This article introduces the most common uses relating to the TV Advertising (License music for television)  License, one of the many LicenseQuote standard music license types.

Television advertising background and uses

Advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks. The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of short advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes, as well as program-length infomercials. Advertisements of this sort have been used to promote a wide variety of goods, services and ideas since the early days of television.

Television advertising license basics

Basic title: TV Ad or Television Advertisement
Short description: License music for Television Advertising
Usage detail: This license is for music used in a television advertisement for public broadcast.
Base Price: $122 (Based on LQ standard pricing for one individual local market, no more than 15 seconds and less than 3 months usage.) Note: Publishers may vary pricing and/or exact usage terms.

Television Ad – music license usage options

The property (usage) options listed below provides the most common suggested uses. When selected, the pricing is calculated according to the Publisher’s pre-set values, and can be changed by the buyer to compare different usage scenarios. Other uses, not available with the standard options, can also be negotiated via a Custom or Request quote license option to be negotiated with the publisher. These options can be found in the publisher’s store on the track’s Licenses page.

Music Length: Select length of song/track usage ranging from up to 15 seconds, 30 seconds or entire song to be played with the advertising content.
License Duration: Typically 3 months, 1 year or perpetuity.
Territory: Local, regional (major urban center or several local markets), national, various countries or worldwide.

Television Ad music licensing related terminology

Audio/Visual Work
An industry term for film, television or any other visual production.

Music Library
A collection of musical compositions that are licensed by the publisher or administrator for use as background, theme, or score music, on radio, broadcast and cable television, films, or video productions.

Master Use License
A phonographic copyright license to pay recording owners for music used in film, video, or television soundtracks. There is no fixed fee for master use licenses, but is commonly about equal to the value of the composition for a specific license usage, or about 50% of licenses which would include both the composition and master.

Pre-Cleared Music
Music that is ready to be licensed for various commercial uses including video, film, advertising and the like.

Synchronization Licensing
Synchronization (or sync) license is the licensed right for a film or other audiovisual medium to use music to synchronize (match) to recorded images in an audio-visual product. It can be a commercial, video game, film, Television show, music video, DVD or website, etc. A sync license usually produces a negotiated fee for certain rights depending on the usage. Synchronization rights are licensed by the music publisher to film and video producers, advertising agencies or other program or product producers.

Use of sync license in advertising

A synchronization or “sync” licence is needed for a song or instrumental score to be reproduced onto a television ad, program, film, video, commercial, radio, or other kind of promotional use. It is called this because you are synchronizing the composition as it is performed on an audio recording to a film, TV commercial or spoken voice-over. If a specific recorded version of a composition is used, you must also get permission from the record company in the form of a “master use” license. The synchronization royalty is paid to composers and publishers for use of a song used typically as background music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.

Please visit our Gallery or Global Search Store to find music available for licensing from various publishers for your next television or other kind of advertising project. Many publishers also offer custom music production upon request.