Royalty Free Music
For an in depth explaination of Royalty Free Music -see here.

Stock Music
Another term for "Royalty free music"

Library Music
Essentially another term for "Royalty free music"

Buyout music
Guess what?...another term for "Royalty free music"

BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated: a collecting society that protects composers' copyrights in the communications business, especially radio

Clearance
Clearance refers to the intended permissions for the use of all forms of Royalty Free Music, Stock Music and Production Music..

Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept enacted by most national governments that gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited period of time.

Cue Sheet
A list of music played in a television or film for rights purposes, such as those filed with BMI, ASCAP or MCPS.

Direct License
In reference to performing rights, a license obtained by a music user directly from the copyright owner allowing the user to publicly perform the licensed work

Distributor
Company responsible for selling, promoting, protecting and fulfilling delivery of Royalty Free Music to the licensee

Encryption
A technological method of locking and limiting the use of a song or track in a Royalty Free Music library

General Agreement
An understanding put in place that governs a licensee’s obligation to report Royalty Free Music being used on a Needledrop basis

Grand Performance Right
A staged musical performance of a complete composition such as an aria from an opera or scene from a play. Such rights require a direct performance license from the copyright holder and are not in the jurisdiction of the Performing Rights Societies

Imaging Elements
Distinctive sound bites that create a mood, feeling or statement (also known as Production Elements)

Laserdrop
The modern-day version of needledrop Music use as applied to CDs

Licence
A licence is a grant to a "user" permitting use of a copyright for any of the following: Mechanical Rights (records, tapes, CDs), Non-Dramatic Performance Rights (the public performance of a song over radio or TV, or at a club, hotel or concerts), Grand Rights (dramatic performance of a musical work, musical comedy, play, opera, operetta, or ballet), Synchronization Rights (the use of a musical composition on the soundtrack of an audio/visual work for theatrical exhibition or television), Print Rights (sheet music, folios, songbooks or other printed editions - the grant is usually made for a specified period of time and for a designated territory, or Commercial Rights (the use of a musical composition as part of an advertisement)

Licence Application
A request to license the use of Royalty Free Music, that generally applies to a Needledrop license. A completed application will generally provide information on how the music is used and what form of media will be presenting the final production.

Licenced Library
A Royalty Free Music library that requires reporting of individual usage of tracks (Needledrop License) or a periodic license (Blanket)

Licensee
The party to whom a license for the use of Royalty Free Music is granted.

Licensor
The party who grants a license for use of Royalty Free Music

MCPS
The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society – A society that administers mechanical and synchronization licensing for publishers and Royalty Free Music library owners in the United Kingdom

Mechanical License
The license issued by a publisher or his agent, usually to a record company, granting the record company the right to record and release a specific composition at an agreed-upon fee per unit manufactured and sold

Media
The method of reaching an intended audience (Radio, TV, Cable)

Multimedia
Presentation via desktop computer, or by the use of slides with audio

Needledrop
A synchronization license for a specific use of Royalty Free Music within a given film or audio production. Royalty Free Music was originally delivered on vinyl. The term came from dropping a needle onto the record to incorporate the track into a production

Non-Broadcast
A production that is intended to be used without use of broadcast airwaves

Per-Program License
A license agreement available for broadcasters from a performing rights organization in lieu of a blanket license. A per-program license bases its fee upon revenues from only those programs using music licensed by that organization

Performing Rights Society
An organization representing performing rights of publishers and writers worldwide through reciprocal agreements with performing rights societies in other countries

Piracy
Unauthorized copying of a record, tape or compact disc

PRS
The Performing Right Society - PRS collects licence fees for the public performance and broadcast of musical works in the United Kingdom and distributes this money to its members - writers and publishers of music

Public Domain
Refers to the status of a work having no copyright protection and, therefore, belonging to the world. When a work is "in" or has "fallen into" public domain, it means it is available for unrestricted use by anyone. Permission and/or payment are not required for its use. Except with respect to certain foreign-originated works eligible for restoration of copyright, once a work falls into the public domain ("PD"), it can never be recaptured by the owner

Publisher
A person or company that publishes and exploits songs, scores or compositions, usually acquired from the author via an assignment of copyright

Sub-Publishing
A contractual arrangement between an original publisher of a song and a foreign publisher to handle the exploitation, licensing and collection for the song in the foreign publisher’s territory

Synchronization Right
This is when the recording artist's music is synchronized to a video: music video, movie, television, commercial, etc. The record company can receive all the money from that if the contract states the company gets all synchronization rights. As an artist, he/she would not want the company to have full synchronization rights and would want to get paid royalties for that just the same as CD sales.
Watermarking
A technological method of identifying Stock Music by imbedding an ownership code within a recording