Production music
Production music, also called library music, is music that the creator has written solely to offer to production companies that will use the music in, for example, film and TV.
Production music is not released to record buyers but is often collected in special 'libraries' for distribution to production companies and the like.
When a creator affiliated with STIM is going to release production music, an agreement on an exception to the grant of rights must be included in the affiliation contract.
Such an exception means that responsibility for licensing and control reverts to the creator, so-called self-management. The production music is then registered as usual in STIM's works register via My pages. The work titles that are to be self-managed are marked with 'LIB' under 'Intended use'.
What does production music mean?
Self-management of synchronization rights and reproduction rights applies to production music according to the definition below:
A musical work, without a commissioning client, that has been released* solely to be used, non‑exclusively, in audio and audiovisual productions**.
* Intended primarily for production companies and similar businesses to use as background music in their own audio and visual productions.
** For example radio advertising, video games, TV programs, and similar.
Please note that
- self-management can only cover synchronization and reproduction, i.e. not, for example, public performance.
- all rights holders of a work must have applied for self-management for it to be considered production music.
- mark all titles that will be self-managed with LIB when the works are registered. Otherwise the work will be handled according to NCB's regular collection and distribution policy.
- The publisher of production music is responsible for ensuring that the recording and performers' rights, the so‑called neighboring rights, are cleared.