{"id":2996,"date":"2017-02-06T18:13:05","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T18:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marmoset-journal.flywheelsites.com\/music-licensing-song-clearance\/"},"modified":"2021-03-26T00:56:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T07:56:26","slug":"music-licensing-song-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/music-licensing-song-clearance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Clearing a Song"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.66667175292969%;\"\n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n  data-animation-override\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/116_image-asset.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumb-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/116_image-asset.jpg\" data-image=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/116_image-asset.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"300x200\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5898bc681e5b6cd270edc6dc\" data-type=\"image\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p>While we think that the perfect song for any project lies within our carefully curated, hand selected catalog of music, occasionally, a certain project will call for a &nbsp;song that\u2019s more difficult to get your hands on. Maybe it is performed by a widely known pop artist, or it\u2019s a rare, vintage recording that only exists on the dusty shelves of an iconic record label. Few people know that in addition to helping find the perfect song for your project within the Marmoset catalog, our Team of Music Supervisors can also connect you with that seemingly unattainable song you simply need to have for your project through music clearance.<\/p>\n<p>The process of tracking down these rights holders and negotiating terms is referred to as \u201cclearing a song.&#8221; Clearing a song is a lot like following crumbs to a hidden treasure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really is like solving a puzzle,\u201d says Madeline Dowling, Marmoset Music Supervisor.&nbsp;\u201cThere are a lot of pieces to track down and assemble and once you have them all you can achieve something really wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The key players in a clearance are the rights holders of a song &#8212; publishers, songwriters and artists. A music supervisor\u2019s role is to get in touch with all of these players, negotiate rates and terms for the use and hopefully settle on a deal that both parties are happy with.<\/p>\n<p>You can see how this can be a challenge, especially if the artist or songwriter you need to get ahold of is a major celebrity, or a hermit with no web presence. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/musician-tips\/what-is-a-performing-rights-organization\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PRO<\/a> databases are a good place to start, but their information can be incomplete and out of date. In an ideal world, every PRO has a list of contact information for each song, but, sometimes, that isn\u2019t the case. This is where the detective part comes in. Supervisors use their connections, hunches and, well, internet stalking abilities to track down the right person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracking down writers can be really tough,\u201d Madeline says. &#8220;I actually once spent a week tweeting at a songwriter every day until he finally checked Twitter and responded with contact info to clear his portion of the song.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The result? A magical marriage of picture and sound and another artist who gets to reap the benefits of their art and keep doing what they love. Mind you, this is an arduous process and if you\u2019re dealing with a high profile artist, you are probably going to be working with a healthy budget. This is something to keep in mind when deciding to start the clearance process, but remember, it never hurts to ask.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example that Madeline worked on for Patron Tequila. The short film takes the viewer through the lifecycle of an agave plant, marked by the 62 hands that guide it along. \u201cBlow Your Mind\u201d by hip-hop artist Ohana Bam is the song of choice, serving as an energetic sonic pairing to the story of the makers behind everyone\u2019s favorite shot and proving to be well worth the treasure hunt it took to get there.<\/p>\n<p>   <iframe data-src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oWhwhVF0JRI?wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1\" height=\"480\" width=\"854\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"sqs-svg-icon--outer social-icon-alignment-center social-icons-color-black social-icons-size-large social-icons-shape-circle social-icons-style-border\" >\n<nav class=\"sqs-svg-icon--list\">\n    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarmosetMusic\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sqs-svg-icon--wrapper facebook\" aria-label=\"Marmoset\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/p>\n<div>\n        <svg class=\"sqs-svg-icon--social\" viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--icon\" xlink:href=\"#facebook-icon\"><\/use>\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--mask\" xlink:href=\"#facebook-mask\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/div>\n<p>    <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/marmosetmusic\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sqs-svg-icon--wrapper twitter-unauth\" aria-label=\"Twitter\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/p>\n<div>\n        <svg class=\"sqs-svg-icon--social\" viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--icon\" xlink:href=\"#twitter-unauth-icon\"><\/use>\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--mask\" xlink:href=\"#twitter-unauth-mask\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/div>\n<p>    <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/marmosetmusic\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sqs-svg-icon--wrapper vimeo\" aria-label=\"marmoset\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/p>\n<div>\n        <svg class=\"sqs-svg-icon--social\" viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--icon\" xlink:href=\"#vimeo-icon\"><\/use>\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--mask\" xlink:href=\"#vimeo-mask\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/div>\n<p>    <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC6_Fa0ef9xGRvs9aFp6mnww\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sqs-svg-icon--wrapper youtube\" aria-label=\"marmosetmusic\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/p>\n<div>\n        <svg class=\"sqs-svg-icon--social\" viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--icon\" xlink:href=\"#youtube-icon\"><\/use>\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--mask\" xlink:href=\"#youtube-mask\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/div>\n<p>    <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/marmosetmusic\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sqs-svg-icon--wrapper instagram\" aria-label=\"Marmoset\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/p>\n<div>\n        <svg class=\"sqs-svg-icon--social\" viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--icon\" xlink:href=\"#instagram-icon\"><\/use>\n          <use class=\"sqs-use--mask\" xlink:href=\"#instagram-mask\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/div>\n<p>    <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/nav>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While we think that the perfect song for any project lies within our carefully curated,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","has-excerpt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}