Podcasting has seen a strong resurgence in recent years, with new programs popping up all the time. With today's technology, it's incredibly easy to start a production from your bedroom. Radio and music have always been closely linked, but when using music in podcasts, there are a few things to keep in mind.
/ 18/12/2018 / Kristian DugstadThere are two areas of rights that must be clarified in order to use music in podcasts: the rights of those who have written the music, and the rights to the recording itself.
– TONO is responsible for collecting payment on behalf of those who have written and composed a musical work. This can be a recording or a live performance. TONO mediates money to the songwriters and lyricists, says Stig Sætre at TONO.
See video and "Four rules to remember for music in podcasts" further down in the article.
Anyone who wants it gets a TONO license for music in podcasts, and it's very simple. What you pay depends on how much you earn from your podcast. TONO's model calculates the price based on revenue.
– However, it is quite common to not earn anything at all from podcasting. Often podcasting is a hobby, and is not about money. In these cases, you have to pay a minimum amount for the music you use, says Stig Sætre.
The price depends on how many people stream and download the podcast, and how much music is used. If few people download and stream the podcast, the price will be low.
– Once a year, TONO must receive information about music usage in the podcast. Larger and more commercially oriented services report more often. Which songs and artists have been used, and how many minutes of each. We also need to know how many downloads and streams the podcast has had. Then you get an invoice in the mail, and it's not that difficult.
With a TONO license for podcasts, you have the authors' permission to use the music they have written.
– If you want to perform live music of your own or other people's songs in your podcast, you are free to do so as long as you have a TONO agreement. However, if you want to use recorded versions of songs, someone owns them. Usually a record company, says Stig Sætre in TONO.
The record companies' interest organizations, FONO and IFPI, only make agreements on behalf of their members in certain contexts. Large media companies have negotiated framework agreements for the use of music in their production. Those who create podcasts privately or on a small scale must agree on the use of music directly with the individual record company.
– FONO has a framework agreement for NRK, which gives them permission to use recorded music owned by our members. For other actors who want to use the same music, there is no such agreement, and the person concerned must contact the individual record company, says Erling Andersen, CEO of FONO.
Marte Thorsby, director of IFPI Norway, says that they also have a framework agreement with NRK. This means that NRK has the right to use recorded music in its podcasts. All others who offer podcasts must clarify any use of music directly with the individual record company.
There are, of course, no rules without exceptions. Some music is so old that there are no longer any economic rights attached to it. Music recordings released before 1948, composed and written by an author who has been dead for more than 70 years, can be freely used, without a TONO license or agreements with record companies.
– If you want to bring older material to light, you can do so freely. Then you just have to search, says Sætre.
TONO never says no to those who want an agreement for music in podcasts. All you need to do is get in touch. You need this agreement whether you are going to use recorded songs or have a choir singing live in the studio – as long as you are using copyrighted music. If you are only going to have live music in your podcast, a TONO agreement is enough.
Once a year, you must report what kind and how much music you have used, and how many downloads and streams you have had – and we will send you an invoice.
If you are going to use recorded music, you must have permission from the person who owns the recording itself. It is usually a record company that owns the recordings of big, well-known artists, while lesser-known performers can own their own. master rightsThere are no fixed framework agreements for the use of recorded music in podcasts, and the owner of a recording can decide the price themselves, or refuse you use.
If you want to use recordings that were first released more than 70 years ago, you do not need to clarify this.
You should be careful not to edit or change the music you use, for example, for theme songs and jingles. All adaptations of copyrighted music must be approved by the copyright holder. Contact the person(s) who composed and wrote the work, or their music publisher.
When using recorded music, you should always have permission. In other words: ask for permission, not forgivenessIf you use a recorded song without having made an agreement with the owner of the recording in advance, you lose the opportunity to negotiate. Then the person or persons who own the recording have the right to demand what they believe is a fair price for your use.
Would you like a TONO license for podcasts? Contact Stig Sætre at stig.saetre@tono.no or phone 453 99 461.
Want to listen to TONO's podcast, Lage Musikk? You can find it here: