Tag Archives: Stock Music

What is Stock Music?

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What an odd term, stock music. What does it mean? What does it refer to? Why would anyone ever need something of this sort? These questions and more are what pops into the minds of some when reading that term.

What it is is this: It is music that can used by used in movies, television, commercials and the like. It is a way to avoid using popular music that could come with huge royalties and fees. This isn’t to say that the music is free, only that the gigantic fees are not there.

Typically an interested person would find a royalty free source by searching for one on a search engine. There are several companies out there specializing in this type of thing (of course they would ultimately land at Productiontrax). Each site has its own pricing details. Some require a small fee for each clip or tune purchased. Others require a fee for a membership and the level of the membership dictates how many sounds or songs one might able to use form the site in a given period of time (like each month). When selecting a stock music service, beware of the fees and license restrictions that each site places on their music.

The person utilizing the music is then free to use it in public displays like movies, television shows, commercials (both television and radio) and more. These songs and clips are tunes that are not copyrighted, like jingles, but similar to the noises heard right before the bad guy kills the girl trapped outside in the B rated horror movie. This is a great way to keep costs down but still be compliant with copyright laws and restrictions.

W8BEN – Royalties for international stock music contributors

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For non-US residents (called non-resident aliens), there’s a bit of good ‘ole USA bureaucracy involved in getting paid all, or as much of your royalties as allowed, under US Tax law from your stock music and sound effects sales.

First, all royalty payments are subject to 30% tax withholding. This means that from the royalties we pay you, we have to deduct and remit 30% of your royalty earnings to the IRS. Sucks for you, and it’s a lot of work for us. However, there are Tax Treaties in place between the US and most countries that allow for a reduced withholding rate. In many cases, the Tax Treaty benefit is a 0% withholding rate. (P.S. We’re not making this up. Check out this awesome post by Amazon.com on the same topic: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A1VDYJ32T5D3U4 — if you don’t believe us, this is what a larger company with many more lawyers and accountants has to say.)

But to get this reduced rate, you have to claim it by filing some paperwork with Productiontrax, and the US Government.

Here’s how you do it:

1) Apply for a US ITIN. (Note: If you already have an EIN, SSN, or ITIN, skip this step.) A US International Tax ID number is required to claim tax treaty benefits. You do this by filling out Form W-7. Be sure to follow the instructions. For our purposes, make sure you check box a and box h, and quote Exception 1(d) – Copyright Royalties. You will also need to enclose a letter from us – you can either download the letter from your account payee settings page, or you can email us for a copy. Send that completed form and supporting evidence to the address on the instructions. In about 6 weeks or less, you will receive your ID number in the mail.

UPDATE: We’ve learned that the IRS requires an original letter from us. Please email us to have a letter mailed to you.

2) Fill out Form W8-BEN. (Instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8ben.pdf) This form certifies to Productiontrax.com that you are a foreign person claiming a tax treaty benefit. Be sure to complete part 10, enter your new EIN, SSN, or ITIN on line 6, and don’t forget to sign the form. And for goodness sake, don’t check the box in Part III — it doesn’t apply to you (wikipedia it if you don’t believe me). You send this completed form to Productiontrax.com.

3) If you’re not an individual, get an Employer Identification Number
Foreign entities that are not individuals (i.e., foreign corporations, etc.) that are required to have a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) in order to claim an exemption from withholding because of a tax treaty (claimed on Form W-8BEN) should submit Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number to the Internal Revenue Service in order to apply for such an EIN. Those foreign entities filing Form SS-4 for the purpose of obtaining an EIN in order to claim a tax treaty exemption and which otherwise have no requirements to file a U.S. income tax return, employment tax return, or excise tax return, should comply with the following special instructions when filling out Form SS-4.

When completing line 7b of Form SS-4, the applicant should write “N/A” in the block asking for an SSN or ITIN, unless the applicant already has an SSN or ITIN. When answering question 10 on Form SS-4, the applicant should check the “other” block and write or type in immediately after it one of the following phrases as most appropriate:

“For W-8BEN Purposes Only”
“For Tax Treaty Purposes Only”

If questions 11 through 17 on Form SS-4 do not apply to the applicant because he has no U.S. tax return filing requirement, such questions should be annotated “N/A”. A foreign entity that completes Form SS-4 in the manner described above should be entered into IRS records as not having a filing requirement for any U.S. tax returns. However, if the foreign entity receives a letter from the IRS soliciting the filing of a U.S. tax return, the foreign entity should respond to the letter immediately by stating that it has no requirement to file any U.S. tax returns. Failure to respond to the IRS letter may result in a procedural assessment of tax by the IRS against the foreign entity. If the foreign entity later becomes liable to file a U.S. tax return, the foreign entity should not apply for a new EIN, but should instead use the EIN it was first issued on all U.S. tax returns filed thereafter.

Here are the forms again:

Find your withholding rate (copyright royalties): Tax Treaties by Country

Form W7 – Application for US TIN. (instructions)
Form W8-BEN – Foreign Person Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits (instructions)
Form SS-4 – Application for an Employer ID Number. (instructions)

Stock Music Makes Harvest Workshop Video a Breeze

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Each year, the American Harvest Workshop brings together five top chefs, some of the best artisan food producers, media and consumers to taste, talk, participate in harvest, cook and simply celebrate the bounty of Americas food and wine producers. To capture one of their recent workshops, Cakebread Cellars used stock music from Productiontrax.com to add energy and excitement to their event video.

Cakebread Cellars used track 30208 El Bailar En La Brisa (Breeze Mix) by Really Free Music, a royalty free music track in a Latin party style featuring hard funky bass and plenty of percussion and brass. The track created a perfect layer of sound underneath the documentary-style video.

Royalty Free Music Dramatizes High-Altitude Travel

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Andean Flutes Capture the Beauty of Nature as Mountaineer Dramatizes High-Altitude Travel with Royalty Free Music from Productiontrax

Brad Clement, owner of Spindrift films (www.spindriftfilms.com), is a freelance producer and camera operator specializing in photos and footage of high-altitude mountaineering and wilderness adventure. His most recent film features wild areas in Chile and Argentina, including those two countries highest respective peaks, Ojos Del Salado (Chile) and Aconcagua (Argentina). Clement writes, “It combines the drama and beauty of mountain climbing with some humor and humility about trying to stay sane in the often outrageous conditions.”

Clement shot the original footage in Dec. 2007 and Jan. 2008, following the program host with a lightweight Sony FX-7 digital HD camera. When he returns from his current climb of Mt. Everest, he will complete the narration, and then the footage will be edited in Final Cut Studio to create a 45-minute show ready for television broadcast.

To prepare his soundtrack, Clement secured rights to music by licensing royalty free music through Productiontrax. He writes, “Our goals were to capture the beauty of nature, along with the human character and spirit. We wanted a full range of mood and emotion from our music, with an authentic style from the region of the world in which we were filming. The tracks we were able to find and purchase from Productiontrax were perfect! We selected some great, authentic Andean flute music with a wide variety of styles and moods. ”

As a mountaineering guide, guide instructor, and filmmaker, Clement has climbed the world’s great mountain ranges. In the past eight years, his productions have been featured on major networks such as The Discovery Channel, The Travel Channel, CNN, PBS, NBC and The Outdoor Channel. He has successfully climbed Mt. Everest with camera in hand, and been involved as a producer and camera operator for four production projects involving Everest:  the six-hour Discovery Channel series “Ultimate Survival, Mt. Everest”, the award-winning documentary for Novo Nordisk “Pharmaceuticals, Peaks and Poles – The Will Cross Story”, a television commercial for Liberty Medical, and a recently released documentary film covering the historic Everest Peace Project expedition.