The Licensing Family — Know the Table Before Using Someone's Music

Three licences, two paths — how to use music legally, mapped once

Want to use a piece of music in your video, game or ad? Finding the music is step one; clearing the licence is the actual job. This table maps the whole thing.

Three licences cover three kinds of use

Use	Licence needed	From whom
A recording inside a video/podcast/game	Sync licence (song) + master use licence (recording)	Publisher (song) + label (recording)
Public playback (shops, events)	Performance licence	Collective management
Re-recording a song (cover release)	Mechanical licence	Publisher / collective

One hard rule to remember: a song inside a video usually needs two licences. Song's licence is one; recording's is another — two different owners.

Two shortcuts, each with conditions

Pre-cleared libraries: some platforms offer cleared music — subscription, use at will, no per-song negotiation. The price: you get *their* catalogue, not *that* song.
Public domain and open licences: public-domain works and openly licensed music skip the full chain — but read the fine print (attribution, commercial use — see the CC licence family).

Three legitimate paths on a small budget

1. Use openly licensed music (check the terms); 2. Commission a work (a buyout or bespoke licence — often cheaper than expected); 3. Make it yourself (even a synth pad counts).

None of these is "bypassing a licence" — bypassing costs takedowns, claims and reputation.

A practical checklist

[ ] What are you using: song, recording, or both?
[ ] What for: commercial/non-commercial? Online/offline? Term and territory?
[ ] Is it clean: public domain? Open licence? Library? Needs negotiation?
[ ] Did you keep records: archive every licence and term — the cheapest insurance there is.

Listen: two fates for one melody

The same melody: if it is public domain, you may adapt it freely; if it is still protected, adaptation and use ask permission first. Hear a pentatonic line — it sounds like a folk tune, but "sounds folk" never means "is public domain".

Why rights come in layers: how many rights live in one song.
How to read an open licence: the CC licence family.
Want to avoid clearing entirely? Scales and exercises are traditional material: melody itself belongs to no one.

Listen in the library

ÉlégieC11:54A public-domain work — it travels the commons, outside the licensing familyDetailsChorale BWV 104/6C10:28A centuries-old chorale — its modern recording still has an owner; licences follow the recordingDetailsYiduo molihuaC10:13A folk-song record — who recorded it and on what terms decides whether you can use itDetails

All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).

Sources

本文为授权通道的通识性描述，不构成法律意见；具体授权请咨询专业机构
涉及的曲目均标注来源与许可档位，可在线试听

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.

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