Production Music: Music You Can Use

Production music is music comprised of tracks used for synchronization in film, TV, and other media forms...housed in music production libraries that profit from licensing or use of their product in these various media. Rather than composers or popular music artists whose music rights of ownership is distributed through record companies, music publishers and owners—production music is owned entirely by the publisher and therefore can be used in any form seen fit. Music held in production libraries are usually composed and recorded by artists who do so on a “work for hire” basis. Certain musicians will make their entire living creating music for production libraries. Because of the large amount of money represented in synchronization rights, there's quite a hunger for new music for production libraries... since the more music a production library has, the better the chances that a client will use them to find precisely what he/she is looking for.

Music publishers are also very much in the business of buying the rights to utilize the music of popular artists or composers as there is a lot of money to be made in royalties from a popular artist’s music. Investors are aware of this profitable business, as was the case with Michael Jackson who bought the rights to most of The Beatles music—the majority of which was written by Paul McCartney. Beatles’ music is now widely used in everything from car commercials to movies. Musicians themselves, while they can appreciate the money, tend to be temperamental in their attitude toward commercial licensing...since the artist places such importance on their creative works that they don't want to see them “cheapened” with use as background music in a car commercial.

Music publishers profit from either any licensing or synchronization fees or the performance of any piece of music which they own. This can mean significant sums of money to the publisher—it is in the business of royalties, and repeated usage that music publishers see the most profit. From internet sales, to every single public viewing of a movie that contains said piece of music anywhere around the world, to every official copy of the movie ever made. Thus, if a publisher licenses music to a media source that becomes a smash hit, they receive a steady paycheck from that popularity for a long time to come. It’s a rather lucrative business.

With the recent increase in use of compete songs in commercial advertising, rather than just background instrumentals, the competition is heating up for song placement. Independent musicians are selling the rights to use their music cheap...which is why so many new bands and songs are being heard, rather than hits my major recording artists. There are a number of companies who specialize in placement of existing material, as well as creation of specific songs and tracks for such advertising purposes.