Two copyrights, two fees
A recorded song carries two copyrights, and a production that wants the original recording needs permission from both: a synchronisation licence from whoever controls the song (the publisher, or the writer if self-published), and a master use licence from whoever controls the recording (the label, or the artist if independent). Each grants its own licence and takes its own fee.
By convention the two fees match: deals carry most-favoured-nations terms, so each side gets terms no worse than the other. Quote one side of a two-sided clearance and you have effectively quoted both. A production that will accept a cover version or re-record needs only the song licence, which is why re-records exist as a budget lever: one clearance, one fee, roughly half the cost.
What actually sets the price
The fee prices the use, not the song alone. Six variables stack into every quote: the media (a global ad campaign and a single TV episode sit in different price universes), how much of the track is used, how prominently (foreground feature versus background ambience), the term (how long the licence runs), the territories, and the recognisability of the track. A known hit carries a premium because it is doing creative work the production wanted; an unknown catalogue track is priced closer to its replaceability.
Budget tier matters as much as the music. Student films, independent features, network drama, streaming originals and global advertising campaigns each occupy their own band for the same track. When a client asks what a licence "should" cost, the first question is never which song, it is which of those rooms the production is in.
The ranges, honestly labelled
Public sync fee bands vary by source and year, so treat any range as orientation for where conversations start rather than a rate card. The figures in the table below are sourced and dated; where a number is illustrative of structure rather than verified as a market figure, it is labelled as such. The professional habit is the same one this site teaches for royalty statements: ask where a number comes from and when, before repeating it to a client.
One caveat that changes small budgets entirely: a music supervisor budgeting a low-budget production may find the two-sided clearance costs more than the scene is worth, and reverts to production music libraries or needle-drop platforms with fixed pricing. Those are real answers to "how much", but they buy limited licences, and a global campaign extension out of a library track reopens the negotiation at full price.
- Student film / micro-budget: often a token or waived fee per side, granted to secure the placement itself.
- Independent film / regional ad: low four figures per side is a common conversation.
- Network TV / streaming series: mid four figures to low five per side for a featured cue.
- Global advertising campaign: five figures to six figures per side for a recognised track.
What a blanket society licence does and does not cover
Businesses that play recorded music to the public (shops, bars, gyms, offices in the UK) do not clear song by song. PRS and PPL issue blanket licences that cover public performance of their repertoires for a flat fee based on premises size and usage. That is the cheap answer to "how much does a music licence cost", and the wrong one for anything that pairs music with moving picture: synchronisation sits outside blanket performance cover and is always cleared individually.
So the two questions a client means when they ask about cost need separating. Playing music in a room is a society blanket. Putting music under video is a per-use negotiation on both copyrights, and the ranges above apply. Advisers who miss the distinction either over-quote a cafe or under-quote an advert.
Who takes the fee
The fee splits along the deal chain. On the song side, the writer keeps a share set by their publishing deal: a typical co-publishing or administration deal leaves the writer most of the sync fee, while older full-publishing deals can halve it. On the recording side, the artist's share of a label-cleared sync follows the record deal, and licensing income is commonly split more evenly than sales royalties. A sync agent who pitched the track takes a commission from the side that engaged them, and an unrecouped writer may see the publishing share disappear into the advance balance.
The fee is also never the whole number. A broadcast placement pays performance royalties afterwards through PRS and PPL when it airs, which is why a below-market sync fee can still be the right answer: the placement drives streams and pays again on transmission. Advisers should quote clients the deal and the tail together.
Figures referred to
- Typical featured-cue sync range, network TV (per side)Illustrative
- £1,000 to £15,000Illustrative market band consistent with public sync-fee guidance; not a society tariff · as of 2026
- Blanket public-playage licence (UK premises)
- Flat annual fee set by PRS and PPL by premises type and sizePRS for Music, get a music licence guidance · as of 2026
- Clearance count for the original recording
- 2 licences (sync + master use); 1 for a cover or re-recordStandard industry structure; see PRS sync guidance below · as of 2026
Figures marked Illustrative show the shape of the market, not a quoted rate. The lessons keep the maintained, sourced numbers.
Primary sources
- Commercial Music Sync LicencePRS for Music guidance on clearing compositions for audiovisual synchronisation, and how sync sits outside blanket public-performance licences.
- PPL guidance for television productionsPPL guidance on clearing recorded music for television use.
Common questions
How much does it cost to licence a song for a YouTube video?
Depends on who is asking. A business or creator pairing a known track with video needs sync clearance, priced per use, from the publisher and label: no fixed price. Music uploaded and matched through Content ID often resolves as monetisation or blocking rather than a paid licence, and library or needle-drop platforms sell fixed-price alternatives.
Is a PRS licence the same as licensing a song?
No. PRS and PPL blanket licences cover playing music in public (a shop, a venue, a radio). Putting music under video or an advert is synchronisation, which sits outside those licences and is negotiated per use with both the publisher and the label.
Why is one song quoted at £500 and another at £50,000?
Because the fee prices the use and the replaceability. Media, prominence, term, territory and how much of the track all stack, and a recognised track carries a premium for doing creative work a production specifically wanted. The same song can sit at both ends of that range in different deals.
Do I need permission from both the label and the songwriter?
To use the original recording, yes: a synchronisation licence from the publishing side and a master use licence from the recording side, usually on matched (MFN) terms. To use a cover or re-record, only the song side.
Learn this properly
The interactive lessons on this topic, with sourced figures and live simulators: