Music Licence for Film

by Arts Law Centre of Australia

PDF Download
22 pages

This sample Music Licence for Film (often referred to as a synchronisation licence or master licence) is for use where a filmmaker wants to synchronise existing music and an existing master tape of the music to a soundtrack for a film or video. It is appropriate when the composer of the music owns the copyright in both the music (and lyrics) and the sound recording.

If, though, the composer has assigned the synchronisation rights in the music to a music publisher, and the sound recording has been released by a record company, you will need to contact the publisher and, usually, the record company to obtain licences to use both in the film. In most cases, record companies and publishers will have their own licence agreements.

If someone is to create music especially for your film or video, you could use Arts Law’s sample Music Commission Agreement as the base for your agreement.