The use of music in:
- an advertisement1 for use on radio, television or the internet
- as a premium or covermount2
- television programmes made by independant production companies
- web content
- in a theatrically released film; and
- as theme music
will require the permission and licence of the copyright owner.
1 An announcement designed to attract the attention of the public or any part of it to a product, service, person, organisation or line of conduct.
2 A piece of music that is given away with a product to encourage the purchase of that product or its use. Until recently this has generally meant 'covermount CDs' on the front of magazines - although new technologies extend the concept of 'premiums' to free ringtones and downloads which can be redeemed through the purchase of a particular product or service.
In the context of advertisements and films etc, APRA|AMCOS represents two types of music – commercially released (‘published’) music and production music. Different clearance processes apply to each.
Commercially Released ('published') Music
Commercially released music means music that has been made for retail sales (either on a CD or as a digital download). To use commercially released music in an advertisement, you need to obtain permission directly from the copyright owner(s) in the musical work (please note there may be multiple copyright owners in a single musical work).
APRA|AMCOS can in many cases issue licences for the use of commercially released music in an advertisement. If we are not authorised to license a track, we can help you identify the relevant copyright owners for the musical works you want to use.
Please note: you will require a licence from the copyright owner to use the musical work in an advert even if:
- you make an arrangement of the work; or
- make your own recording of the work.
Please also note that a copyright owner is not obliged to grant you a licence and it may be that it is not available for moral or contractual reasons.
Copyright owners will normally ask you for specific information about how you plan to use the music in the advertisement. This is outlined in the AMCOS Advertising and Audio Visual Applications. The sort of information you should have handy before filling out the form includes:
- Advertising agency/company details
- Client name
- Product name
- Title of the musical work and composer details
- Medium (ie festivals, cinema, free to air television, cable etc)
- Territory for which the licence is required
- Term for which the licence is required
- Duration of the music used
- Proposed usage
Web Advertisements
Specific information required (in addition to the above) when licensing for web advertisements:
- The website address
- Whether there will be any links on the site
- Whether the ad will start automatically or the viewer will have to click to view
- Whether the ad will run in a loop
- How many ISPs
Further information
To obtain a licence for your music use or simply for more information please contact the Broadcasting Services team.
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