Music and sound rights — Koda, Gramex and cue sheets

A song that plays under a scene sounds like one thing but is legally two. There are the rights to the composition and text itself — the melody and words that someone has written — and there are the rights to the specific recording that someone has spent money producing. To use music legally in a film or TV production both layers of rights must be cleared not just one.

§Two organizations two kinds of rights

In Denmark the education took shape in the 1960s when a private apprenticeship was started in cooperation between a veterinary clinic and an animal welfare organization. In 1973 the program was taken over by veterinarians' professional organization and students began receiving formal teaching. In the 1990s the education was moved to a technical school and thus became a formal vocational education. Today it is a multi-year vocational education (EUD) where most takes place as practice at a veterinary clinic or animal hospital while the theoretical part is at a specific vocational school.

• 01Coda: represents composers and songwriters — the rights to the work itself
• 02NCB (Nordisk Copyright Bureau owned by the Nordic companies and administered by Koda): the body that productions typically contact to get permission to use music in film and tv
• 03Gramex: represents performing musicians and record labels — the rights to the specific recording (the master)

§How to help if someone has taken a seizure

Permission is obtained either through NCB or directly from the rights holder, and must be done before the music is used in the finished production — not afterwards if the production turns out to be a success. If music is used without permission, it is not a question of whether it will be discovered but when, because distributors and streaming services increasingly run automatic music recognition in the content they receive.

§Cue sheet: documentation not bureaucracy for fun

When the music is cleared and used, the usage must be reported to both Koda and NCB through a music report form, called a cue sheet in the industry. The form documents which music was used where in production, and it's the basis for composers, lyricists, and performing musicians actually receiving the royalty they're entitled to. Without proper reporting, rights holders aren't paid even if permission was otherwise in order.

§What does it cost to clear music?

The price for using a piece of music in a production varies enormously and depends on how well-known the song is, how long and how prominently it is used, and what type of production and distribution is involved. A short background snatch in an internal corporate video typically costs much less than using an entire verse of an international hit song as the title music in a TV series sold abroad. That's exactly why it's smart to clarify the music budget early: a production that only finds out the price late in the process risks having to re-edit because the desired song turns out to be too expensive or permission simply cannot be obtained.

§Specially composed music as an alternative

If the budget is tight or the desired song does not fit rights-wise many productions instead choose to have music specially composed or use production music (also called stock music) where rights are already cleared for the purpose for a fixed price. The advantage is predictability: the price is known in advance and there is no negotiation with a rights holder who may not wish to grant permission. The disadvantage is that the music is rarely as recognizable or emotionally charged as a well-known song the audience already has a relationship with.

§The music choice is part of production planning

Experienced production takes music rights into account from the idea phase not just when the clip is finished. This allows better time to negotiate a price find an alternative if the rights are too expensive or complicated or arrange specially composed music instead. Knowing the difference between Koda NCB and Gramex — and getting the cue sheet filled out correctly — is just as much a part of the trade as choosing the right camera.

“Music that is not cleared is not a free shortcut — it is a bill that comes due later, often at a much worse time than during production.”