What's the difference between production, library and stock music?
PRODUCTION MUSIC? LIBRARY MUSIC? STOCK MUSIC? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
When you’re looking to bring some strings to your film, TV show, podcast, online video or radio broadcast, you’ve got two options: learn the cello and the violin and start composing, or get the music from a third-party source. Assuming you go for the second option, you’ve got another fork in the road. On the left, you can include some music that you already know, which could indeed be a world famous piece by Haydn or Schubert. On the right, you can find original music within your chosen genre, which could be an even better fit.
In both cases, it’s not a simple case of downloading it and adding it to the soundtrack. You’ll have to know your rights and responsibilities with regard to regarding its use, for example whether you need to give a credit, and how (or if) you pay for it. If the source of your music find doesn’t clearly state what the legal restrictions of its use are, it would not be wise to use it, as you could be landed with a copyright infringement claim.
For that reason, it’s best to stick with established production music businesses who handle the music licensing legality and also ensuring artists are fairly remunerated. But when you’re looking for such music, three phrases will keep popping up: library music, production music and stock music. But what do they mean?
Essentially, the three things are the same, if not identical. Any differences are usually only of concern to the company that’s offering the services, but to the general public, and the media industry in general, they tend to be used interchangeably.
What is production music?
Production music is music where the copyright is owned by a music company rather than, say, the composer, musician or orchestra. They have the right to sell the piece of music to anyone who wants to use music for their content purchase. In some models, the production music company pays the musicians and composers a one-off fee, essentially for their time and effort, at which point the originators relinquish the right to profit from it. However, they might still be eligible for royalties when the music is broadcast or used in certain media. The bigger the audience and the longer the piece, the more musicians and composers would receive under that arrangement.
The specific allocation of royalties depends on the contract the musicians have with the production music company and the arrangement the company has with the end user of the music. It’s sometimes in the musician’s interest to take a large lump sum for their time and effort; if the music is never bought, they profit anyway. However, if the music goes on to be used widely, they might wish they had held on to some royalty rights. At Universal Production Music we ensure composers get paid a fair amount of royalties.
What is library music?
Some music companies will describe their product as “library music”, but it’s essentially the same as production music in terms of the relationship with composers and media producers. The word “library” perhaps sums up the concept a little more clearly, as it’s easy to imagine “borrowing” a composition in the knowledge that other borrowers might also use the same piece.
Many TV show themes that we consider iconic started out as library music, and were made famous because of it. That can limit re-use, as producers might steer clear of such well-known pieces as they would rather have their own identity, but there are cases of two productions using the same theme tune. For example, the theme tune to the British news show Channel 4 News also appears in the trailer to Pale Rider, a Clint Eastwood Western!
What is stock music?
Many of us are used to aware of what stock photography usage is, which is where whereby a publication or website will buy the rights to a photograph from a third party. Compared to commissioning a photo shoot, it’s much cheaper for the publication, and photographers are given an outlet to sell their work, rather than having to pitch to individual clients. Well, stock music follows the same concept, except it’s for (you guessed it) music.
Again, the phrase “stock music” is a handy way of telling the world what your product is in a language they understand (thanks to stock photography). However, in terms of payment arrangements between artists, stock music agencies, producers and broadcasters, there’s nothing to distinguish this business model from production music and library music.
... but not all production music companies are equal
While the three terms might mean more or less the same thing, that doesn’t mean that all the agencies specialising in the services are the same. The larger the music collection, the more likely you are to find the piece you’re looking for, and the less likely you are to find it also being used elsewhere. Also, the way music is categorised helps you to zero in on the perfect track. Arranging by mood, genre and labels is an invaluable tool. Throw in a helpful team who can help find the best music for your production, and you’ve got a truly Universal solution.
Looking for production music for your next project? Get in touch with our teams here.
