This document provides guidance for businesses looking to use music in their products or services. It discusses important questions to consider regarding the product idea, business model, target customers, required music rights and costs. The document also outlines different categories of music businesses and alternatives to direct licensing of music rights. It provides tips on structuring music licensing deals and who should be contacted for negotiations. Finally, it emphasizes developing an engaging product and business model that can generate value for rights holders.

1. Content Acquisition and
Business Development
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2. CULTURE
CLASH

3. SO, YOU
THINK YOU
HAVE A
PRODUCT
- What’s the big idea?
- What problem are you solving
- Who are your competitors and why are
you better?
- Who will use your product?
- How will music be used and what rights
do you need?
- What platforms and technologies can
you leverage?
- Do you have a working prototype and
white paper?

4. SO, YOU
THINK YOU
HAVE A
BUSINESS
- How will you make money?
- Have you modeled out the costs of your
business to account for growth?
- Who are your customers?
- How will you distribute and market
your business?
- What music rights do you need and how
much will they cost?
- How does the money flow and how do you
account to rights holders?

5. CATEGORIES
& BUSINESS
MODELS
- Content delivery & distribution
- A la carte downloads
- Cloud based streaming
- Web radio services
- Games/Entertainment
- Console
- PC-based (includes social media)
- Mobile/Apps
- Productivity tools/Social media marketing
- e.g., Root Music, Fanrank, Topspin

6. WHO
SHOULD I BE
NEGOTIATING
WITH?
- It depends on the rights you are
looking for:
- Record label business development
executives and lawyers
- Music publishers and rights societies
- Artists and artist managers
- Know who you are meeting with and
what motivates them

7. STRUCTURING
THE DEAL
- Term – how long
- Territories
- Economics
- Financial commitments/thresholds
- Offering equity? If so, how much?
** Tip: It never hurts to hire a seasoned
music lawyer!!!!

8. ALTERNATIVES
TO DIRECT
LICENSING
- Sub-license from white label content holders,
e.g., 7 Digital, MediaNet
- Production Music, e.g., Pump Audio
- Independent artists who own their own
recording and publishing rights
- Free Music Archive, archive.org,
Creative Commons.org
And leverage music industry sources…
- Trade associations: NARM, A2iAM, Merlin
- Events: SF Music Tech, Music Hack Day,
Billboard music conferences, NARM,
MIDEM, SXSW, Digital Music Forum

9. API’s
- API’s (Application Programming Interface)
are fueling creativity and growth
- Developers “may” use music in apps built
on API’s without seeking a separate
license, e.g., Spotify apps
- Labels want to harness the creativity in
app development and some like EMI &
IDJ are making full length music available.
- Understanding Terms of Service when
using API’s
- Are there commercial opportunities?
- When to go down this route?

10. IN
CONCLUSION
- Develop a killer product that will grab
public and media attention
- Develop strategies to attract users
and sustain engagement
- Have a business model for profitability
knowing where you can be flexible and
where you can’t
- Demonstrate that you can truly add to the
rights holder’s bottom line
- Most importantly…Be passionate about
your product!