When exploring the world of music creation for movies, tv exhibits, or commercials, it may be difficult to completely grasp the necessities for creating and licensing music rights for a particular medium.
If you happen to’re diving into music licensing for a movie, tv present, basic broadcast, or promoting marketing campaign for tv and elsewhere for the primary time, we’re right here that will help you go over some fundamental phrases and assets.
One merchandise that many individuals use is a cue sheet, which makes it a lot simpler for content material producers to maintain monitor of issues and for composers and publishers to be compensated for his or her work.
Let’s go over what music cue sheets are, how they work, and supply some assist for these seeking to learn to monitor and submit cue sheets for the primary time.
What’s a cue sheet?
Let’s begin with essentially the most fundamental query right here—what’s a cue sheet?
Cue sheets are the first means by which performing rights organizations (PROs) monitor the usage of music in movies and TV. With out sound cue sheets, it will be practically not possible for such composers and publishers to be compensated for his or her work.
Principally, tv stations and streaming suppliers pay a blanket payment to performing rights organizations to permit them to broadcast copyrighted music. While you present a music licensing web site, like Soundstripe for instance, with a finalized cue sheet, it permits the TV stations or suppliers to have the ability to make sure that their charges are paid to the correct songwriters for the usage of their music.
There may be by no means a further cost to Soundstripe members or their shoppers for utilizing Soundstripe music for a TV broadcast. When initiatives air on TV or streaming providers, a buyer should submit a cue sheet to broadcast@soundstripe.com inside 30 days of the airing of the venture.
The way to fill out and submit cue sheets
Filling out cue sheets isn’t rocket science, however it normally requires particular data outlined in a sure approach. To assist information you thru the method of filling out and submitting cue sheets, we’ve damaged down the steps into two classes.
The primary class is cue sheet data for patrons who make tv commercials. Listed here are the small print under that will provide you with a cue sheet template, or not less than a pattern cue sheet to begin writing out your individual following the identical cue sheet format.
Cue Sheet Info for Prospects (For TV Ads)
- Hyperlink to Advert: Right here, you would offer a hyperlink to the video created (YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, and many others.) This supplies proof that the cue sheet is for an actual advert.
- Description of Advert: Describe the advert – (i.e., Unicorns strolling to the dance ground on the unicorn celebration)
- Location: Right here, you’ll present the Area of broadcast (not the TV community or station). Some examples: “Nationwide USA, Worldwide, Tennessee, and many others.”
- Air Date: Right here you would offer the preliminary air date of broadcast on TV (MM/DD/YYYY)
- Headline/Lead Audio: This must be the primary few phrases spoken within the commercial – i.e., Are you a unicorn? If there are not any phrases spoken, the primary phrases of textual content or brand that seem within the advert must be entered on this part.
- Work ID: If the PRO for the tune is ASCAP or BMI, there’s a Work ID linked to it. The one technique to discover that is on the ASCAP website (https://www.ascap.com/repertory) or BMI website (https://repertoire.bmi.com/). If the PRO just isn’t ASCAP or BMI, depart this part clean
- Product/PSA Title: Product can be the merchandise being marketed, or PSA can be the Matter or Theme.
- Numerator Advert Code: Metadata for an commercial that’s generated by the advert/manufacturing company once they create an advert. It’s a instrument that gives detailed details about advertisements that run within the USA. *(Prospects ought to depart this part clean, as Rights Administration can full this part for them.)
- Musical Composition, Author Title, Precise Use Time, Kind Utilization, Writer PRO, and Writer Title: This data will probably be discovered on the Copyright Info Sheet offered by Soundstripe after a tune is licensed. The Precise Use Time refers back to the portion of the tune used within the advert (i.e., 30 seconds). The Kind Utilization refers to how the tune is used within the advert:
- Kind Utilization Codes:
- Background Instrumental – B/I (Underscore and Non-visual (off digicam) supply)
- Background with vocal – B/V (Background with vocal or non-visual supply)
- Visible Instrumental – V/I (On Digicam Instrumental Efficiency)
- Visible with vocal – V/V (On Digicam Vocal Efficiency)
- Important Theme – M/T (Opening Title Theme)
- Finish Theme – E/T (Closing Title Theme)
- Kind Utilization Codes:
Cue Sheet Info for Prospects (For TV Applications, Movie, Common Broadcast)
The second class of cue sheets supplies data for patrons creating movies, tv exhibits, or different basic broadcast content material. Right here is the information to incorporate for this class.
- Program Title: On this part, you would offer the Program Title, Season Quantity & Title, and Episode Quantity & Title.
- Location: Right here, you’ll present the Area of broadcast (not the TV community or station). Some examples: “Nationwide USA, Worldwide, Tennessee, and many others.”
- Air Date: Right here you would offer the preliminary air date of broadcast on TV (MM/DD/YYYY)
- Present Size: Right here you would offer the whole size of the Program/Movie (hh:mm:ss)
- Musical Composition, Author Title, Precise Use Time, Kind Utilization, Writer PRO, and Writer Title: This data will probably be discovered on the Copyright Info Sheet offered by Soundstripe after a tune is licensed. The Precise Use Time refers back to the portion of the tune utilized in this system (i.e., 30 seconds). The Kind Utilization refers to how the tune is utilized in this system:
- Kind Utilization Codes:
- Background Instrumental – B/I (Underscore and Non-visual (off digicam) supply)
- Background with vocal – B/V (Background with vocal or non-visual supply)
- Visible Instrumental – V/I (On Digicam Instrumental Efficiency)
- Visible with vocal – V/V (On Digicam Vocal Efficiency)
- Important Theme – M/T (Opening Title Theme)
- Finish Theme – E/T (Closing Title Theme)
- Kind Utilization Codes:
What occurs once you don’t submit cue sheets
As talked about above, it’s not an ideal system, however filling out and submitting cue sheets is among the finest ways in which we’ve got to correctly monitor and attribute what songs are utilized by what artists in what content material. It’s a fundamental equation on the finish of the day that protects each the producers and the musicians and artists.
If you happen to don’t submit a cue sheet, not solely are you probably violating copyright legal guidelines and rules and risking music copyright lawsuits, however you’re additionally impacting the artists and musicians who’ve composed, recorded, and distributed the music that you simply’re utilizing in your initiatives.
Soundstripe’s music library options practically 60K tracks from Grammy-winning expertise and rising unbiased musicians. We collaborate with actual artists worldwide to create various music that enhances emotional arcs and suits any format. Cue sheets play an important function in supporting and amplifying the voices of those artists.
Why cue sheets nonetheless serve an essential function at present
On the finish of the day, cue sheets are finally one other relic of an older age of broadcast tv exhibits and commercials that’s due for some main updates into the brand new digital age of social campaigns and content material.
Nevertheless, like many issues of the previous, television, promoting and movie music cue sheets serve an essential function in a course of that has been serving manufacturers, producers, artists, and musicians for many years. If you happen to’re severe about your profession and your private or firm’s model’s success, these cue sheets are the best way to go.
In case you have any questions, hit us up on dwell chat or e mail us at assist@soundstripe.com.