Before filming a show, movie, or commercial, for example, if artists are dancing to a particular song made by a renowned composer and singer at an entertainment function. The Music supervisor in Australia needs to immediately get in touch with the rights owners and begin negotiating for a licence to the song. This is also possible if a Music supervisor needs permission from the artist’s management.
Consider some of the possibilities for a Music supervisor. It’s possible to licence “Hot, Hot, Hot” as a song, but the record label won’t let you utilise the original audio. To avoid oversaturating the market, the record label may request too much money, or it may be that the song is going to be used in another movie. For many reasons, rights holders in Australia may decline an offer to be included in production. This is the time for the Music supervisor to develop a novel solution.
The following are some potential answers to the music supervision conundrum:
Make a soundalike recording of the music. In some cases, rights holders, such as the record company in Australia, may not be pleased about this. By bypassing the “original” and denying them cash, a recording that sounds too much like the original is used to deceive the audience and effectively injure the record company.)
- The song should be re-recorded in the style of a wedding band.
- Change the tune to something well-known that the script’s writers and directors can use to their advantage.
- Looking for fresh (licenced) tracks for prospective replacements would be best.
- It’s time to wrap things up.
What may have been a simple task might quickly become a frustrating ordeal. A wide range of possibilities opens up if the music is not pre-recorded. This might be a wonderful place to start if you’re looking for a particular character or setting. Everything besides the time and money required to get licensing agreements and the views of others prevents you from using all the music you desire.
The central truth is that you’ll always require various legally permissible solutions to present to your upper management. People’s choices in music vary widely in Australia, so you’ll need to be adaptable and willing to accept direction. The spouse of a lead actor who happens to be a singer/songwriter may want their song in the play, even if you have the ideal tune selected!
Licensing of Musical Works
The next task of a Music supervisor in Australia is to negotiate a licence for using a song you’ve found perfect for your project. Obtaining a licence for music in your production can be done in several ways. You may alter your strategy depending on whoever you’re negotiating with.
Requesting a licensing quote from rights holders is a standard process in Australia in film production nowadays. As a Music supervisor, you want to know whether a piece can be licensed as soon as possible. The Music supervisor asks the rights holders how much they want to charge for using their song in the project in the licensing request.
For the sake of the director and producers getting a sense of how the scene works with music, let’s suppose a music editor briefly inserts an unauthorised song into a shot. If the music works well, and people become accustomed to hearing it, so be it! To make sure the song can be licensed on time and within budget, the Music supervisor should send a request for a price to the rights holders.
