Thread: music licensing for a show

This is the thread that used to be hosting a show- insurance, licenses & legalities, but I am editing it because I found the answer to a few of my questions, & what I am really struggling with is the music issue.

Trying to open up more venues in our locale- I am looking at hosting a professional show next spring and don't know where else to turn for some of these questions!

I'm looking at breaking away from the all-comers welcome shows, doing a regular showcase, possibly with dinner, possibly not, of professional local dancers by invitation only. I do have some leeway, in that regards, as to what music we are using, etc. (as opposed to a hafla where we might end up with either hard to find music or something ultra mainstream requiring ascap licensing.) We are trying to get a band put together, but that could take a while & we're definitely not there yet!

I've looked through the catalogs that both BMI and ASCAP have online, and can't find the music I usually use. I know they say they'll get the money to the person who is supposed to get it anyway, but I'm skeptical. What do most folks do? work directly with the music producer/distributor? Do I say "you can only dance to something put out by Hollywood Music or Nourhan or what? I know most (if not all) local shows pretty much ignore this, but if this succeeds enough to repeat, I don't want anything coming back to bite me! If *I* am hosting but it is in a facility that regularly hosts entertainment (ballroom/restaurant, not theater) can I pass this headache back to the facility we are using? (somehow i doubt it, but worth asking!) If so, that might help determine which facility we use!

Does any of this change when/if we have a live band? Do considerations change if we consider filming it in the future (I know it will cost more, just wondering who to work through & how to select the music)

please help?

okay- looking over the ascap website, they can't license music for 'dramatic use' which includes the music being used in a dance show- so what do you all do? specify music from a particular production company?

I'm in Canada so likely procedure is different. However, looks like there are two main options. One is if the location is a restaurant/bar/club that already plays music, likely they already have the proper liscencing so you don't need to worry about it.

Alternatively, for locations that don't provide licensing, (theaters, community centers, halls, auditoriums) SOCAN (in Canada) has a "one off" licencing fee per event. Its not terribly expensive.

In either case, I'd check with the actual venue, as this is how I've found most of this info. Note that fees vary depending of if it is live or recorded music, but fees will apply if its recorded or live. As for live music that is original, I don't think there is a fee.

Once you record the show, if you're actually going to sell/distribute it, then you'd likely need to work with the licence holder of the music directly.

Hope this helps!

The first step is to talk to the event venue. They will usually have someone on staff who can tell you if they already hold the BMI/ASCAP permissions or if you would need to get those yourself.

BMI/ASCAP will not help with anything video related. The licensing from them is only for the actual performance itself. If you are going to have the video recorded for sale, you will have to negotiate with whoever owns the video/production rights. This is usually the artist themselves or the company that produces their music.

If you have a band that plays any music that is under copyright by other holders, you would still need to negotiate for those rights with the company/artist that owns the rights to the original music and you will need to make sure that you have the video and reproduction rights as well. The band who plays will also have to sign to give you the right to record/sell their performance.

If you have a band that plays their own compositions and only familiar music that is in the public domain, then you can negotiate with the band directly for the rights to use the music in the performance and video.

In general, when doing a video, I negotiate with a few different independent artists for the rights to use their songs and then give the performers the list of available artists/songs to use. Video rights (for videos to be sold) for songs are generally between $50-$250 per song, though I have been quoted $500 by one band. There are some great independent artists out there who will work with you on the pricing depending on the usage rights that you need.

I hope that helps! I am more familiar with the video side of it than the performance b/c the theatre where I generally host shows is already in compliance with BMI/ASCAP.

It's the responsibility of the venue to secure the music licensing unless they specifically pass that along to you. I rent a theater in a library and have to get music rights to do so. I generally get a concert license agreement as it's pretty inexpensive. I have to do reporting quarterly as to the number of tickets sold. But the other venues I use already have the music licenses in place.