An ASCAP Syncing License

[Max Field]

I was wondering if anyone on this forum has had experience with getting the legal permission of a song from ASCAP and using it in one of their productions. Mainly wanted to get a rough estimate of what the license for a relatively popular song would cost, I know it's based on the nature of the product and how big the song is.

 

I've looked all over the ASCAP website and none of the FAQs I've come across has given a figure.

 

As always, thanks.

[Bill DiPietra]

There are a lot of other factors that go into it, like: when and where the music will be used in the film, if it will be instrumental or contain lyrics, and how long the selection will play for. So it's not like it's a flat rate. I can tell you that I was looking into using 2 minutes of a classical piece for the end-credits of an upcoming short and I would have been paying $1,000. That was for festival rights only, which would have expired after one year.

[Max Field]

 

I can tell you that I was looking into using 2 minutes of a classical piece for the end-credits of an upcoming short and I would have been paying $1,000.

 

Would you say classical would be more or less than an old pop song? I feel like if the classical piece is relatively popular it would be used a ton thus making the price climb up.

[Bill DiPietra]

I could be wrong, but I think your costs would be significantly higher.

 

You need to search the ACE section of the ASCAP site and find the publishers of the work. They should be able to tell you who holds the master recording. You will then pay a fee to each party, the amount of which is calculating using the factors I listed earlier.

 

Again, I only did this once to obtain some initial quotes...

[Max Field]

Alright, thanks for clearing all of this up.

[Bill DiPietra]

The publishers I dealt with were really helpful. The more information you tell them about your project, the for information they will be able to give you about the process.