Music licences are agreements that give individuals and businesses the right to use music at events, at public displays, in marketing or business materials, and in media, film and entertainment.
Licence types: mechanical, sync and performance licences
The music industry typically distinguishes between three types of licence: mechanical licences, synchronisation licences and performance licences.
Mechanical licences give individuals or businesses the right to make and distribute copies of music on a physical or digital medium, including CDs, vinyl disks, audio-only streaming or downloads.
Synchronisation licences give individuals or businesses the right to use a piece of music as an audio track in audiovisual media– such as television, film, online video, video games, commercials and similar.
Performance licences allow individuals or businesses to perform the licenced music in a public setting, such as a concert, multi-media show, circus, bar, restaurant or café.
When working with traditional music publishers and agents, businesses often need to get multiple licences to secure all the rights they need to play music safely and legally. For example, a business may hire an artist to play a particular piece at their live event, and then upload the recording from that event (with snippets of the music) to their public social media channels. In that case, the business would need to secure a synchronisation licence and a performance licence to cover their licencing needs.
Licence scopes: location and duration of music licences
Beyond specifying the type of licence (mechanical, sync and/or performance), a licencing agreement should also indicate the scope of the of licence, with respect to the duration and geographic area that is covered.
Fixed-term or subscription licences
A music licence can – for example – be designed as a fixed term or as an annual or multi-year subscription. Fixed-term licences are common for events, like ragtime festivals, concerts, business fairs, and conferences. Annual or multi-year subscriptions are usually used for creator content on social media, and background music in restaurants, bars, cafes, and physical stores.
Geography: local, national, or international licences
Music licences can be local, national or international. Local licences often permit use in specific venues, towns or cities, and are commonly used in agreements with brick-and-mortar businesses, who have can clearly define the geographic area (e.g. hotel locations, restaurant venues, stores, etc.) for which they plan to licence music.
National licences give businesses the freedom to use music within the boundaries of a single country’s jurisdiction. They are the most common type of music licence for businesses who operate in one country only, or have separate legal entities for each jurisdiction.
International licences give businesses the freedom to use music in multiple countries, or even worldwide. International licences have become more popular in recent years thanks to the rise of streaming, global multimedia enterprises and social media content that can be accessed by a global audience.
Exclusive and non-exclusive licences
An exclusive licence gives a business the sole right to use a particular piece of music. Exclusive licences are well worth the premium price when a business sees a soundtrack or theme song as a core brand asset. In that case, an exclusive licence ensures that no competitor or other popular brand can licence the same song. This reduces reputational risk for the business in question, and allows them to safely build their brand identity around their chosen music.
Non-exclusive licences give a business the right to use a particular piece of music, but they don’t restrict the composer or licence owner from signing licence agreements with other businesses.
At Lion Ragtime, we try to avoid offering non-exclusive licences to direct competitors of our customers, so you can rest assured that the music you licenced won’t simultaneously be used by a comparable brand in the same industry or geographic area.
Licences for ragtime music
We have a wide range of ragtime music available for licencing – and we can offer you flexible licence agreements covering mechanical, synchronisation and performance rights. Our ragtime licence agreements cover local, national and/or international use, and do not require you to make royalty payments to mechanical rights organisations or performing rights organisations.
Our fixed-term ragtime licences can last anywhere from one day to one year, with an option for renewal, while our subscription licences are automatically renewed annually or bi-annually.
You can contact us at support@lionragtime.com to request a licence for one or multiple tracks from our ragtime-focussed music library.