Licensed music vs Unlicensed music

I often get asked this question a lot "can you use “All of you” by John Legend (or something similar) in my wedding film?"... "I saw so-and-so use this song and they haven't had any issues"...or "I was told that you can use any song - as long as I keep it private and no one sees it"...or "I really like that song, can you just take a chance?"

I’ve done some research into this and I discovered some interesting facts about Wedding Video Music Licensing that I’ll share below.

Can I use copyrighted music for wedding/event films?

No, you cannot use copyrighted music in a wedding/event film unless you have specifically licensed the music from an authorized source. There are companies that have large catalogs of music available to license for your wedding/event films.

Why do you need to use licensed music for wedding/event films?

Short answer first, because it’s the right (and legal) thing to do! Copyright laws exist for a good reason. It protects the intellectual rights of the original recording artist(s) of the their music.

In short, artists like to get paid for the music they have created. Using their music in your wedding/event films without permission is essentially the same thing as stealing their work. You can be sued if you go down that path (which I don't want to happen).

Understandably, the recording artists will feel “ripped off” whenever their work is stolen or used without permission. It’s important to know that if you intend to use that same track for another wedding/event film, you’ll need a separate license for each use. This is where things can start to get expensive if you are individually purchasing licensed music for every production. 

Thankfully you have options! You can use music where you have been granted permission under a creative commons license. Here, we’ll be exploring certain providers that offer a subscription service that allows multiple tracks to be licensed for a reasonable monthly fee. 

**I have access to some sites, which are listed above**

What happens if I upload a wedding/event film that contains unlicensed music?

Some videographers (a small minority) take a chance by including unlicensed music tracks into their wedding/event films. They might do this because they think a particular song will work very well with the footage that they have filmed OR the clients were very insistent with a particular song choice.

They also think that they’ll get away with this practice. However, they may be surprised to learn that popular video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo have sophisticated algorithms that automatically detect music that may be subject to copyright protection. The algorithms work by scanning the video after it has been uploaded and it attempts to match the audio to a large database of licensed music. If a match is found, the video is flagged and you’ll receive a notification that licensed music has been detected. This even works with cover songs by other artists. 

What if you have OFFICIALLY licensed the music for the video? 

If you have legitimately paid and licensed the music through official channels, then you have nothing to worry about. Simply dispute the copyright claim with the site that flagged you. 

Yes, the platform will always flag the detection because it doesn’t know at first whether or not you have purchased the right to use that music. Most likely, you will have to make a declaration that you have the right to use that music and show proof that you have the appropriate license. Clients generally don't need to worry about this, but it's good to know :)

Has a videographer ever actually been sued for using copyrighted music?

Yes, in 2011, a very small known wedding videographer, Joe Simon, found himself in a lot of legal hot water after posting a wedding film with unlicensed music that went viral on YouTube. 

The song that this wedding filmmaker used without permission was “Fix You,” a very popular song from Coldplay. Back in 2011, most wedding videographers were blissfully unaware of the implications of using unlicensed music in their wedding films. 

Also, mainstream music licensing services were almost unheard of Musicbed.com, one of the most popular platforms, only launched that same year. 

So what happened next?

Long story short - Joe Simon went through an expensive legal lawsuit from the copyright owner. Due to the terms of their agreement, neither party can talk about the copyright infringement settlement but we do know that Joe had to pay the copyright owners in the ballpark amount between $10K and $100K. Yikes!