1. PR11 the Commercial ProductionProcess
MUSIC
The radio producerneedstoconsidermanydifferentthingswhencreatinganadvertfora
mediaoutlet.Theyneedtothinkof the style of the advert,whichwill ultimatelydependonthe style
of the advertbeingcreatedfora specifictype of audience,and the functionse.g.the mainmusic
piece of the advert.One thingtheywill needto decide;iswhattype of musictheywill be playing
withinthe advert.The musicneedstomatchwhat the advertisadvertising.For example, forasports
advert,the musicwill be more upbeatandenergetic;whereasanadvertfora funeral companywill
have softer,slowermusic. Thishelpsdescribesthe adverttothe audience.
The producerneedstochoose a style fortheiradvert.Forexample,pastiche,informal,formal and
more.If a producerchoosesasong, itis extremelyimportantthattheygetthe permissionfromthe
artistor bandto use theirmusicor voice.Once theygettheirpermission,theyare able touse itfor
broadcastingor to use withintheiradvert.ASA setstrictruleswhichproducershave tofollowto
make sure no controversyiscreated.Theyare not allowedtosaycertainthingsonair, or use specific
copyrightedaudio;sothe producerneedstofollow theserulestomake sure hisadvertiscompletely
safe and legal.
It isextremelyimportantforproducerstoseekpermissiontouse the musictheywant,because of
the legal requirements.Producershave togetclearance fromPRS;a musiclicensingcompanythat
has a societyof songwriters andcomposers.Youcouldalsoreportthe musicto the PPL,and then
youcan use certainpiecesof musiconthe radio.If youdon’tget clearance orpermission,thenyou
will be reportedtothe PRSor the PPL.Thisis because youare violatingcopyrightlaws.
Fair use isa law thatmeansany copyrightedmaterial used,suchasmusicor audiofromowned
propertywithoutgettingpermission,canresortinthe producedmaterial beingremovedanda fine
beingissued.A radiobroadcastcouldmake a profitfromcopyrightedworkthatthey didnotget
permissionfrom,whichwouldobviouslybe illegal.Thiscanleadtoyour radiobroadcast beingshut
down.
There are 2 ways to gainlicensesfortheirprojects.One issynchronizationlicenseandmasteruse
license.A synchronizationlicense is whenaproducermustgetpermissionfromthe owner,of the
underlyingsongwhichisthe songwriterorthe musicpublishingcompanythatownsthe song.
Obtainingpermissionfromthe underlyingsongiscalledsynchronizinglicense.The otherwayisto
getthe producerto helpforwhicheverversionof the songthattheyrecorded.The producermust
2. PR11 the Commercial ProductionProcess
geta masteruse license if he wantstouse a versionof the songthat the songwriterrecorded.The
producermustobtainthe masteruse license fromthe artist,or the artistslabel.Onlythenare they
free touse the musicintheirownrights.
The 7 secondrule isusedby mostradioadvertisers.Thisiswhere anadvertiserusesasongbut for
onlysevenseconds.However,fromalegal pointof view,the 7secondrule doesn’treallyexistas
there isno legal basisforthe 7 secondrule.Anyunauthorizedmusicusedinmediafromacopyright
songviolatescopyrightlaw.Inmyopinion,the 7secondrule doesn’tseemtobe appliedanymore
because copyrightlawrestrictsit,theyare usuallythere tomake sure all musicusedhasthe correct
permission.
Is itbestfor a radio producerto use theirownoriginal music,because the licensingcanbe quite
expensive.There are certainstrategiesaproducercanuse to avoidcertainexpenses.Anoption
some producersuse isto create your ownmusicfor broadcasting,whichisplayedbyyouoryou hire
a private musiciantocreate musicfor you.Thiswill obviouslylowerthe costof the licensingasyou
will ownthatpiece of musicyourself.Youwill ownall the rightstothe music.Thiswill be less
expensive asyouwon’tneedtopayfamousartiststo use theirvoice.
