Category Archives: music licensing news

US Guild of Music Supervisors announces nominees

Guild of Music Supervisors logoIn the US, the Guild of Music Supervisors was founded to act as a valuable, highly specialized resource to further the understanding of the constant evolution of music in media and for related guilds who benefit from our expertise.

As such it tries to ensure that music supervisors are not forgotten in their work and when it comes to awards ceremony. Continue reading US Guild of Music Supervisors announces nominees

Head of ASCAP to address MIDEM about the future of licensing

Paul Williams to debate music licensing

Paul Williams music licensing
Paul Williams: “work together to value music “

The President and Chairman of the Board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Paul Williams, will deliver a keynote interview at next year’s Midem in June 2015.

Williams is know to the broader public as a composer and actor, having written numerous hits for artists as diverse as Elvis Presley and Kermit the Frog. Continue reading Head of ASCAP to address MIDEM about the future of licensing

Music supervisor of Breaking Bad spills the beans


The TV series “Breaking Bad” is known for its inspired music supervision. Its US music supervisor Thomas Golubic – who also handled the soundtracks for the shows “Six Feet Under”, “The Killing” and “The Walking Dead” – was recently interviewed by the trade magazine Music Week editor Tim Ingham at AIM’s recent Sync Conference in London.

Golubic goes into the details of his work – in particular his role as a middle-man between labels/publishers attempting to push up the music fees and the TV studios trying to bring down overall costs.

Sync session at Midem 2014

Midem sessionThis year’s Midem trade fair will again feature opportunities for syncing music. Sync Sessions offers visitors the opportunity to play tracks in front of music supervisors from global advertising agencies, videogame publishers, TV networks and more, who are looking for music to place in their projects. Note that the songs must be submitted in advance. Chosen tracks are then commented on live, which provides useful information about how supervisors listen to music. Continue reading Sync session at Midem 2014

Changes in European music licensing laws

Two interesting developments took place in music licensing laws in Europe recently. Until now, licensing tracks for online use has been a labyrinth that has negatively affected the growth of online music. Potential uses had o contact each individual authors rights society, which is a significant administrative task.

The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee voted unanimously to allow online providers to obtain copyright licenses to stream music across E.U. borders. The proposed law would allow for a small number of authors’ collective management organizations to operate across E.U. borders. Continue reading Changes in European music licensing laws

Sync workshop at the Peach State conference

The Peach State Film Fashion Music conference (PSFFM) combines a number of arts under one umbrella in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on November 9, 2013. It offers a comprehensive and detailed conference focused on networking, careers in music, broadcasting, theatre, fashion, film and the basic “How to be effective” in the industry. In all, 5 Workshops and tons of networking opportunities are planned. Continue reading Sync workshop at the Peach State conference

International lawyers to talk licensing at MIDEM 2014

Midemlab_2013Despite the overall gloom in the industry, more international entertainment lawyers that are members of IAEL attended last year’s Midem music trade fair and conference than ever before. IAEL held its first Legal Summit there.

In 2014, IAEL will present another Legal Summit on February 2, 2014, featuring the Legal Update, Book session and Masterclass, as well as a cocktail party and the annual IAEL members dinner. Co-editors Adrienn Karancsi and Jim Kendrick have been busily preparing our new book, ” Licensing of Music–from BC to AD (Before the Change/After Digital)”.

Continue reading International lawyers to talk licensing at MIDEM 2014

Fatboy Slim the king of online videos?


The Dutch site 3fm has determined that Fatboy Slim was the king of the video in the nineties due to the fact that his videos dominated channels such as MTV, TMF and The Box so completely upon their release.

The 50 year-old Englishman Norman Cook mad a huge impact (and a considerable fortune) with his innovative and accessible dance music.  A key part of the success was the often-hilarious music videos that accompanied the tracks.

These include “Praise You”, which also happened to be one of the first flash mobs to be caught on camera (and isn’t it funny to notice that no one is filming it with their phones – those were the days).