Licensing & royalties
Music for Advertising Rights
Music for advertising rights are the permissions required to use music in commercial promotion — television and radio spots, online video advertising, paid social, in-store campaigns and sponsored content. Advertising is priced and scoped more tightly than any other use, and most general-purpose licences exclude it outright.
In practice
An advertising clearance defines media, territory, term, exclusivity (whether a competitor may use the same music) and often the product category. Fees scale with each dimension and with the profile of the music. The recurring trap is the renewal: a campaign that keeps performing needs an extension negotiated with a rights holder who knows exactly how much it is worth to you. The second trap is exclusivity — non-exclusive advertising music can appear in a competitor's spot in the same market.
How SoniBuyout® handles it
Buying the track out settles all five variables at once: all media, all territories, unlimited term, and exclusivity guaranteed because the track is permanently withdrawn from the catalogue after purchase. A campaign can run for years, expand into new markets and be re-cut without a rights conversation.
Real questions
Can I use a stock music subscription for a TV advert?
Most subscription licences exclude broadcast advertising or require a separate premium licence. Check the media list before the shoot, not before the air date.
How do I stop a competitor using the same track?
Only exclusivity does that. Non-exclusive licences allow parallel use; a buyout that removes the track from sale eliminates the possibility.
Related terms
Own the track instead of renting it
Sonify Music sells exclusive buyouts of catalogue tracks: one payment, full ownership, the track removed from sale and a named certificate of ownership.