Meaning of Pre-Cleared?

[FMstereo]

Hi there

I’d be really grateful for some clarification on the meaning of “pre-cleared”.

I’d always thought it simply meant that a song was immediately available for licensing as there were no additional permissions that needed to be sought, eg that you hadn’t sampled someone else’s work, that you’d got WFH agreements signed by the vocalist and all the musicians, and that you hadn’t already assigned your publishing.

On Taxi TV recently (Insider Edition - Building Your Brand and Getting Attention), Michael was talking about a tagline for Hookjaw, and he suggested, “pre-cleared, one stop, acoustic country blues”. That made perfect sense to me, and I thought it would be useful to include the phrase “pre-cleared, one stop” on my CDs that I bring to the Rally.

However, later in the programme (at around 1:09), someone asked what “pre-cleared” meant, and Michael said, “Pre-cleared means, yes, I will license this song for $1,000, so in other words, somebody … you don’t want to be interested in licensing a song and then find out that you want $20,000 for it. They want to know that it’s pre-cleared at $1,000. Now you may be able to negotiate a higher number, but you need to have a floor in there.”

I then found this definition on Wikipedia:
“music that has been pre-negotiated for price, distribution and legal use, generally through licensing for film, video, television (commercials and programs), Internet, events, video games and multimedia productions.”

Now I’m confused.

I can understand that music libraries may be able to say to their clients that all their music is pre-cleared at a certain dollar value if their songwriters have all signed contracts agreeing to a certain figure for synch licenses. (I’m not sure what music library contracts actually say as I haven’t yet signed one.)

However, as a songwriter who wants to pitch to music libraries and music supervisors, is the phrase “pre-cleared” not really applicable? My songs certainly won’t be “pre-negotiated for price” because I haven’t negotiated a price.

I’d really appreciate comments on this.

Cheers

[DesireInspires]

Your initial interpretation of pre-cleared makes the most sense. Price has nothing to do with it, since this will vary based on the usage of the song.

[mazz]

If you are shopping the piece to libraries and publishers, then they will want to know that you control the rights to the song and the master. In other words you warrant to the publishers that there are no strings attached as far as co-writers, musicians work for hire agreements, samples, etc. Then it is up to them to set a sync fee level, if any, for your piece and the other pieces in the library.

I believe if you are pitching to supervisors directly, they may want to know the "floor" price up front so there are no surprises if they decide they absolutely must have your piece.

[FMstereo]

Thanks DI and Mazz; very helpful comments.

Cheers

[remmet]

I would be concerned that stating a bottom line floor price might limit your ability to negotiate a higher price. Why would they be willing to pay more if you've already telegraphed what would be acceptable?

Perhaps this suggests a topic that might be interesting to cover on Taxi TV or at the Rally: effective negotiating strategies. Just a thought.

Richard

[FMstereo]

Hi Richard

Yes, that's a good point, and I had thought about that too. And as DI mentioned, price will vary according to usage.

It would be interesting to hear more about negotiating deals. My (uninformed?) view is that with so much music around, songwriters without a name or a following aren't in a position of strength, and are probably offered take it or leave it deals. I don't know.

I'm guessing I can use the phrase "pre-cleared" simply to mean that I control the rights to the song and the master.

Cheers

[Casey H]

Hey F-M
I would really only be concerned with the non-price aspect of pre-cleared, that is your ownership and control of the song and master.

Keep in mind that it is way more likely you'll get film/TV placements through music libraries. They handle the price negotiation so you don't have to worry about it. When you sign a track with a library, you give them power of attorney to sign licenses, so they are pre-cleared in that the library has indicated a price and is capable of signing instantly if needed.

I've never seen songwriters or artists use the phrase "pre-cleared" on their demo CDs. You could just indicate that you own and control 100% of master and composition.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Casey

[FMstereo]

Hi Casey

Yes, what you’ve said makes sense.

I haven’t seen the phrase “pre-cleared” on any other Taxi members’ CDs either, but it was only because Michael suggested it to Hookjaw that I thought it was a concise phrase to use.

Maybe it’s better to simply use the term “cleared”. I found this discussed on an earlier thread: http://forums.taxi.com/post282829.html? ... ed#p282829

Looking forward to seeing you again too! Roll on November!

Cheers

[Casey H]

Hey F-M
I think it's sufficient for a composer to simply put either:

(c) 2013 [Writer's Names]

or

(c) 2013 [Publishing Company Names]

on the CD.

If a library or end user is interested in your track, they will ask you if it's pre-cleared, you own all master and composition rights, etc. If you were a music library or publisher marketing other composer's material, stating that all tracks are pre-cleared for immediate licensing would be more appropriate.

Not that putting "All tracks cleared for immediate licensing" would hurt anything. It's just language not typically used on a demo/marketing CD from a songwriter/composer (AFAIK!)

Casey

[FMstereo]

Sounds good. Thanks Casey.

Cheers