Music Licensing: Who signs first? The Licensor or the Licensee?

January 23, 2018 4:42 PM

I recently arranged and recorded a piece of music that has already been broadcast on television, and am expecting payment in the near future (agreed upon in advance in writing). I was asked by the production company to issue a synchronization and master use license.

My PRO is BMI, and apparently they do not offer synchronization licenses, so I drafted a license based on a few different templates.

My question is: do I send the license to the Licensee with my signature, or do I have them sign it first, then send it back to me to sign, and send back to them?

Thanks!

posted by matticulate to Work & Money (2 answers total)

Best answer: Send it to them unsigned. They may want to negotiate some of the terms, so signing would be pointless.
posted by praemunire at 4:55 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I don't handle music licenses, but I have done other types of license negotiations. Sending to them unsigned is fine and is probably standard practice. On the other hand, signing it costs you nothing and if the license as-is represents what you want, it creates an easy avenue to an agreement. All they have to do is sign. If they are motivated to get an agreement done quickly, that could be a win-win.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:15 AM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]