Record those uses early and ask the responsible supplier or rights owner what has actually been cleared. This worksheet helps organise the questions. It does not interpret a licence or establish that a particular use is permitted.
Describe uses rather than saying “everywhere”
List the organisations that will publish the film, the destinations, whether promotion will be paid, and any proposed public screening or partner distribution. Include planned edits and language versions where relevant.
The purpose is not to predict every future campaign. It is to make the present request specific enough to assess and to identify what would trigger another check. “Our website and our own organic social channels” describes a different request from an unspecified right for all partners to use and recut the film indefinitely.
Avoid relying on a label such as “royalty free” as the answer. Ask for the actual applicable terms and a confirmation that addresses your intended use. Different assets and arrangements can carry different conditions.
Find out what music asset is involved
Ask the production contact to identify the track and the record that supports its use in the agreed film. The buyer’s working sheet may only need a track reference, the licence holder, a document location and the person responsible for questions.
Do not distribute licence documents or downloaded music files more widely than the authorised process permits. Having access to the finished film does not itself answer whether another editor can obtain or reuse the separate music asset.
The Attorney-General’s copyright overview identifies music and sound recordings among protected material. The practical permissions for your film come from the relevant rights and agreements, not from this worksheet.
Copy this music-use question sheet
- Film and exact version:
- Track reference and supplying party:
- Person or organisation holding the relevant licence:
- Agreed publishing organisations and channels:
- Paid promotion proposed now or later:
- Screening or presentation use proposed:
- Partner reposting, downloading or re-editing proposed:
- Territory or duration questions to clarify:
- Attribution or other conditions to confirm:
- Evidence reference and responsible contact:
- Unresolved use and decision needed:
- Alternative if that use is not confirmed:
Mark an answer “not confirmed” rather than inferring permission from an invoice description or a previous upload that was not challenged.
Ask about changes before changing the film
A new use can involve more than the same file in another location. A partner may add its own opening, an agency may cut a paid advertisement, or an event organiser may request a separate audio file. Give the responsible contact that actual proposed treatment.
If a replacement track is needed, ask about the production implications before assuming it is a simple swap. The timing of speech, titles and picture transitions may have been built around the original arrangement. The supplier can assess the appropriate work and scope.
Do not promise that a new track will avoid every platform issue. Ask how a reported claim or restriction should be escalated and what evidence the relevant publisher needs to provide.
A fictional reuse decision
A company receives a project film for its own agreed destinations. Months later, a partner asks to turn a section into a paid advertisement under the partner’s account.
The buyer does not send the separate music file or assume the original permission transfers. It records the partner, proposed advertisement and destinations, then asks the relevant supplier to check the actual terms. The options may include confirming the use, arranging a different licence or commissioning a revised version. This is an invented planning example, not a statement of any particular licence’s conditions.
Keep a usable record with the approved film
Store the confirmed-use note where future publishers can find it. It should be clear which version it describes and who to ask when a new use is proposed. A folder named “final” is not a rights record.
If a platform flags the music, capture the notice, destination and affected version and send them through the agreed route. Do not make an unsupported rights declaration merely to remove an interruption.
Live Images’ finished-file delivery and any additional publishing work should be discussed through the current services scope. Bring the use sheet to that conversation so the music questions are addressed alongside the film’s intended life, rather than after a new campaign has already been scheduled.
Sources and editorial note
Attorney-General’s Department — Copyright basics — protected creative material; project permissions need checking. Checked 29 October 2026.
The worksheet and fictional example are original editorial planning guidance. Confirm project facts, permissions and the written production scope with the responsible people. Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images.