leasing a song

miahangel2084

I've been considering leasing a song for sometime just because im not experienced enough for legal possesses to release my own. I have come across a site for leasing agreements https://www.rocketsongs.com/ it seems pretty legit however i would definitely have an entertainment lawyer over look anything i sign, has anybody had any experience with them? is it good or bad? or have recommendations for a different source to lease songs? ive done some of my own research and multiple sites say that to studio record i would need a lease, to record a video even with my master recording i would still need an additional lease to make a music video, also if i wanted to utilize it in a live show that would also require a separate lease, i sent them an email regarding my research and they told me once i lease the song i can do all of that within the time period of the lease agreement, and do not require an additional one to perform live shows once my lease expires, and I'am more than eligible to renew my lease if i feel like I'm running out of time or if later i would like to re record, like i said i will definitely have an entertainment lawyer over look anything i sign, what do you guys think?
Thanks in advance

Wigs

Sorry I have never really looked into this aspect of sing covers.

bentk

I also have no experience with this. Maybe some seasoned performers on the forum have experience with it?

highmtn

It's expensive. My band leased about a dozen songs a few years back, from Harry Fox agency. I believe Sony now owns Harry Fox agency, but you can probably google them and get more information.

Different songs cost different amounts, depending on the owner of the copyrights. Some of the songs we leased were reasonable, and some were quite spendy.

We were already deep in the recording process when we got the cost figures. We probably would have bypassed a few of the songs because they were so much more expensive than other equally good songs. But because we were deep into working on those recordings, we forked over the money for the more expensive tunes, too.

Some songs were owned by several entities, and each one had to be paid whatever they decided to charge. A couple of the songs ended up costing as much as the other ten combined. Do your research.

You just look up the songs you are interested and sign a contract for each one, for the number of copies you plan to make. You can renew to add more copies later if you sell out.

There were some that were half-owned by Harry Fox, and then we had to reach out to the managers or attorneys for the owners of the remaining rights on the song.

You have to come up with the money before you can use the material. So if you plan on selling the recordings, you will have to have the funds up front.

Video and internet rights to use these licenses can be very expensive. Very. If you get a million views, you might owe a LOT of money or have to pull your recording down because you can't afford to pay the royalties.

Darkiehol

I think it's smart to have a legal eagle give any contracts the once-over. Better safe than sorry, right? If you're still on the fence, maybe scope out some other leasing sites for comparison.
Also, big ups for doing your homework on studio recording and music video rights. It's a jungle out there in the music biz, but it sounds like you're on the right track.
If you're still feeling iffy or want more insights, consider tapping into some director disqualification experts. They might have some insider knowledge to help you navigate the wild world of music leasing.