How does music (original songs in particular) get chosen for movie sound tracks?
I can understand how existing songs can be chosen, but what about orginal songs?
If I’m releasing a big-budget action movie next summer and I want a catchy song on the soundtrack what would I do?
Would one call-up the heavy hitters (Moby, Madonna, etc.) and see if they have anything “in the can”? Or do you ask them to compose something new?
Always curious…
MtM
There are two ways to get music for film:
Through a licencing agreement (this would be for an exisiting song)
Through a work-for-hire agreement as when you hire someone to write the score and any additional tunes.
For #1 you have to get Master Use and Synch Licences and the owner of the copyright (the artist/songwriter) retains their rights to the song.
The licence agreements will specify the scope of the music use – if it’s just background noise, if it’s “featured” (e.g. a character turns on the radio), if someone “performs” it (like an actor pretending to be the rock star) etc. The songwriter/copyright owner is also entitled to performance royalties and whatnot. If it’s to be included on the CD soundtrack, then that’s a whole other can o’ worms, usually requiring a separate set of licences.
For #2 the composer is hired by the studio and acts as the studio’s employee and all intellectual property rights belong to the production company.
Most film production companies have Music Supervisors – they are the ones who will work publishers (like the Harry Fox Agency) to find the right music. They may have their own catalog if (indie) artists have approached them. The lesser known the artist, the better deal a Music Supervisor will be able to negotiate (cheaper to use an unknown’s tune than one belonging to a famous person).
Oh and BTW, if you know/honob-with/sleep-with the right people, you can go and ask a songwriter to write something or if they have something as-yet-unreleased. Madonna might not return your call, but your entertainment lawyer could probably call her entertainment lawyers or agent to get some kind of dialogue going (assuming they think there’s a fat enough wad of cash behind it).
Unless it’s a film composer who writes film scores as a career, you won’t get a famous person to agree to a work-for-hire arrangement. Their lawyers would (quite wisely) refuse to let them even consider it because they would lose out – big time – on royalties.
I’m a little fuzzy on this still.
Can you explaing the process for James Bond “Die Another Day”?
I assume the movie title was chosen first, they then needed a theme song.
How did Madonna’s get picked? Would there be other “Die Another Day” songs from other artists?
MtM
There are a surprisingly small number of people who score a significant percentage of movies out there. You call Danny Elfman or one of his ilk.
Most standard recording artists have a lousy track record in producing music that fits in with a movie score. Title tracks are easier but the rest is hard for most folk. Many just can’t deal with deadline pressure.
For a really big (ego-wise) star, many times they come to you with the song they want to put in your movie and you work around them (if you want to).
The producers went to Madonna’s agent and asked if she would write a song for the movie entitled “Die Another Day.” The agent contacted her, and she agreed. The agent then negotiated a contract with the producers. If no agreement could be reached, they producers would go to some other artist.
It was not a case of auditioning – when movie producers want a name artist to write a song, they commission it. They do not have “tryouts.”
Other artists could write songs called “Die Another Day” (assuming the Bond producers didn’t trademark the title, which would make it a tricky case), but they’d get into trouble if they indicated it had anything to do with Bond.
Well, the process varies quite a bit and it ends up being fancy contract negotiations – lawyers sending paperwork back and forth.
Okay, that the song “The World Is Not Enough”, right?
So, Madonna was the “performer” that’s as far as it goes for her. (Actually, if you look up at BMI, they list the copyright owners, and the artist is listed as “studio musicians”). Madonna likely got paid a HUGE lump sum to record it and also gets performance royalties.
The writers were David Arnold and Don Black.
So here are the choices:
Work-for-hire or 2) Master/Synch Licence
Arnold and Black were hired, specifically, by the film production company to write a tune for the movie “Die Another Day.” The production company sends them a work-for hire agreement (e.g. their employment contract). The producer then owns the song when it’s all finished.
Madonna’s part in the grand scheme is about the same a Pierce Brosnan’s. She was hired to sing the tune, he was hired to be Mr. Bond.
If it was a work-for-hire agreement than the songwriters would also be in the same boat as Madonna and Brosnan. (But they wouldn’t get performance royalties.)
It is quite possible (probable) that other songs were considered for the flick too (if it wasn’t a work-for-hire).
Also, titles can’t be copyrighted. So there could be several songs with that title.a title like “Die Another Day”. (There are a bunch called “A View to a Kill” for example.)
If you approach someone famous and ask them to write a song for a movie, it would likely be some kind of work-for-hire arrangement, but the actual contract would be a legal nightmare. Lawyers can make a simple work-for-hire contract really difficult. There would be much squabbling and negotiation. So contract after contract would be drafted, resfused and go back and forth until everyone decided they were happy.
That reminds me. There is a big difference between writing the film score, and having a song featured in the film.
Example: Randy Edelman wrote the score for the Joshua Jackson piece o’ crap The Skulls. Creed and Lorna Vallings both had songs featured on the soundtrack. They were not commissioned to write anything, their songs already existed and were licenced to appear in the movie. Vallings’s tune was also licenced to appear on the CD.
The other scenario that no one has really mentioned except in passing is scoring the music for a film. This can range from very elaborate (like John Williams’ scores for the Star Wars movies) to unobtrusive background music that you don’t even notice on a conscious level, but it sets the mood for the scene.
In these cases, the composer works with the director to determine what music will fit with which scenes. After the movie has been edited, the conductor and the orchestra will sit in the studio and perform the score while the movie is projected on a screen for synchronization purposes.
How about Phil Collins doing the last Tarzan movie? Or Elton John doing The Lion King?
Honkytonk - same thing that falls under “commissioned work” which is a work-for-hire arrangement.
Visit the glossary at this site and look up “Master Use Licence”, “Synchronization Licence” and “Work for Hire”. All should then be clear, Grasshopper.
Fat Bald Guy - Scoring also usually falls under work-for-hire because you are commissioned by the production company to compose the score. Same as if you are hired by the production company to edit the movie or paint the scenery.
My posts above were probably too long to be clear. Just check out the short definitions at the glossary of the site above. If you have any questions you can send them a message – they’re nice people 
and will gladly answer in greater detail.
Seriously the way it work generally is through one of the two choices above (this is part of my job folks).
Commissioned work = work-for-hire
(e.g. you are hired to write a tune or to write a film score)
Use of an exisiting work = Master/synch licencing agreement
(e.g. you are a songwriter and the movie wants to use a song you already wrote)