Music Sync rights

[bcorkery]

I've been asked by a client to find out how much it will cost to use an Abba song on their website.

Is the best way to get this done to contact BMI/ASCAP?

[CurtZHP]

Harry Fox Agency. They handle that sort of thing for all of them.

[Sean McCoy]

As far as I know, Harry Fox only handles mechanical licenses for audio recordings, not synchronization rights, which website use of an Abba recording would more likely fall under. You'll most likely need to find out who owns the publishing on the song and contact them directly. Be prepared for some sticker shock, or a really loud "NO!"

https://www.harryfox.com/license_mus...l_license.html

[RBIngraham]

Really?

Could you be any more condescending and stereotyping to the fact that musicians do actually like to make a living as well? Yeah there some ultra rich musical talents out there that have blown fortunes on the classic sex, drugs and rock and roll so to speak, but there is a vast majority of musicians that just want to get paid a living wage for their work. No different than I do as a sound designer or as I do for designing AV systems. Yeah I hate all the red tape too, but I look at it as how would I feel if someone was to steal my IP?

As for Harry Fox, I could be wrong but I thought they were the place you went when you wanted to record your own cover of a pop song? Basically to get the recording and or performance rights to the music itself, not an existing recording.

Mechanical licenses I thought were about playing back existing recordings?

I know this issue comes up all the time in theatre. Some will go with the BMI and/or ASCAP license and other will contact the artist directly as what you really need if you want to work an existing recording into another work of art is Grand Rights and those are usually only available directly from the recording artist themselves or whomever owns the rights to the recordings, not necessarily the composer. Think Michael Jackson owning the rights to the Beatles catalog type thing.

[Angie]

Bill,
Read this. It should apply to the situation.

http://ostrowesq.com/it-takes-at-lea...ovisual-works/

[bcorkery]

Thanks for the info and entertainment along the way!
I have some digging to do and might end up having to do a sound alike piece if I can't find who owns the publishing rights or some way to get the right.

Again, thank you for your help.

[Dave Labrecque]

Thanks for the info and entertainment along the way!
I have some digging to do and might end up having to do a sound alike piece if I can't find who owns the publishing rights or some way to get the right.

Again, thank you for your help.

The ASCAP website has a search engine where you can look up who owns what, FYI.

[Sean McCoy]

The ASCAP website has a search engine where you can look up who owns what, FYI.

Cool, I didn't know that, Dave. I only go to the ASCAP site periodically to check on my comically paltry royalties.

[Dave Labrecque]

Cool, I didn't know that, Dave. I only go to the ASCAP site periodically to check on my comically paltry royalties.

Now you can ASCAP yourself (like Googling yourself, only different).

[MMP]

Harry Fox used to be a clearance house for sync rights as well, but got out of that business a number of years ago. The mechanical royalty is what writers get payed when other artists record and distribute their songs. It was a set cost per copy manufactured, I don't know how they charge for digital distribution.