General
Sound On Screen is licensed in exactly the same way as regular production music (often called library music), and thus is designed to be as easy to clear as possible. Aside from this, you need no other license, no more forms to fill in or have any red tape to negotiate.
If you are using it for purely private purposes you won’t need a license. Please note however that any other use, including online, use WILL require one. Some UK broadcasters have blanket licenses that cover production music, so you may find you are already good to go. Please check if you need a separate license for your project if you are unsure.
For those in the UK who do require a new license, you can obtain one from the MCPS / PRS Production Music website. Customers who are outside the UK (including the EU and USA) and unable to obtain licenses from the PRS or their local PRO, can now obtain a license directly from Sound on Screen, using the same rates as the MCPS/PRS in the UK.
Important notes on usage and admin
The foundation of Sound On Screen is music. This might be featured, underscore, playing on a car radio, even the crowd singing and banging drums in a football stadium. The clips here are considered complete performances, so regardless of which proportions of which elements are used, the cues should all be logged under the name of the clip.
Third party samples and effects used within the audio clips are licensed to the license-holders for use within the mixed final product, and may not be used in complete isolation by any form of reverse engineering. No third party commercial samples or effects are supplied by us in isolation in any form, they are all mixed with at least one more element within the separate relevant stems as part of a synchronous production.
It is also important to note that if you are using the stems, the Music Stem should always be used (at whatever level you require of course). You are free to use or not use the Sound Effects or Dialogue elements in the mix. You can of course edit and balance all three stems freely.
Sound On Screen is NOT designed as a source of clean sound effects. You must use Sound Effects alongside either: a) the Music stem alone; or b) Music and Dialogue stems. Use of Sound Effects on their own will breach the terms of your licence. By registering you are agreeing to our licensing terms and conditions, which explicitly prohibit misuse of the sound effects in any way, including (but not limited to) using Sound Effects other than with audio from within our synchronised productions.
Pricing and obtaining a license – UK customers
UK licenses are available by filling in the online form at the MCPS / PRS Production Music website.
Independent Television rates are available here. IMPORTANT: Please note that if you require a license only for the UK only, these rates are halved.
All other uses, including online, film and advertising, rates are available here.
Full license terms and conditions for UK customers can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Pricing and obtaining a license – non-UK customers (including EU and USA)
For transparency and ease, the price we charge for our non-UK customers will reflect the standard UK PRS licenses. This way, you can easily check in advance what license you will require for your specific purpose, and how much it will cost. The UK rates are updated each year by the PRS.
For broadcast television, the relevant rates for worldwide use are available here, as apply to UK Independent Productions. Sound On Screen will use these exact same rates. IMPORTANT: Please note that if you require a license only for a single country, these rates are halved.
For any use except broadcast television (including online, advertising, film etc), the current PRS rate card is available here. Again, these are the same rates that Sound On Screen will charge our non-UK customers.
Please contact us directly with the name of your production and the kind of license you require for your specific use, and we will issue an invoice. All payments to us are made in British Pounds Sterling. You are responsible for payment of all applicable currency exchange and other bank charges. Your license will be issued when monies are received from us, effective immediately.
If you think an invoice is wrong please contact us promptly to let us know.
For further enquiries and information, or to request a license for your production, please email licensing@sound-on-screen.com.
Full license terms and conditions for non-UK customers can be downloaded as a pdf here.
For general website and audio terms, please visit the Terms Of Use page.