
What you need to know about royalty-free music
The terms ‘royalty-free’ music and ‘PPCA-free’ music can mean lots of different things and they don’t always mean that you don’t need a OneMusic Australia licence.
Not all royalty-free is really royalty-free
Not all music that is called ‘royalty-free’ music is the same. Sometimes it could mean that just the recording is ‘royalty free’ and that the underlying written songs still require an ongoing payment to the creators.
A recording may be ‘royalty-free’ because the supplier already has the permission from the record label that owns the recording, or it could be that the supplier has themselves arranged for a ‘sound-a- like’ recording to be made (sometimes this is called ‘PPCA-free’).
Unfortunately, in our experience, often what is sometimes called ‘royalty-free’ music is in fact not entirely ‘free’ from the payment of ongoing royalties and that you may still require a licence from OneMusic Australia.
If you are not sure if the music you want to use will require a OneMusic Australia licence, please feel free to contact us.