And just when I thought this thread was all over...here I just NOW end up coming across this:

ZOOM :: Music Licensing for Videography & Digital Imaging (http://zoomlicense.com)

Anyone use this service before? I'm going through their TOS right now.

Excerpt:

With the expanding world of digital production in video, photography, and other media, you need to be sure that you and your clients are protected by using music that is licensed by the artists you select. ZOOM allows you to license copyrighted music of your choice easily and efficiently for a single production at fees of just $3.50-$5.50 per song.

Major publishing companies and record labels are already licensing original and popular music through ZOOM License and more songs are being cleared every month. Through ZOOM you will soon have an entire universe of copyrighted music at your fingertips for legal use in your productions.

ZOOM - Music Licensing for Videography & Digital Imaging allows you to:

* Use copyrighted music from major labels legally in your wedding and special event video productions and photo montages.
* EMI Music content already cleared for licensing.
* Other major labels and publishers are clearing music now.
* Create an account and begin licensing music today.
* View songs that have already been cleared for licensing.
* Register and track your uses.
* Request songs to be cleared for licensing.
* Print out a synch license for each song used.

FAQ: ZOOM :: Music Licensing for Videography & Digital Imaging (http://zoomlicense.com/help/faq)
TOS: ZOOM :: Music Licensing for Videography & Digital Imaging (http://zoomlicense.com/home/terms)

Sounds like a good idea if it actually flies. From a quick reading of the FAQ it appears they're acting as a clearance agent for you and clearance agents are a preferred way of clearing music rather than trying to contact copyright owners yourself. Agents know who to call to get a clearnace while most of us don't.

Yah I know! I need to finish read through the TOS. For all other readers, it says right in the FAQ:

How do I know I won't be sued by the RIAA or any other music industry organization?
For every song that you license for your production project, you will be able to print out the legal synchronization license for your records as proof of licensing. All tracks cleared into the ZOOM catalog have been approved by the record label that owns the Master Recording of the song and the publisher that represents the Composition.

I gotta find someone who's tried them. If this is legit....SCORE!!! (especially since some of my favorite artists, like Moby, are with EMI records which are all pre-cleared)

woohoooo! :D

Is Internet broadcast covered by ZOOM License?
Internet usage can be covered for an additional fee of $500 per song, per production project.

Tell your brides not to upload their videos to YouTube...

Ya I saw that, looking to see if they say who is legally (and financially) responsible if the finished product were to be uploaded/broadcast by the client and it gets spread around and copied outside the producer's/editor's consent, knowledge or control. Hope that doesn't bring us back to square one. :(

Ya I saw that, looking to see if they say who is legally (and financially) responsible if the finished product were to be uploaded/broadcast by the client and it gets spread around and copied outside the producer's/editor's consent, knowledge or control. Hope that doesn't bring us back to square one. :(You cannot be responsible for what your client does with the video after delivery but to be on the safe side just print a warning on the disc that it should not be copied or uploaded.

BTW We already have scheme here in the UK that allows us to cheaply licence any music for small production runs of discs which is ideal for weddings & similar but this does not extend to broadcast on the Internet http://www.prsformusic.com/users/recordedmedia/cdsandvinyl/Pages/LimitedManufactureLicence(LM).aspx