Production music
As production music (including library music , Trailer Music or stock music ) is called music that is produced specifically for use in TV, film, radio, advertising, movie trailers, video games, corporate videos, YouTube etc.. It is contributed by so-called music libraries (production music archives ) , which issue licenses for different uses. Production music is usually not available in normal music stores.
use
Production music is mainly used for film, television, radio and other media, but private use is also possible, depending on the respective license conditions. In contrast to classical music publishers , who usually only represent the rights of the authors , and record companies, who only represent the rights of the performers of a recording and often make license fees dependent on the popularity of the desired title, production music archives have all rights of use to the title they offer Music. In this way, the music can be licensed from a single source at fixed rates and therefore cheaper. The reason for this is that almost all pieces of music for Production Music Libraries are composed and recorded on their behalf. Production music archives offer a wide range of musical styles and genres. Recordings that sound confusingly similar to popular pieces of music that are not yet copyright-free are popular. Production music is almost exclusively instrumental music, which is often offered in several versions: as a complete recording (rarely longer than 3 minutes) and in short versions of 60, 30 or 15 seconds in length, for example for advertising purposes. The formats range from sound carriers for sound film amateurs to downloads on the Internet to sound carriers in small numbers with which broadcasters and TV production companies can sample free of charge . Here, depending on the respective licensing, the boundaries to GEMA -free music are fluid.
history
The first Production Music Library was founded by De Wolfe Music, a former sheet music publisher, in 1927 with the advent of the talkie. The music was mostly engraved on wax rollers. Production music is used as theme and / or background music in radio, film and television. Library composers and performers often work under pseudonyms. It was only in the last few years that some composers (e.g. Alan Hawkshaw, John Cameron and Keith Mansfield) achieved cult status as a result of a renewed interest in production music of the 1960s and 1970s, especially beat and electronica recordings for labels such as KPM . This music is still used in cinemas today, such as compositions by Keith Mansfield in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill . Since production music was often sold directly to radio archives and did not go on sale, such records are considered rare and valuable by collectors. Many recordings have been republished due to demand.
Business model
The Production Music Libraries business model is based on two sources of income:
- License or synchronization fees
These are the fees that the library has to pay in advance to use their music in films, videos or audio. Some libraries , especially in the UK and Europe, share these fees with the composer of the music. In the US, it is common for the composer to receive an upfront commission from the library and then waive his share of future royalties. This business model is only possible in Germany if the synchronization rights at GEMA are terminated and the publishers exercise them independently. However, performance and mechanical rights can still be exercised by GEMA.
- Performance fees
These are earned when the music is performed publicly, for example on television or radio. The producer of the show or film who licensed the music does not pay these fees. Instead, annual fees are demanded from broadcasters (such as television broadcasters and radio stations), which are paid to collecting societies such as ASCAP , BMI and SESAC in the USA or GEMA in Germany, which distribute this revenue to the composers. To ensure fair distribution, broadcasters must report the title and duration of the music used. Typically, a library as a publisher receives 40% of the income (the so-called publisher's share), the composer the remaining 60%. Like license fees, remuneration for performing rights is highly variable and depends on the type of use.
market
The production music market is dominated by the libraries associated with the major record labels and publishers . Production music agencies, which mostly offer GEMA-free music, are particularly popular with low-budget productions (e.g. very often with YouTube videos).
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://ditc-radio.blogspot.de/2011/06/sendung-04-juni-11.html Radio broadcast on the subject of production music
- ↑ http://luminousmuse.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/a-brief-history-of-library-music/
- ↑ http://ditc-radio.blogspot.de/search?q=library Newly used production music