Blackmagic Forum

I have had to explain to clients (Internal/External) the reasons why they cannot have Van Halen music on their commercial, video, film, presentation, corporate event etc etc... more times than I can count as I am sure most of us have. But I have a group inside my current company who just will not take this as an answer. I have given them links explaining at nauseam the reason and legalities. They keep coming back asking "well, how much would it actually cost"? Just so I can settle the case and give them a somewhat ballpark number - has anyone ever tried to secure the rights to a popular song either for a film, commercial or even a giant corporate event? Not an indie artist who maybe scored a short film for a grand or so but more like a Bob Seger's "Like a Rock" for instance - I just want to show them a solid example of what is involved and the cost. Also it would be cool to hear about. Thank You to anyone who will humor me!

Depends on use, media included, and region. Global obviously costs more.

For an A-list artist say 10 to 500 K in USD.

Back in the 1990s I used 30secs of a Queen track (can't remember which one) in a corporate production. Usage required the permission of the record company and the band themselves to make sure its usage would not put either into disrepute. The fee at the time was £100.00. The copyright owners of commercial tracks can charge what they like, there is no fixed scale unlike production music.
Many years ago there was a case of a production company using a copywrite track without permission. They received an invoice from the record company for £25,000.00. So it pays to get permission first before using.