Publishing and Licensing

Through this course, students will acquire a detailed understanding of music publishing beginning with the signing of a songwriter through to the exploitation of an administered work via a synchronization license. We will look at the basics of copyright and how a music publisher handles its works in order to best monetize its catalog through print, mechanicals, performance, and licensing.

Students will also complete a detailed study of the clearance process of synchronization and the language and terms included in licensing agreements for film, television, video games and other digital media. This course will provide a comprehensive look at music licensing from the point of view of the various departments within a music publisher as well as from a music supervisor’s perspective.

This course will review the use of music in popular and current film, TV and advertising projects to look at aesthetic, artist positioning, and the relationship between the value of a song, pricing and a production’s budget. Students will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to be a music supervisor; work at a film/television studio or advertising agency’s music department, an international music publishing company, or an online media distribution company; or to start their own music publisher.