How Much to License a Song
in a Commercial Video?

by Philippe-Aubert Messier

Do you need to get the rights to use the song in a commercial video?

Knowing which right to clear can seem daunting, let alone figuring out who to ask. Copyright law varies from country to country, and information about who owns what is not centralized. Copyright clearance is indeed a complex topic, and since it can involve money and artists’ creations it must be navigated with care. Once you know what you’re doing it’s fun and rewarding!  

Now how much does it actually cost? Licensing fees vary wildly but generally speaking, well-known artists will rarely license their music to be used on a commercial video for under 5 figure amounts. At the top of the range, we license deals for over 500,000 $ but those are usually global, they include all media including broadcast television, and the songs are for A-list artists (think U2, Beyoncé, Jame Brown, etc). 

For the adventurous, We have an article on licensing music for commercials that will get you started.

We’ve licensed thousands of songs for brands for 20+ years and we love doing it. Over the years, we’ve developed a straightforward process to speed things up and maintain the highest standards of diligence.  We use specialized databases to find the record labels, composers, publishers, and any other rights holders to the song you need, no matter how many parties are involved or how long ago your song was released.

Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll get back to you with a free estimate.

  • Your Project

Project Info

Your Name

Email

Phone Number

Song Title

Artist

Campaign Details: Media(s), duration and territory,

About our licensing services:

  • 20 years of experience in music licensing, most of it for brands
  • A dedicated team of experts
  • Thousands of songs licensed from all corners of the world
  • Fast, straightforward, and affordable
  • Approved vendors with all majors ad agency groups (IPG, Omnicom, WPP, Publicis, Dentsu)
  • Fully Errors & Omission (E&O) insured.

We’ve licensed songs by countless artists which include Jay-Z, U2, Lady Gaga, The Arcade Fire, Taylor Swift, Guns & Roses, Louis Armstrong, The Turtles, Etha James, Mos Def, Sigur Ros, Van Morrison, Steppenwolf, Roxette, and many many more.

You’re in a big bad hurry? Check out our big bad pre-approved library!

Or contact us for more info:

Laetitia Lebedeff
Music Rights Clearance Manager 
1-888-423-6665 ext. 7 (toll-free)
laetitia@boppermusic.com