Music licensing for video: how to use music legally

Music does more to set the mood of a film than almost anything else, and it is also the element most often used without permission. Copyright in music arises automatically: the creator does not have to apply or register.¹ Under UK law, as the UK Intellectual Property Office explains, copyright stops others from copying a work, distributing it, performing or showing it in public, adapting it or putting it on the internet without permission.¹

Copyright rules differ from country to country, so take local advice for broadcast or legal questions. But the principle behind music licensing for video is the same almost everywhere: a song you did not create belongs to someone, and placing it in your film, screening it at an event or uploading it to social media are all uses that need a licence.

A commercial song is usually not one right but several. UK guidance treats original musical works and sound recordings as separate types of protected work.¹ The first owner of the copyright in a sound recording is its producer, while the people who wrote the music and lyrics own the copyright in what they wrote.² Music and lyrics written for each other are separate works, each protected for 70 years after the death of the last surviving composer or lyricist.²

In practice this means two permissions. The right to use the composition against pictures is commonly called a synchronisation (sync) licence, usually granted by the songwriter or their publisher. The right to use that particular recording is often called a master use licence, granted by whoever owns the recording. If you re-record a song with your own musicians, you still need the sync licence for the composition.

A licence is only as useful as its scope. Before you agree terms, be clear about every place the film will be seen, because a licence for social media may not cover a conference screen, a television broadcast or a festival. Documentary distribution is rarely a single deal: the Doc Society's Impact Field Guide notes that filmmakers who secure distribution are still likely to piece together multiple deals defined by venue and market.³ It also advises holding on to a film's educational rights, which can be broadly defined to include community engagement.³ Your music licences need to match those plans.

A good licence states, in writing:

• The exact track, version and the length of the extract used
• The media and platforms covered, such as online, broadcast, events or festivals
• The territories and the period of use
• Whether trailers, social clips and translated versions are included
• How the composer and performers should be credited

Royalty-free music is the most common route for organisational films, but royalty-free does not mean copyright-free. It means the track is licensed under standard terms, and those terms vary. Read them for the same points as any other licence: which platforms are covered, whether client or commercial work is allowed, whether attribution is required and whether the licence continues if a subscription ends.

Platform libraries are a useful option for simple online videos. YouTube's Studio editor, for example, offers a library of licensed songs from its Audio Library, which can be used in videos that earn money.⁴ Check the terms before using any platform track outside that platform, and keep a record of where each track came from.

An original score gives a film its own identity and can reflect the place and people it portrays, and working with local musicians and composers in Rwanda can do both. It also avoids the risk of the same library track turning up in someone else's advert.

Ownership needs care. UK guidance is clear that when you commission a work, the first legal owner of the copyright is the person who created it, not the commissioner.² Freelancers usually keep the copyright in their work unless a contract says otherwise.² A written agreement is the clearest way to settle ownership, and copyright can be either transferred or licensed.² Decide which you need before the composer starts, and agree how they will be credited.

A few beliefs cause most problems. Buying a song, streaming it or owning a CD gives you the right to listen, not to copy it into a film or put it online, which are uses that need permission.¹ Crediting the artist in the description is good manners, but credit is not permission. And a charitable or non-commercial purpose does not, on its own, remove the need for a licence.

Do not rely on rules of thumb about using only a few seconds, or on a note saying no infringement is intended. If you cannot get permission for a track, choose another one. Ethical storytelling extends to the artists whose work carries your message.

Treat music like any other rights-managed asset. Keep a simple music log for each film listing every track, its composer and performer, its source, the licence and its limits, and store the licence documents with the project files. If a platform or broadcaster queries a track months later, the answer should take minutes, not days.

Remember viewers who cannot hear the soundtrack. The W3C advises including background music in captions only when it matters to understanding the video, describing its mood objectively, and marking lyrics with musical notes when the words are important.⁵

• Every track's source and owner identified
• Permission for both the composition and the recording
• Licence covers every platform, territory and period you plan
• Royalty-free terms read, including attribution and client use
• Written agreement with any commissioned composer
• Credits agreed and included in the film and description
• Music log and licences stored with the project files
• Meaningful music described in captions