Copyright Permission: Music

When you need permission to use a music recording, you have to get permission from two separate contacts:

1. Rights to the song itself, from the music publisher. 
   You track down the music publisher by looking up the song in iMuzDB or another source listed in the box below.
2. Rights to the recorded performance, a.k.a. master rights, from the record company, a.k.a. label
   Smaller record companies will put their name on the CD insert or in the metadata of the MP3 (or other digital music file)
   Larger record companies are listed in a box below.  

Each of these organizations has a database you can search to get the contact information for the music publisher (which is what you need for the song rights) and the label (which is what you need for the master rights.)

We recommend contacting by email or phone first to confirm that they are the right person to ask, and to determine whether they wish to proceed by email or land mail. 

If you are using land mail, be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and send it all by Certified Mail so that you can be sure that it arrived.