Musicians doing tv commercials

[Caitlin89]

Can anyone tell me about the process of getting artists to record for tv commercials or borrowing their songs?

[bobbyx]

When using a song or piece of music for an ad. the company has to pay a royalty to the record company depending upon how much of the song is used, and to what extent the ad campaign goes to in coverage terms.

Using the original song can be quite expensive, so if you listen carefully you will notice that a lot of ads use specially commissioned versions by unknown sound-alikes which works out cheaper than using the original track. The contestants from 'Stars In Their Eyes' can make a good living out of this!

[Scarlett]

If you are an artist wanting to sell your songs for use on TV you will need to get a publisher interested in you. They will sign you with a publishing deal. They will own the publishing rights to your song, but they will do their best to get your song used. They will get a % of the money earnt.