BUSINESS
Doug Diamond has over 25 years in the music industry as an engineer, producer, and music supervisor. The founder of
Diamondisc Audio/Diamondigital Media in Nashville (www.diamondiscaudio.com), Doug has worked with everyone from
chart-topping artists to beginning songwriters. He is a co-owner of NYC-based music supervision company The SongHunters
(www.thesonghunters.com) and the senior VP and director of music acquisition/licensing for Music Opps. Music Opps provides
top-tier music opportunities to independent and unsigned artists by placing and pitching music internationally.
Submit your music for international licensing consideration at www.musicopps.com.
By Doug Diamond
By Doug Diamond
Cue Sheets: How You Get Paid
K
eeping track of all the music used in films and TV shows is a
formidable task, but one that all performing rights organiza-
tions (PROs) enthusiastically undertake to ensure its writers and
publishers receive the royalties they are due.
While each PRO (Canadian, U.S., and international) maintains vast
computer databases logging the music registered by its publishers,
composers, writers, etc., these databases cannot reflect all of the music
used in new productions, nor can it guess how long music was used,
how it was used, or how many times it may have re-aired. Making sure all
of the music used is amply compensated for is made feasible only by the
use of cue sheets.
The Basics
So what is a cue sheet? Cue sheets are entry logs that can be summa-
rized as the written version of the music used in a production. When a
show or movie is created, producers and their teams submit cue sheets
to PROs to track the use of music in films and TV. This can be done on a
quarterly basis, semi-annually, or even annually. Without cue sheets, it
would be virtually impossible for composers and publishers to be com-
pensated for their work. With upfront sync fees diminishing in compari-
son to the compensation we saw in the ‘80s, ‘90s, and even the early ‘00s,
it is vital that your royalties are being tracked and paid out on time and
accurately; therefore, your metadata is paramount.
Who fills out a cue sheet? Completing a cue falls on the shoulders
of the network staff, typically handled by a junior exec, junior admin, or
even interns.
Beware: if they can’t readily find your information via metadata
embedded in your master recordings or even online via PRO databases
or the ISWC database, they may just skip it or move along to another
project with the intention to return to the daunting task of research.
Things slip through the cracks and human error also factors into the
equation no matter how righteous the intentions may be to accurately
complete the cue sheet; however, never let anyone’s time crunch, lack
of attention to detail, or malaise for dreaded paperwork infringe upon
your right to be accurately compensated. With the rise of independent
producers and cable operations, the filing of accurate cue sheets has
become even more crucial to tracking the use of music in film and
television productions. These newcomers to the industry are sometimes
unfamiliar with or unaware of the legal and professional responsibilities
involved in using the music of composers and publishers whose rights
are represented by PROs.
62 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Cue sheet 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 Organization
• Timing
• Usage
• Key acronyms are: ISWC No., CAE No(s), Publisher CAE, ISRC, etc.
• Your song’s standard metadata
Here are some helpful tips to ensure your cue sheets are completed as
accurately as possible:
1. Be upfront if you share publishing/writing credit when submitting
or pitching; it helps editors and producers know what cuts and splits
will come. If there is more than one composer for an individual piece of
music or if the writer and publisher split their royalties differently than
on a 50/50 basis, this must also be indicated on the cue sheet, and these
become important factors in PRO payment calculations.
2. Have your information/metadata available via email when you and/
or your representative submit music to editors and music supervisors.
Being thorough is never unappreciated. Help producers do their work,
which is to produce; don’t give them an additional task of tracking your
information down.
3. Checking in with networks/production companies to make sure
that the cue sheets have been prepared and filed is good insurance for
receiving accurate compensation for your compositions.
Since music royalty infrastructure and language are internationally
standardized, if done correctly, royalties earned from licensing can pay
your bills and the bills of future generations to come. Music is an asset;
treat it as such and let it work for you. Although completing cue sheets
is not the task of artists, publishers, or admins, having your information
organized, registered, and accurate will greatly affect proper payment on
your next royalty statement.