A jailbird's guide to using unlicensed music

Campaign ME

5 days ago

So you're the content manager for a mall in Dubai and you want to use Bob Marley's Jammin' as the music for your social media soundtrack?
Go ahead. That'll get you into trouble quicker than admitting you shot the sheriff.
And in the mall itself. That lovely, slow and familiar love song in the zone around the high-ticket jewelry stores or the quick-tempo current chart -topper in the supermarket? You're making every customer within earshot an accessory to a crime. Even in Dubai, that's too high a price to pay for some retail therapy.
And when you get caught? The first thing you'll be told when you protest is 'ignorance of the law is no excuse'.
Ignorance, in this case, may be that you trusted Instagram, Canva or CapCut, because they showed it as an option.
The second thing you'll be told when you argue that '…surely it's okay, everyone else does it' will be 'oh we'll get to everyone else, don't you worry'.
We speak about license infringement in malls, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. Last year, 14 NBA franchises were sued for copyright infringement because of the music they neglected to pay for in their promotional videos. That's half of the entire NBA playing dodgeball, not basketball!
We can debate the merits of copyright law all day, but the fact remains that published music cannot be used for any commercial promotion without cost. If you have a personal profile on a social media platform, that's okay.
Alright, now we've all had a light slap on the wrist, what's the answer?
First, remove the ignorance factor. It's not going to cost you anything to explore your options in terms of catalogued music that's available. Spek, Founder & CEO at PopArabia commented, 'If you are a corporate entity or business page on social media you require music licenses to use commercial music from the library available. Social media pages are not exempt from music licensing requirements. Companies in MENA should be aware.'
Secondly, put a call into a sonic branding company. They'll sit down with you to discuss solutions that are scalable up or down, with either licensed or original music.
Thirdly, don't go looking to AI for the creation of music, particularly if you think your budget is too low for human creativity. It may produce something you think is great, but it won't be original and therefore will never bond with whatever currently represents the brand.
Lastly, start thinking about music as an immersive brand experience, not just a prop to help make a quick sale. Because despite its name, sonic branding is not really about sound at all. Sound is a tool to help you achieve better brand engagement. The term brand refers not to a product (or service), but the relationship a human being has with that product.
A relationship whose interaction puts an individual human being into a state of grace, borne of trust and satisfaction.
Sonic branding, therefore, is about how you feel about a product, service or event. When you brief a sonic branding company and you ask for specific, culturally relevant musical instruments, for example, you should expect more than just nods of acquiescence from the company. In response, you should expect a deep dive into why these specific instruments resonate, and how they contribute to mood. Or at the very least, they should respond with enlightenment from previous experiences about why those instruments are right. Or wrong.
That doesn't just put sonic branding on a par with visual branding, it puts it ahead on levels we're only just beginning to comprehend.
Please think carefully about the beautiful or dynamic music you use to attract customers.
Is it legal? Is it moral? And does it ignore the opportunity to take your brand engagement to a new level?
By John Smeddle, Head of Creative, WithFeeling.