Basics of a Cue Sheet
If your music is used in a film or television program, filing a cue sheet with a PRO (Performance Rights Organisation) is an important step in getting paid for your work. Cue sheets are the primary means by which performing rights organizations track the use of music in films and TV. Without cue sheets, it would be nearly impossible for such composers and publishers to be compensated for their work.
An accurately filled out cue sheet is a log of all the music used in a production.
This information includes:
- Series/Film Title
- Series/Film Title AKA
- Episode Title
- Episode Title AKA
- Episode Number
- Air Date
- Show Length
- Music Length
- Production Company Information
- Song/Cue Title
- Composer
- Publisher
- Performing rights society
- Timing
- Usage
If there is more than one composer for an individual piece of music, or if the writer and publisher split their royalties on other than a 50/50 basis, this must also be indicated on the cue sheet, and these become important factors in any royalty society’s payment calculations.
An example of a Cue Sheet
Courtsey: BMI
Common examples of when a performance royalty occurs:
- Television broadcast
- Radio broadcast
- Audio streaming services (Spotify, Amazon Music etc.)
- Internet (Youtube, Vimeo etc.)
- Live concerts
It is most important that all composers submit their cue-sheets of all their released works to their respective royalty societies without any delay. And without any mistakes too 🙂
Courtsey: Dara Crawford
Note:
This article has been compiled from various authentic sources on the Internet and PROs (BMI, Ascap, etc.).
i hope it helps our Indian copyright owners (the music composers especially) make and submit Cue Sheets for their works.
