You listen to a great song on the radio and decide that, "Man, that song would be awesome for my business!" But, how do you go about getting the rights to use that song?

The first thing to do would be find out which Performing Rights Society (PRS) handles the song you wish to use. Which organization the artist uses is typically found on the case the CD comes in or on the CD itself. You could also search the holdings of the respective PRS's. Some artists list different songs with different PRS's, even on the same album, depending on who wrote the song or if it was a song co-written with someone else, so it's possible for a song to appear in one or two (possibly even all three) of the PRS lists.

The United States Copyright law describes a Performing Rights Society as "an association, corporation, or other entity that licenses the public performance of non-dramatic musical works on behalf of copyright owners of such works."

There are three Performing Rights Societies in use in the United States music world. These are Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers). These three organizations handle the royalties paid to the artists for such uses as television commercials, radio airtime, ambient music in stores and bars, and other purposes. Of course, there is also the possibility that the song you wish to use is not listed in any of these PRS's. We'll tackle that in a minute.

Which organization you deal with depends on which organization handles the songs you wish to use. Just because you have an agreement in place with one organization does not mean you are free to use the music of any of the other organizations. That would require a separate license from the other organization. Most companies only use one PRS for their music needs.

The cost of a license from either of these organizations depends on what type of music is being used and the purpose of its use. These licenses are typically for packages of songs rather than one specific song, unless one specific song is needed for a television commercial or other purpose.

There are many instances in which you could license music. SESAC has a list on their website of the various type of licenses they offer. For example, a general license includes license to play SESAC's library of music in places such as arenas, taverns, shopping malls, and other places people gather. An Internet license agreement allows you to use their music on the Internet and other places described as being New Media. A broadcast license allows use over radio. There are several television licenses for use with different aspects of television use. And finally there is a mechanical license. The mechanical license would be for if you wished to create a copy of a song and include it on a CD or otherwise make a copy. This would give you the right to copy and distribute such recordings.

Finally, if the song is not listed in any of the three PRS's, then you must contact the artist directly and either find out how the artist has their music set up, or if you can deal a royalty rate or a flat fee for using their music.

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