Get the music licence agreement that matches the way the track will be used

Because the commercial value of a track often turns on details that are easy to gloss over in emails. A music licence agreement can record where the music may appear, whether edits are allowed, how long the use lasts, what fee or royalty applies, and whether the licence is exclusive. Those points matter whether the music is being used in advertising, content production, live events or branded campaigns. If they are unclear, disputes can arise later about scope creep, unpaid usage, takedown demands or whether further permissions are needed.

Most music licence agreements cover the type of licence being granted, the exact track or catalogue involved, the permitted media, territory, term, payment model and any approval rights over edits or context of use. Depending on the arrangement, the document may also address attribution, moral rights consents, exclusivity, sublicensing, content restrictions and what happens if the campaign or project changes. If the music is being used across multiple channels, it is especially important to define whether the licence covers social, broadcast, streaming, live use or future cut-downs.

Useful information includes who owns or controls the music, how the track will be used, whether the use is commercial or promotional, which channels are involved, the proposed term, territory and payment structure, and whether the other party has sent a draft already. A sync-style use in video content may need different wording from a background use at an event or a broader brand campaign. If there are approval steps around edits, remixes, snippets or context, those should be raised early so they can be built into the agreement.

Sometimes a template helps frame the conversation, but it often leaves out the points that matter most in real music deals. Generic forms may not properly address edit rights, platform-specific use, exclusivity, approval controls, royalty triggers or what happens if the music is reused beyond the original project. That can be a problem where a track is central to a campaign or where multiple rights holders are involved. A tailored agreement is usually the better option when the music has ongoing value, reputational sensitivity or more than one intended use.

That depends on whether you need a fresh draft or a review of an existing document, and on how settled the commercial terms already are. A straightforward review can be quicker if the parties have already agreed the main points. Timing often stretches when there are open questions about ownership, approval rights, media scope or payment structure. If any external sign-off or approval is relevant, that is outside this service. Where an external authority is involved, we will help you understand what may be needed for your situation. which can affect the wider project timetable.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Music Licence Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.