Synchronization Royalties

 

Anyone who watches even a little bit of television or movies would surely have noticed that these mediums often use popular songs in various ways. You must have surely noticed this too. Have you ever wondered what happened to the publisher of the music that was played or the songwriter? There’s nothing to worry about because the songwriter or the music publisher would most certainly be paid for owning the copyright. The money earned by the person is known as Synchronization Royalties.

 

This is the money that the original creator earns in exchange for allowing the music or the song to be synchronized for the making of a commercial, or a video that is to be showed on television. If a movie company wants to use the song in sync with the picture or for promotion purposes, then it must also pay Synchronization Royalties to the copyright owner for the legal right to use it. These royalties are paid to the songwriter or the composer of the original work or the publisher. In some instances, the royalties are paid to the publisher, who will then split it 50/50 with the original songwriter.

 

Here are some instances in which Synchronization Royalties are paid.

• These royalties are paid to use the copyright song or music in advertisements, movies and DVD’s.
• A television news company must pay the copyright owner to use it in a track.
• It can also be applied to live performances like theatres and plays.
• Web broadcasters must also pay the royalty for using it in wav, mp3 or in any other files, as also for webcasts.
• The songwriter, publisher or both should also be paid for using the song or the music in a 800 phone message.

 

Synchronization Royalties are always contractual, and the actual amount that is paid varies greatly. How much money will be paid will depend on the commercial value of the work to those who want it to sync it with another media. It also depends on the media that is being used and the production mode. The amount of royalty to be paid is pre-decided, and is governed by current industry standards.

 

Synchronization Royalties around the World

The term is quite old because movies have been using copyright music for a long time now. Though the terminology was first used in the US, but now, it is used all over the world.

 

If the music has to be combined with an image or a film, a copy of the music has to be made. And to make a copy, it is necessary to obtain a legal license. In the US, the legal right of the original creator is well protected, but this is not the case in the UK and in many other countries. In other words, the legal prohibitions about combining images and audio are not that water-tight, and there is no explicit statutory obligation for collecting Synchronization Royalties as well.

 

There’s a problem in the US too. Though Copyright Act protects the rights of the creator, but there is no explicit rate that defines the compulsory percentage of royalty that must be paid for the use of music or song in the commercial or the movie. However the good news is, the courts have often intervened, and there is thus a general commercial term that is accepted by all the parties.

 

Synchronization Royalty Contracts

The Synchronization Royalty contracts are prepared in writing and must be acceptable to both the parties before the music or song can be used. There’s no need for any notarization though. Both the parties must have a copy of the contract.