Why no credits for music tracks used in episodes of Netflix shows?

February 24, 2020 11:12 AM

Something I realized recently is that music tracks are not credited at the end of episodes of Netflix shows. This is particularly frustrating when I liked some music in an episode but then the track/performer is never listed in the credits. Why is this the case? What's the legal situation that allows them to not have to credit the music?
posted by indyjones to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

I can't speak to that, but I'll note that there are community-driven efforts that provide more musical references, including where in a movie or TV episode a particular song appeared, including Tunefind, which was posted to MetaFilter previously, with a discussion of similar sites (though in the five years since that post went up, HeardonTV.com was either bought out or went under, and that URL points to Tunefind).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:27 AM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: TV shows never show the song credits, anywhere.

But for a more in depth discussion on this, lets turn to...this very website about 8 months ago.
posted by sideshow at 11:27 AM on February 24, 2020 [8 favorites]

Sometimes, but not always, I have noticed the songs credited in the subtitles. I've discovered some good tunes this way.
posted by Juniper Toast at 11:33 AM on February 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have had great luck with using an app like Shazam for this. As long as there are a few seconds of the song playing by itself without dialog or other sound effects, it is usually enough to latch onto.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:20 PM on February 24, 2020 [4 favorites]

Tunefind is a good resource for music used in TV shows.
posted by Clustercuss at 2:20 PM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

I bet this has to do with licensing. They get different song rights because of licensing agreements and/or localization changes according to what country the show is being streamed to. So it's not the same song in all markets.
posted by bradbane at 2:56 PM on February 24, 2020

This is common, not just a Netflix thing. Grab Shazam on your phone and have it ready. You can get Shazam to automatically send the tracks you search to a playlist on Spotify. It's the only thin I use Spotify for.
posted by 0bvious at 4:06 PM on February 24, 2020

All licenses for music, archival footage, photos, etc., have a clause that gives the producers some wiggle room , “to the extent possible” or language like this:

“Subject to any applicable guild or union requirements and network credit policies and approval, user agrees to give NAME a credit. The size, style, placement and all other aspects of the credit shall be at user’s absolute and sole discretion. No casual or inadvertent failure by user, nor any failure by a third party to comply with said credit provisions shall be deemed a breach of this Agreement.”
Nothing to do with moral rights—it’s about time.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:49 AM on February 25, 2020