5 Things To Think About When Producing Music For Licensing

Last week at our HQ, we brought together some pioneers in the music licensing industry to dispel any confusion and challenges surrounding do-it-yourself music production and composition. Moderated by our Co-Founder and fearless leader, Ryan Wines, this panel included; Eric Nordby, Marmoset Senior Music Supervisor; Rob Dennler, Marmoset Original Music Producer, and Custom Composer, Dave Gulick.

Here are 5 things to think about when producing, editing and composing for music licensing…

1. MAKE ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF YOUR SONGS

Do as much work on your end as possible and edit your song into multiple versions. Making 30/60/90 cut versions of your songs can make them more useful for licensing. This way your music is more versatile, giving us more options when we pitch it to potential clients. When creating these cuts of your music try to achieve the same emotions of the original song, just within in a shorter amount of time.

2. A GOOD WAY TO END A SONG IS FADING IT OUT.

A fade out is usually the best way to end a song made for licensing. Companies will often insert their own musical tag at the end of their project. This leaves more room for people to edit your track to their project.

3. INSTRUMENTALS ARE CRITICAL.

We ask all members of our roster to submit instrumental versions of all their tracks. Though we do occasionally license music with vocals, it is best to have instrumental versions because they license more frequently. Since lyrics tend to take on an emotional role and story, having an instrumental option gives the filmmaker more freedom to apply your track their narrative.

4. MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR SAMPLES ARE CLEARED.

Songs containing samples must be cleared before licensing. Uncleared samples can lead to legal complications and can result in your track not being licensed. We ask artists to clear these songs themselves before they are added to our roster.

5. MASTER ALL OF YOUR SONGS.

A well-produced song can stand out from the rest; this includes instrumentals. To maintain a high level of quality, don’t skimp by only mastering your songs with vocals, be sure to master everything. It makes all the difference.