Music Used in Audio-Visual Productions
Why does IMRO request notification of audio-visual productions along with corresponding cue sheets?
- Notifications of audio-visual productions in which your music has been used and the corresponding details of your musical works will be sent by IMRO to our sister societies promptly to ensure accurate and timely distribution of royalties where qualifying performances have taken place.
- Cue sheets form the basis of audio-visual documentation both domestically and internationally. International collecting societies request cue sheets as the first step in documenting musical works for the purpose of distributing associated royalties. IMRO posts cue sheets to an international database which is accessed by our sister societies. IMRO provides cue sheets promptly, once they are available, in order to secure royalties as soon as possible.
Submitted cue sheets should be the complete and final cue sheets containing all music used in the production. The cue sheet information identifies the musical works used in the first instance with the corresponding musical works registrations determining how the royalties should be distributed.
IMRO receives cue sheets from various sources and members are encouraged to provide cue sheets for productions in which their music has been commissioned or included.
A full music cue sheet can be obtained from the production company. The complete cue sheet should include all music used in the production, the composer information, and publishers’ details where published, the music duration and the usage of each cue i.e. featured, background, opening and closing theme etc. To support the cue sheet documentation, all musical works used in the production must be registered in full to ensure that royalties can be distributed. Members are encouraged to notify IMRO of a productions release, along with the territories where the production is to be released, if known, so that IMRO can notify the societies in the relevant territories and track the due royalties on behalf of our members.
Music Used in Commercials
If your music has been commissioned or included in a commercial/advertising campaign, then IMRO encourages you to provide us with the relevant details to assist in the distribution of royalties for qualifying performances. This is particularly valuable in terms of advertising campaigns that are exploited internationally, either through mainstream television or radio or via online video on demand or streaming platforms. This information assists IMRO in the tracking of commercial performances overseas to ensure qualifying royalties are distributed accurately and promptly.
Once a commercial has been finalised, you should take the following steps:
- Register the musical work(s) used in the commercial with IMRO via the online member portal. Include the following supporting information from the advertising agency or production company when registering the work(s):
- Product and campaign title (with alternative titles if relevant)
- Dates of transmission – this should include the start date and, if applicable, the end date of the campaign (a media schedule would be of benefit here)
- Expected platforms of transmission – TV, radio and/or online campaign
- Relevant territories of exploitation (these may be included in the media schedule
- The stations/services featuring the campaign (these may be included in the media schedule)
- Any associated identifiers for the adverts e.g. Clock Number, advertising codes etc.
Please note, if the work(s) are already registered with IMRO you can add this additional information to the work details online.
If you have any queries in relation to submitting work details for audio visual productions or commercials please email membership@nullimro.ie
