Music and Filmmakers

We all know music plays a vital role in the movies and how we perceive the protagonist rise or fall. In a scene in Office Space three computer programmers take their anger out on a fax machine in an open country field with a baseball bat. The slow motion drop kicks, homerun swings, and punches that gut the inanimate object are punctuated by a song by the 'Geto Boys'. It's the contrast between these nerdy white collared 30-somethings and a hard-core rap song that make this scene forever burned in moviegoers minds.

Raindance has some truly great takes on movies and music. Here are three that describe what goes into those magical scenes that make you laugh, cry, and fear for the characters on screen.

1. James Burbidge: 5 Things I learned about Film from Song Lyrics: Its a look at what a filmmaker must think when hearing meaningful songs on the radio and how those little memorable lyrics could fit in his next movie.
2. Sarah Romeo: Music Rights: The costs and licenses needed to put a great song at the right moment of your movie. Includes some low-budget options.
3. Charlie Burroughs: Top 10 Songs Performed by Music Characters: The best scenes where characters become artists and belt out the lyrics of famous songs.

"There is no paper jam why does it say paper jam":

Easy Riding

Do you know how director Dennis Hopper picked the music for the crazily successful independent film Easy Rider in 1969? He chose some his favorite rock songs from the radio while editing the movie in 1968.

Learn more about the classic movie and its soundtrack.

Music and Movies

by Sarah Romeo

Nothing sets the mood quite like music. Your film’s soundtrack can make or break the tone of your story, but acquiring the actual songs can be a daunting task. Read on for the ‘need to know’ in buying your movie’s tunes!

What Licences Do I Need?

If you have some tracks in mind for your film, the first step is to contact the music’s publisher—most singers and songwriters have little control over their own music, but their publishers will own almost all the rights. The best way to find out a publisher’s information is to look up the song you want on a site like Amazon, find the record label name, and find the appropriate contact information on the record label’s website.

Once in talks with the publisher, you’ll find out the different licenses you need to acquire. These licenses have different names depending on who you’re dealing with and where you’re making the deal.

Purchasing music rights in the UK or the US, you’ll usually need two licenses:

1) Publishing License - This one is from the publishers, or whoever holds the copyright to a pre-recorded composition. It gives you the right to synchronize a piece of music with your visual image. Some companies also refer to this is as a Synchronization License.

2) Recording License - by the person or persons who OWNS THE RECORDING. In many cases, actually frequently, this is a record label or recording major such as Sony, Warners, Universal, EMI, etc. To approach the Composer would be quite wrong unless the recording was an indy that the Composer had made themselves. However, for most commercially available music, it is a record label or recording company major that you are dealing with.

Some companies also refer to this as a Master Use License.

MUCH MORE TO LEARN FROM ROMEO