FAQs about Licensing Our Music

These are frequently asked questions about licensing Model Electronic’s music. Hopefully, you will refer to our tutorial and guide pages as well. If you have any further questions after reading those guides, feel free to ask us via the contact page (as long as they are related to our music and licensing service).

How to Obtain a License to Use Our Music
Licensing Guide (Knowledge Base)
How to Deal with PRO

What’s the difference between your catalog and the others?

As we are a record label, our priority is to create music for commercial/public releases which are digitally and physically distributed to a general market. However, we have also been involved in music production and licensing business for media projects such as advertising campaigns, films, and video games. For over two decades, through our original music, we have been committed to helping our clients to tell their stories and messages to their customers. From the B2B point-of-view, we have spent a great deal of time building a “hybrid catalog” which is optimized for professional music licensing needs. For example, we always stock an abundance of alternative mixes, edits, and stems of the original releases.

Unlike production music and stock music libraries, we never aim at hoarding tons of music tracks from outside composers. We would rather focus on providing more creatively challenging and quality story-telling music you would never hear in ordinary music libraries out there.

We have not only a creative edge but also business flexibility, by getting the best of both traditional record labels and music libraries.

For what kind of media projects can we use music from your catalog?

While we focus on so-called “Sync Licensing,” we handle a wide range of licenses for including, but not limited to these uses. We strongly recommend you take a look at Licensing Guide page as well to understand the basics of music licensing.

– Synchronization Uses –

Films
TV Programming (Shows, Documentaries, Dramas, News, etc.)
TV Advertising Campaigns (Commercials)
Film Trailers & TV Promos
Corporate Productions (Theater, Competition Video/Slide, etc)
Video Games and Software
Internet Websites, Webisodes, Flash
Products and Toys
Video Packages (Music for Video, DVD or CD-ROM)

– Non-synchronization Uses –

Radio Programming and Advertising Campaigns (Commercials)
Audio Projects
Music Compilation (CD, PC Audio)
Public Space (Live Events, Restaurants, Trade Shows, Retail Spaces)
Ringtones (Master/Pre-Recorded Ringtones)

Are these tracks 100% pre-cleared for licenses?

Yes. All the tracks in our catalog have been registered to PRO/MRO regarding performing and mechanical rights. We Model Electronic own their master rights as well. We provide a one-stop resource so that we could serve your musical needs quickly and bring you a hassle-free license deal.

If your request involves a performance license such as a broadcasting use, you will need to submit a report/cue sheet and pay (or have someone pay) appropriate performing royalties. But don’t worry, we understand nuts and bolts of music licensing and could address the specific needs of your project.

I’d like to use your music for my monetized video on Youtube. Do I have to get permission from you?

Yes. Regardless of whether you advertise something in your video or not, monetizing through your video on video sharing websites such as Youtube and Twitch TV is supposed to be regarded as a profit-earning use, i.e. commercial use/license. You are required to contact us via License Form to obtain a license to use our music and pay the license fee. Please note that we don’t grant any license to use our pre-released tracks for a project whose music budget is very low (such as less than $100). Thanks for your understanding.

Do you license your music for personal use such as background music of my (sports, motivational, wedding, etc.) videos?

Unfortunately, our music license is not available for non-commercial, non-profit videos, and personal/private or student productions on any media. We handle only commercial licenses with a certain amount of budget. Please note that we don’t provide anyone formal authorization to use our music for free. When it comes to using our music for your “monetized (ad-driven)” Youtube videos, please refer to the Q3.

Any inquiries for these non-commercial uses will not be answered since we don’t have the resources to reply to all of them. Thanks for your understanding.

Do you do additional/custom edits for these pre-existing tracks?

Yes. We can meet your needs by providing additional production and custom edits of our pre-existing tracks, but it would charge you extra fees in addition to the basic license fees. As we already have a lot of alternative mixes and edits/stems of our music, we will try to find out how we could do with them lest it should exceed the capacity of your budget.

Do you possibly hire outside composers or accept their submissions for your catalog?

As written on the Contact page, we don’t have a plan to hire outside composers at the moment.

Do you have a rate card?

As license fees vary according to how you use our music, we concluded that generalizing license rates and automating licensing process too much could work against our goal. We do not aim at being a “music delivery service” nor a “supermarket of music licensing” just to achieve as many placements as possible. Our priority is to offer a quality music licensing service with which we can discuss your needs, provide appropriate music at appropriate rates, and build a long-term relationship with our clients.

How can I use your music for a sample/beat of my new song legally?

To avoid the complexity and possible troubles of sampling clearance and agreements, we basically don’t permit other artists to sample our master recordings for their new works (unless they work with experienced A&Rs and attorneys that can address the legal process and payment responsibly). This includes derivative works/acts such as singing or rapping a new song on any part of our masters, of course.

Please understand it and look for other easy-to-clear sampling sources. Thanks for your interest!

Reference: “When You Need Permission to Sample Others’ Music” (Nolo)

As a professional licensing agent, how can I have a non-exclusive sync representation deal with you?

Feel free to ask us via the contact page. We would appreciate your interest. Please note that we are not seeking (sub-)publishing deal and an exclusive representation.