Using the perfect song can transform your film — adding emotion, tension, or meaning. But what if the track you want isn’t royalty-free or part of a licensing library? Can you just use it anyway? What are your legal options?
Here’s everything you need to know about music clearance — and how we can help you get the rights legally and affordably.
🎧 Why You Can’t Just Use Any Music in Your Film
Music is protected by copyright. That means to use it in your project, you must get permission from the rightsholders— even if:
- The track is old
- You only use part of it
- You found it on YouTube
- You credit the artist
- It’s a student or indie film
If you don’t clear the rights, you could face takedowns, legal action, or be blocked from festivals or distribution.
🛑 What Rights Do You Need?
There are two main rights you must clear:
- Publishing rights – usually held by the songwriter, represented by a publisher or society like PRS for Music
- Master rights – owned by the artist, label, or recording owner, often represented by organisations like PPL UK
To use music in your video or film, you need a sync licence from both parties.
🤯 But How Do You Find the Rights Holders?
That’s where it gets tricky.
Some songs have multiple publishers and contributors. Some artists are unresponsive. Some songs are owned by major labels and publishers who are notoriously slow and expensive.
There are tools like BMI’s Repertoire Search or Songfile by the Harry Fox Agency , but they’re mostly US-based and not always reliable.
If you’ve hit a dead end, this is where working with a music clearance expert can save you time, money, and legal risk.
🔥 Let Resonant Help You Clear It
At Resonant, we offer a music clearance service to track down the rights holders, negotiate the sync licence, and help you use the track legally in your film, video, or commercial project.
✔️ We identify and contact rights holders
✔️ We negotiate sync fees on your behalf
✔️ We provide proper documentation and licensing agreements
Our standard clearance fee? Just 10% of the final sync cost.
For example, if a track costs £2,000, our admin fee is £200.
👉 Need help clearing a track right now? Contact us here
🎁 NEW: Free Music Clearance Support for Subscribers
We now include sync clearance support as part of our Subscription Plans — ideal for content creators, freelancers, and production companies:
🔹 Creator Pro Plan – £59/month
Perfect for freelancers, editors, and small teams.
Includes:
- Full access to our curated music library
- Sync usage for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, client work, and more
- Free clearance support for up to 2 tracks/month
- Priority licensing assistance
🔹 Production Company Plan – £99/month
Designed for agencies and in-house teams producing frequent video content.
Includes:
- Unlimited music use for commercial projects
- Priority support from our team
- Full clearance support for unlimited projects
- Discounted custom licensing services
🌱 Still in BETA – get early access for just £10/month using code YOUTUBE10 at checkout.
👉 View Plans & Try For Free Here
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re working on a student film, an indie feature, or commercial branded project, music clearance doesn’t have to be a legal nightmare.
With the right team and process, you can:
- Use the music you love
- Get it cleared legally
- Support real artists
- Keep your film protected
🎬 Got a track in mind? Let’s get it cleared.
💬 Questions? We’re happy to help — just reach out.
Support Real Artists. Use Real Music.
No scraping. No AI clones. No stolen content.
Just real music, from real people, for real stories.