How to Get Permission to Use a Song for A Film? –

Copyright law or music licensing is a hard subject, but doing it wrong can land you in serious trouble. You could believe that using copyrighted music on YouTube is okay if you don’t want to commercialize your video or if it’s merely a fan video. That, however, is not the case.

To utilize any music on YouTube, you must first obtain permission from the copyright owners, unless your video is just for your personal use (i.e., you are not distributing it publicly). This is the best approach to avoid copyright difficulties, although it isn’t always feasible to do. Even locating the owner can be difficult, but this tutorial will show you how to get music licensing and use copyrighted music legally.

Step 1:- Identify the Owner

To seek permission, you must first identify the owner of the video.  If you look at the copyright notice on the work, you may be able to find the rights owner. For example, if the notification states “Copyright 2022, Vipz5607,” you’d seek up Vipz5607 Publishing first.

Step 2:- Identify the Rights You Need

Identifying the rights you require is the next step in obtaining approval. Each copyright owner has a set of rights over the work, such as the ability to reproduce, distribute, and modify it. Because copyrighted works are connected with so many rights, you must identify which ones you require. This can be as simple as specifying your intended purpose of use.

Step 3:- Pay the fee

After you have given your information, the rights holders will most likely charge you a fee for your use.

Depending on the type of project you’re working on, they may charge a specific amount of fee.

Step 4:- Make a written permission agreement.

Finally, the agreement should be written down. Never go for an oral agreement as it can create a lot of problems in the future. There could be various misunderstandings that can lead to future issues.

Summarizing

You can contact the copyright holder once you’ve located them by writing a letter or sending an email. The most important thing is to introduce yourself, the song/original music you wish to use, and how/where you want to use it. Is it a non-profit organization? Is it suitable for commercial use? Finally, you can request that they sign and return the letter as a form of agreement, or you can call them to discuss the music rights.

If you foresee relatively little usage/views, you may be able to gain permission to use the piece for free, but if you plan to earn from or monetize your film, you will have to pay the fee.