, remember to dot your I’s and cross your T’s regarding the music licence. Ensure that your required rights are covered off by your licence or you might need to take your commercial down. What media is required? Which territories is the commercial going out in? Will it be geo-locked? How long will the commercial be live? These are all things to consider before it goes live. Out/Standard is all pre-cleared and royalty free, therefore it is ready to use music for your advertising campaign.

EDITORIAL

Charity Partnership: The Juno Project

OUT/STANDARD partners with The Juno Project charity The Juno Project empowers vulnerable teenage girls to achieve their goals in spite of their challenges. THEIR MISSION IS SIMPLE. ENCOURAGE, ENTHUSE AND EMPOWER. The Juno project work with girls aged 13-16 who've experienced a range of challenging and difficult circumstances, and encourage them to explore their behaviours, attitudes and responses - and develop a growth mindset that will enable them to overcome barriers and achieve whatever goals they set themselves. It's powerful, it's phenomenally successful, and it's humbling. And it's based on these three simple words. ENCOURAGE, ENTHUSE AND EMPOWER. The Juno Project work with the girls over either 8 or 12 weeks, exploring: The relationships they have with themselves The relationships they have with other people Employability skills In small groups, the girls share their experiences and concerns and, in conjunction with a trained facilitator, develop positive strategies and a growth mindset to capitalise on their skills, and move forwards from any challenges or less positive behaviour patterns. They then pair them with a mentor at the end of the Yr 11 programme, who supports them for the next two years; helping them through their transition from school to college, an apprenticeship, or a job. OUT/STANDARD are proud to support The Juno Project charity and the great programmes they offer young girls despite their challenges. OUT/STANDARD is providing regular donations alongside meeting with the girls to enthuse and inspire a career in music HOW CAN I DONATE? You can make a donation to us through Give As You Live. Alternatively you could donate a regular monthly amount through Payroll Giving.

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LISTS & GUIDES

What's The Difference Between Royalty Free Music, Copyright Free Music And Commercial Music For Advertising?

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Who Has The Coolest Music Merch?

How Has Tiktok Influenced Music Taste?

Bethann Hardison - A True Out/Sider

Ever Wondered What Your Favourite Beer Sounds Like? Did You Make Our Evening of Sensory Exploration?

Holly Williamson Interview - Head of Music Big Picture LA

Calum Brice-Stevens Interview - Music Supervisor @ Intermission Film

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7 Step Guide On How To Choose Music For Your Advertising Campaign 🚀

Charity Partnership: The Juno Project