FAQ

 

My project doesn't fall under any of your clickable license types. What do I do?

 

We’ve tried to anticipate an array of needs for “clickable” licenses, but there’s always something that doesn’t quite match.  We’re happy to negotiate and draft licenses for your individual needs. Drop us a line.

I would like to use music from a Needle Drop Co. artist listed on the Free Music Archive, but I'm not sure the use qualifies as non-commercial.

 

Our interpretation of “commercial” is whenever money exchanges hands.  So, if there is a budget for the creation of the video, compensation to contributors to the video, or the video is produced to promote a fund-raising entity, then it is a commercial use. We’ve created a spectrum of license tiers to make these types of uses very affordable.  If your use is in a grey area, or you have special considerations, feel free to contact us.  We’ll work something out!

I used Needle Drop Co. track(s) in a YouTube video and got a matched third party content notification on it. Why? What do I do?

 

The “matched third party content” notification happens because the YouTube Content ID system has found an occurrence of Needle Drop Co. library music and it is not smart enough to know if it was licensed, and/or abiding by the CC-BYNC license that we allow. Fear not. It’s quickly remedied.

 

If you purchased a license and are having issues with a third party claim, please drop us a line and we will help as quickly as possible. If you are using music under the guidelines of a Creative Commons BY-NC License, you can do one of two things in this situation:

 

1. Do nothing.   You are NOT penalized by a matched third party claim. Youtube will run a click-to-hide banner to offset a very tiny streaming royalty for the music. If you have used the music for free, the artist appreciates this token of support. (Vimeo is a good alternative if you just want to post a video without the fuss of Content ID.)

 

2. Dispute the claim.

1) Go to the video manager page.

2) Click the “matched third party content” blue hyperlink next to the video.

3) Click “Dispute.”

4) Scroll down and select the 5th click option “I have a license or written permission from the proper rights holder to use this material” and Click “Continue.”

5) Click “I am sure that I have a license or written permission, and I want to dispute this claim” and click “Continue”

5) In the “Please explain briefly section” state your type of use.  If it is commercial please provide your invoice number from needledrop.co.  If it is non-commercial please state it conforms to a CC-BYNC gratis license. (See above for more about what is commercial.)

6) Click the “I have a good faith belief…” box and enter your name.

7) Click continue.

8) Click “Submit Dispute” on the following page, and confirm the dispute by clicking “OK” on the pop up window.

The claim is usually resolved within one working day.

How do I credit the artist in my video? If I buy a license is a credit required?

Our most preferred attribution style is:

“Song Name(s)”

Artist Name

needledrop.co

 

Is credit required with a commercial license? No. …But if you have room somewhere it is appreciated.

I need WAV or AIFF files. Where can I get them?

 

The Library is composed of high quality 320kbps MP3 files.  If your edit is going straight to the internet you should have no loss of quality with these files. If you want to use lossless files in your production drop us a line.

Your non-profit license shop asks for a project budget, but I'm just making this video as a part of my job. What do I put there?

 

Please estimate how many hours you expect to work on the project and multiply that number by your hourly wage. That is your budget.

Can I get an edit of one of your tracks? (Remove an instrument? Edit for time? Can you send stems?)

 

Yes!  We have sessions for many of our compositions.  Many composers make simple edits (remove something, or change length) for a low fee.  We can also give you a quote on remixing and composing to picture (i.e. adding musical layers to underscore and enhance the arc of your edit.) Drop us a line.

I'm working on a podcast affiliated with NPR/PBS. Does that qualify as non-commercial use?

When money gets moved around to make a production happen, that is the definition of commerce.  Is it commercial with a capital C? No.  But on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a Super Bowl spot, maybe it’s a 2.  Bearing that in mind, we’ve tried to scale the Podcast & Non-com Radio License pricing accordingly.  Music makes productions A LOT better.  It’s worth a little money, and we’d be grateful if you saw it that way too.

Questions? Contact us

We're not around right now, but you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap!

Questions, issues or concerns? I'd love to help you!

Click ENTER to chat