In this article, we will describe in a simple way the whole legal issue that involves music for television and I will show you how to easily get it legally without having to pay large amounts of money.
From the beginning we will forget free royalty-free music since it has certain disadvantages in the television medium:
- In this type of songs, the artist must always be attributed, and that is something that is often not possible on TV.
- The quality of free music can be insufficient in powerful audio equipment, like the ones that many people have in their homes to listen to television, home cinema type.
- Free songs do not usually offer versions or edit points, that is, parts of the song dedicated specifically to be able to “cut” them and adapt them to the length that we need.
- And last but not least, any small error in the interpretation of the licenses can later lead to a large monetary claim for copyrights.
Therefore we have three realistic options left:
- The first option –royalty-free music– is suitable for any type of budget and can be easily obtained by acquiring the license through the Internet.
- The second one –music under managed or protected rights– is adequate if we want to use a famous song, which will increase the cost and difficulty to obtain permission and together with the…
- The third option –custom-tailored music– are more suitable for premium TV networks and major programs or commercials of well-known brands, since providing a custom solution and having a team behind increases the prices and timings.
Content
Let’s see them one by one:
1. Royalty-Free Music for Television
Royalty-Free Music refers to a type of music license that allows the buyer to pay the music license only once and use the music for as long as they wish, as opposed to “protected rights” licensing, for which the buyer pays a royalty according to the number of times that the song is played or used.
Where can we find this kind of music?
There are numerous portals on the Internet that offer it. However, in this post we want to highlight the licenses that we offer at Legis Music.
We consider it of vital importance that our customers can access royalty-free music easily and cheaply.
Therefore, these plans have been designed so that you only have to pay once to get them, allowing you to enjoy unlimited songs for life and have the peace of mind of not having to worry about copyright claims in the future.
Thus, you can choose the plan that best suits your needs:
- Starter Plan. In this case, it is the most recommended for using the songs for personal and home videos. It also allows you to use the music in all social networks and on any web page. The only condition is to credit legismusic.com in every publication.
- Personal Plan. If you are looking to get numerous songs to use in your personal projects, this is the license for you. The Personal Plan offers unlimited music downloads, which can be used in social networks and streaming platforms, YouTube, apps, video games and audio books; as well as podcasts, virtual classes and online ads. Its price is $49 in a single payment and for life -if you use it for 3 years, it will be like paying $1/month-.
- Business Plan. This Plan is the most recommended if you are looking for music for television, because it’s specially designed for freelancers, companies and those who work for clients. It is the most open license of all, as any use case is covered and it also offers unlimited music (the only thing that is not allowed is to resell the songs). Its price is a one-time payment of $99 for life -if you use it for 2 years, it will be like paying $4/month.
As you can see, if there is one thing that makes our licenses stand out, it is the opportunity to enjoy them forever and paying only once.
Below is a table with the three plans and their respective prices.
| Starter Plan | Personal Plan | Business Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $49 for life | 99€ for life |
Let’s see below different samples for different purposes in television:
Music for TV News
This one is often a more serious type of music, corporate type. It is usually used a lot in openings when the program starts, as an introduction for the viewer.
In this video we’ll see a compilation of several musical curtains from different European television programs:
As you can see, they are short and fast songs, conveying expectations about what is to come.
Music for Commercials
We wrote an entire article specifically for this type of television advertising: music for commercials.
We explored the use of famous songs for advertising purposes and their cost.
Music for TV Shows and Contests
As any TV show Producer knows, it is essential to use good background music and sound effects to entertain and maintain the constant attention of the viewer.
If this is our case, we must have a more or less clear idea of the genre or at least the type of song we are looking for, so we can narrow our search on the music marketplace.
We can always spend a good time listening to several songs, downloading the previews, and deciding later.
Once the song or songs have been decided, we have to understand what kind of license we should acquire so that we do not have any subsequent problems with copyrights later on.
Our “Business plan” for your TV programs
As we said, in Legis Music we offer three types of music licenses, of which, the ‘Business Plan’ allows you to use the music for your TV show, with a cost of a single payment of $99, being able to enjoy its advantages for life.
If you compare with other platforms that offer music licenses, you will notice that their prices are much higher, besides, they generally have a monthly cost that you will have to pay every year.
In addition, with this plan, you have the rights to the song for life for all types of uses, among which are the following:
- TV and radio commercials, whatever the size of the audience
- Broadcast through movies, TV, radio, podcasts, software, video games or apps, among other sources
- Movie and theatre premieres
- Internet advertising (Advertising campaigns or promoted content)
- Background music for shops, bars, restaurants, gyms, conferences, etc.
Having seen all the most complete options to get Royalty-Free music for Tv productions, let’s move on to the next option that we have.
2. Music under Managed Rights
Yeah, that famous song you want to use or the version of it, it’s under Protected or Managed Rights.
Suppose we are interested in using Enrique Iglesias’ latest success for our insurance advertisement.
What we cannot do, obviously, is to buy the song and add it without giving it a second thought.
We will have to ask permission from the record company that owns the rights and agree with them a payment of royalties, which is a certain amount of money each time our commercial appears.
And what’s the cost of those royalties?
It depends.
Many famous singers refuse to cede their rights to use their songs in advertisements because they don’t want to associate their name with a particular brand or product, others give away their songs for free and others claim large amounts of money.
Therefore, in this case, it is best to contact not directly with the artist, since he will have neither voice nor vote, but with the record company or its manager/representative and be willing to negotiate.
Custom-tailored music for Television
As a last option, we can also create custom music, with the advantage of having a 100% customized and adequate product and the disadvantage of higher costs than royalty-free music and to wait longer for its creation.
Our methodology of work is the following one:
Customer’s Information
- What kind of music needs
- What’s the purpose of that music
- Budget available
Definition of work to be done
- Timings of delivery and scope of work
- Initial projection and alignment of concepts
- Economic proposal
Initial Feedback
- Presentation of the initial creative proposal. First drafts
- Review of the different options presented
Creation and delivery
- Delivery of finished product
- Review of additional options
To contact us about it, send us an email at hi@legismusic.com or simply write us on our contact page.
That’s it!
Through the article we have gone through all the options available when it comes to getting music for television, the next step is simply to decide which of those options best fits your project idea and take action. 
