How much does music licensing cost?

How much does music licensing cost for movies?

• Answer:

  It varies wildly depending on the popularity of the song and the particular recording, the extent of the use and the type of use, the type of film, the budget of the film, and how important music is in the film in general. Getting a well-known, popular tune for the end credits of a Hollywood blockbuster, for example, is going to be extraordinarily more expensive than getting permission for a character in the background of an independent film to whistle something relatively unknown.