Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What type of music can be uploaded?
Every genre of music can be added to the Songbay library and in any language.
What music rights do I need in order to use Songbay?
You must own all the rights to any material you wish to license or sell through Songbay, i.e., the copyright, publishing and master recording rights.
How much does it cost to join?
It is entirely free to join or browse the Songbay library. There are a range of additional subscription packages covering a variety of services.
What formats can be uploaded to Songbay?
We currently accept the following file formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, MIDI, FLAC, JPG & PDF files
Beta: currently only MP3's can be streamed from our site, but we are working on bringing others to you.
How do I submit to Songbay's library?
Simply create a free account and follow the simple step by step instructions. If your material meets our selection standards (See FAQ 19) you can start trading within minutes.
All Songbay licensing contracts are 'non exclusive', so there's nothing stopping sellers from licensing their work for several different projects at the same time.
Top Tip:
We're often asked for versions of songs without lyrics, e.g. a producer might love the song but the lyrics might be unsuitable for the usage context. It is always a good idea to upload two versions of a song, one with and one without lyrics. Also be careful when incorporating sound effects into your music; wind, water, rain, thunder, urban sounds for example. They can marginalise you work, (which can work for and against you). We similarly recommend using two versions of these songs, i.e. with and without sound effects.
Do I have to pay commission if I sell, buy or license music at Songbay?
No. Songbay takes no percentages of sales or performance royalties. Artists keep 100% of all the money they make through Songbay.
Am I still eligible for performance royalties if I sell music through Songbay?
Yes. Each time music is performed or 'aired' the composer is normally owed a performance royalty. If you are a member of a professional collection agency such as ASCAP, PRS, BMI they will automatically collect these royalties for you. Songbay takes no percentage of these. Whatever you make, you keep!
Do I have to pay to search the Songbay licensing catalogue or to contact composers with a specific song writing request?
No, we provide this unique service free of charge.
Can I still use Songbay if I already have a publishing, recording or management deal?
Songbay can work concurrently with any company, service or person working for, or on behalf of a songwriter. The only stipulation is that any music submitted for sale or licensing at Songbay must be free from any publishing restrictions and that the user must also have all rights to the material they wish to sell or license.
How does the exchange of contracts take place if I grant or purchase a music license through Songbay?
As soon as negotiations are completed, both parties receive a draft contract to review. If both parties are happy, they can agree to proceed. The final contract and any accompanying material, e.g. copies of the master recording, lyrics or sheet music are not issued until seller or licensor confirm that they have received funds. Once this is confirmed, both parties receive the fully completed contracts and the licensor or buyer will be given access to any required material. All contracts are drawn up between Seller (Licensee) and Buyer (Licensor) direct. Songbay does not take any percentages or royalties from any contractual agreements. We merely supply these contracts for the convenience to both parties. If either side wish, they can agree to use their own legal contracts.
Do I have to accept all offers on my songs?
No, on receipt of the draft contract, you can either decline or accept. There are no fees or penalties for declining a license.
Are there any tie-ins with Songbay?
No. If for whatever reason you decide that you no longer wish to use Songbay's services, you may leave at any time. Simply notify us and we will close your account and remove any material which is currently being advertised or promoted. We cannot refund any subscription payments that you may have already made.
Who uses Songbay?
Songbay is used by: Songwriters, arrangers, lyricists, transcribers, musicians, record companies, publishers, management companies, advertising executives, producers, musical supervisors, song collectors, promoters, etc. Everyone with an interest in sourcing, licensing, buying or selling music can be involved with Songbay.
What payment options can I use to trade music or lyrics at Songbay?
All payments take place directly between buyer and seller using the safety and convenience of Paypal. In order to trade music or lyrics at Songbay, you will need to have a Paypal account. When a buyer makes a purchase, they are instructed to pay the seller via Paypal. Once receipt of funds are confirmed, the buyer can download their selected material (in the form of a high quality music recording or full length lyric plus a fully completed contract) and use it in accordance with the terms of the license agreement.
We do not take any percentage of sale fees nor broadcast/performance royalties.
Songbay's subscription services are only available for purchase through PayPal.
Do you offer any affiliate programmes?
We are committed to providing as many outlets for Songbay users as possible. We are open to suggestions of mutually beneficial arrangements or the sharing of services if it will enhance the experience and opportunities of our users. If you would like to suggest such a possibility, please feel free to contact us.
How do the Package Options work?

All packages have a set amount of available licensing submissions which can be made during a certain period of time. It is entirely up to you when you decide to make the submissions. Some artists upload lots of songs all at once, others space submissions over a period of time. You can remove a submission at anytime. (Removed submissions do count as used submissions).
Can you tell us more about Songbay licenses?

One of the most difficult calculations we have had to make in creating our online licensing library has been in balancing the interests of all our users; specifically, the interests of songwriters or lyricists wanting a fair fee for their work, with those of companies looking to license material at a fair price. We spent a great deal of time researching this issue. There are companies that offer songwriters extremely high rates if their work is licensed-great news for songwriters (theoretically) but not so great for clients on modest budgets trying to license a song at a reasonable rate. We noticed that these companies tend to offer licensing with whopping great commissions attached (around 50% in many cases). Clearly, it's in their interest to set fees as high as possible; after all, they have their commissions to think of! Songbay could easily adopt such an approach. We could set licensing rates sky high, take a commission, promise the earth to songwriters, with the likely result that we end up with lots of songwriters, but very few buyers for their work! At the other end of the spectrum, we find companies charging as little as $39 to license a song to be used in a movie! This might seem like great news for film makers but is frankly a derisory amount given the importance that music plays in films and the hours (normally weeks) that the composer has spent creating the song.

Songbay licensing fees vary according to use, duration and exposure; ranging from £19 for a piece of music licensed for a company Internet presentation to £1500+ for a major movie production. (A full list of our current licensing prices is available upon request).

We have set out to establish fair and balanced licenses and rates which can attract world class composers to our licensing library, will generate royalties for them (see below), and which will attract buyers, who will keep returning to Songbay for their licensing needs.

The entire license fee is paid directly to the songwriter, we take no commission whatsoever which means no inflated fees to buyers and makes our licensing prices fairer and accessible to all budgets.

Songbay Licenses in detail

We offer 'non exclusive' licenses. These are 'pre-cleared' meaning they are free of any usage restrictions and contain the necessary synchronisation and mechanical rights to be used in all audio/ visual contexts granted in the terms of the license agreement.

Q "Will my music generate royalties if broadcast or performed live"?

A: Yes! There is royalty known as the 'performance royalty', which is owed to a composer whenever their music is broadcast or performed in public. This is not normally paid by people purchasing songs or licenses from artists through Songbay. (See below).

The 'performance right' (or royalty) is administered in each country by a local Performing Rights Organisation (PRO), who represent composers. This organisation will normally require broadcasters (TV, radio stations for example) and live music venues to pay a license fee, usually an annual 'blanket' license that covers them for all the music they broadcast or all the music performed live in their venues. Fees from all broadcasters and live performance venues form a large fund, a percentage of which is used to pay composer royalties. Broadcasters are meant to complete a document called a 'cue sheet' containing specific details about the composer and their work. This document is then passed on to the local Performing Rights Organisation who calculate and distribute the royalty payments accordingly. Live music venues complete a similar document.

To clarify, it is the broadcaster or live venue owner that pay performance royalties to our artists, not the Songbay license purchasers. Our licenses allow the holder to synchronise or make copies of music/lyrics for use in their productions.

It is important to remember that all licensing fees and all future generated royalties go to the composer or lyricist, Songbay takes no commissions whatsoever.

The advantage of our licenses

There are many advantages to both buyer and seller in using our multi use music licenses. For example:

- They are quick and easy to issue
- They are free of commission
- The composer still retains 100% of all rights to the material.
- The composer can receive royalty payments for their work from broadcasters and live venues.
- They are far more cost effective than other licensing methods.
- They are specifically designed for use in all media projects.
- They give peace of mind to the holder – knowing that they are covered for use in their projects.
- They are financially interesting for all concerned. For the composer, they can grant as many licenses as they wish for the same song; for the buyer, their very reasonable, commission free price makes them suitable for all budgets.
- Everyone benefits!

What you cannot do at Songbay

- Re-sell or re-license the music or lyrics.
- Claim ownership of the music or lyrics (unless you purchase a copyright-exchange license-coming soon).
- Create a derived musical work (except if using a 'Beat' purchased from the Songbay library).

The legal definitions – The Songbay Licenses grant Mechanical & Synchronisation rights.

Mechanical rights - the right to reproduce the music, relating to various media.

Synchronisation rights - the right to use the music in synchronisation with other audio/visual material.

Credits: IMPORTANT Buyers must ensure that the following details are visible when using any material purchased from Songbay (For example: on Cue sheets, album artwork covers or on live music venue repertoire lists):

1. The name of composer or lyricist.
2. The song title.
3. Date of use.
Does Songbay use tracking cookies? How else does Songbay use my information?

No, we do not use tracking cookies anywhere on our site. We only use Google analytics to help us identify market trends and to more accurately determine the amount of interest in our services. All personal details are stored on our secure servers and are only shared with clients interested in purchasing songs and lyrics from Songbay artists. We do not sell or forward the contact details of our clients to any third party individual or company. All personal information is kept securely on our servers. You are in control of your data at all times. We provide a deregistration function should you choose to leave Songbay and you are free at any time to e-mail enquiries@songbay.co to have all information we hold on you, including e-mails permanently erased. On de-registration your information is moved to an archive for a maximum of 30 days in the event that you have unregistered accidentally and wish to return. This time also permits us to ensure all contractual obligations have been met. After 30 days your information and files will be permanently deleted.
What is your selection criteria?
To maintain the quality of our library and the integrity of our service, we maintain exacting professional standards. Quality is such a personal choice which often appears to defy logic or traditional 'good musical taste'. This is certainly the case where music licensing is concerned. 'Good' really means 'most suitable' for a specific context. There have been occasions when we have recommended music which we've considered to be strong melodically and harmonically only for the client to choose something that in our opinion seemed pretty average. Sometimes TV executives will deliberately overlook the song with the clever chord sequence or catchy chorus as it would detract from the visual scenario that they have in mind. Sometimes, they might choose the song which seems banal or unbearably irritating, but works perfectly well for a specific product commercial.

Having said this, from experience, music displaying poor musicianship and sound quality is almost always overlooked. Producers and musical supervisors will avoid music (even great songs) that contain noticeable sonic faults, e.g. Inappropriate EQ, balance, compression, quantisation, distortion, noise issues. They will similarly avoid music which has noticeable musical faults, e.g. Intonation, timing and synchronisation errors or is lacking in required musicality, i.e. musical expression- dynamics, rubato, colour or phrasing for example.

Therefore, we ask our artists to ensure that there are no obvious sonic or musical faults in the material submitted. Irrespective of genre, final uploaded versions should resemble well balanced master recordings. We listen to and read all submissions to our library. We will not accept any material displaying poor recording quality, low composition or arrangement standard, poor musicianship (such as noticeable tuning and timing issues) or inappropriate or offensive language. Any unsuitable material material will be removed from our site within 24 hours. We notify all users by email if their material has not met our selection standards. (Users on subscription packages will receive credits to allow further upload opportunities)