What's the saying about laughing all the way to the bank? :)
But, how long do they get the rights to perform the song for? Do they have to get the rights again next year if someone next wants to sing it?
The value of each performance is determined by several factors, among them the amount of license fees collected in a medium (television, cable, radio, etc.), the type of performance (visual vocal, background music, theme song, jingle, etc.) and the economic significance of the licensee (how much a station pays us).
ASCAP also has this to say about it's licenses:
General Licensing administrates license agreements for more than 300,000 businesses and organizations. Because businesses use music in different ways — from bars and restaurants to telephone music on hold — there is no single license structure that covers every application.In General Licensing we have worked with various types of businesses and organizations to develop over 170 different licenses to cover your specific musical uses. We are unable to post licenses on our website but a list of available licenses can be seen here: List of Licenses.
It's a complicated business, and nowhere near as simple as we who aren't in the business realize.
Obtaining Rights to Use Music in Live Performances
The process of obtaining rights to use music in live performance is never an easy one. Unlike obtaining the rights to produce a play, there is no central clearinghouse for music clearance. Two major pieces of advice I can offer are, one, give yourself plenty of time to go through this process and two, always have a back-up plan if you are not successful in obtaining the rights.
One of the biggest misconceptions about music rights is that if you are working at, or are a student at a college or university, the rights are already taken care of by the educational institution. This is true, but only in a limited sense. While most colleges and universities do pay a licensing fee to ASCAP and BMI, the licenses are very narrow in terms of what’s covered by that fee. What is never covered by these standard university licenses is "grand rights" which is defined as the use of music in a "dramatic setting". This means that if you are presenting a play or dance performance, you cannot legally use any copyright protected music without first obtaining permission.
So you now know you need to get the rights. The first thing to do is to get as much information about the song you want to use. Look on the CD label for the following information:
•Record Company
•Record Company’s address, phone number
•Name of song
•Artist who performed the song
•Who wrote the song
•Album title
How one goes about getting permission varies depending on how you want to use the song. If you want to use a specific artist’s version of a song, you’ll need to contact the record company and the publisher (the publisher can usually be found via ASCAP or BMI). If you want to have someone sing or play a song live, you need to find out who represents the composer and lyricist and contact them, as well as the publisher. The specifics for each situation are detailed below.
If you want to use a specific artist’s version of a song, you would need to contact the record company and publisher. If the record label did not provide an address for the record company, check the Internet for the information. Whenever possible, it’s best to find out what information the record company needs or if there is a specific form that needs to be completed in order for your request to be considered.
Generally, when you contact the record company, there is some basic information they will want to know:
•What song do you want to use?
•How much of the song will you use? (Give an exact timing)
•How many other songs will be used in the production?
•What is the production? (A play? A dance performance?)
•If it’s a play, they will want to know the play title and what the play is about. Some companies may even want to have a copy of the scene during which the music will be played
•If it’s a dance performance, they will want to know what kind of dance it is.
•Who is presenting this performance? (A university, a amateur theatre, a professional theatre, etc)
This is just a general list of information. Again, it is best to find out the specific requirements for each record company.
If you want to play or sing a song live during a performance, you need to contact the composer’s/lyricist’s representative and the publisher. The best place to find out who the representatives are is via the internet. Both ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) have web sites and represent the interests of composers, lyricists and publishers.
These two web sites allow you to search a database by song title or composers’ name and in most instances, will indicate who holds the rights to that particular song. If you try both web sites and the song is not listed at either site, you need to contact the record company. They may be able to provide information on who to contact.
Some cautionary notes:
1. Be aware that you may need to contact more than one representative. The number of representatives you may need to contact is often based on how many composers/lyricists worked on a song.
2. Be sure that the person you deal with has the authority to grant permission for your particular usage.
I suspect that's easier for us to say than for the people who have a personal investment in the song. I also think it's a mistake to assume that the effect of something like that has a positive impact on the song's sales. It could easily have a negative impact.