Music Licensing Key Terms

Understand common terms related to licensing songs

By Kristina Seleshanko

When songwriters create music, the law protects their work so that others cannot profit from it without the copyright holder's permission. Today, most songwriters allow a special organization, like The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)or Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), to handle such legal permissions for them. But before you purchase the right to use a piece of music, it's vital to know what you are paying for. There are many different types of rights available, but each is specific to certain circumstances.

Berne Copyright Convention

The Berne Copyright Convention is an international treaty that says creators of music, books and other works don't need to file for copyright; their work is automatically protected by copyright law the moment of creation. Therefore, copyright law covers music without a copyright notice, and the creator or publisher must give permission before you can use it.
Try: At the Cornell University Law School website, you can read the complete text of the treaty.

Blanket license

A blanket license is issued by a performance rights society, such as ASCAP, and allows public performance of any and all songs in that society's catalog.
Try: For details on exactly what a blanket license is, visit the website MediaPositiveRadio.com.

Mechanical rights

Mechanical rights, also called a mechanical license, allow an individual or a company the right to record music and distribute it with the copyright holder's permission.
Try: Visit SAMRO, which explains in detail what mechanical rights are.

Performance rights

Performance rights, sometimes called public performance rights, allow the performance of copyrighted material in a public place. They can also allow the transmission of a song to the public via television or radio.
Try: Go to Royalty-Free.TV for an explanation of performance rights. The website also tells you how to obtain them.

Synchronization rights

Synchronization, or synch rights, allow the use of copyrighted music as background sound for a movie, commercial, television program or similar production.
Try: Attorney Wallace Collins discusses the importance of synchronization rights.

Public domain

By law, creative works can only remain under copyright protection for a certain number of years. Once that time passes, the work falls into public domain, which means people may use the music however the like without obtaining permission from the copyright holder.
Try: Haven Sound explains what public domain music is and how to know if a song is in the public domain.