No, you cannot use the song you like in your company video just because you bought the album or found it on YouTube. A commercial recording needs two permissions, one for the composition and one for the recording. What you can use is music licensed for synchronisation: production-music libraries, royalty-free catalogues, Creative Commons tracks that allow commercial use, or a piece written for you.
We clear the music on every film we deliver, including the interview-led fundraising film for Foothills Academy’s annual gala. See the process on our video production in Calgary page. Below: what you may use, the licence types, the safe sources, and what the studio handles.
Can I use this song in our company video?
Only with a licence from everyone who owns a piece of it. In Canada, a song is two copyrighted things: the musical work (the composition, owned by the writer or publisher) and the sound recording (the master, owned by the label or artist). The Canadian Intellectual Property Office says a work is protected “the moment it is created and fixed in a material form”, no registration required. Putting that recording under your video copies both, so both owners must agree.
Three myths cost contractors money every year:
- “It is only 15 seconds.” There is no free-use length in the Copyright Act. A short excerpt is still a reproduction.
- “We are not selling the song.” A video that promotes a business is a commercial use even if nobody pays to watch it.
- “We credited the artist.” Attribution is not a licence. It helps only where the licence itself asks for it, such as Creative Commons.
The exposure is real. Section 38.1 of the Copyright Act lets a rights holder elect statutory damages of between $500 and $20,000 per work for infringement for commercial purposes, without proving actual loss. On the platforms the practical risk arrives sooner: YouTube’s Content ID matches uploads against a database of audio submitted by rights holders, and the owner can choose to block the video, monetise it with their own ads, or track it, by territory. For a contractor whose recruiting video is blocked in Canada the week a job posting goes live, the damages are the least of it.
Copyright also lasts longer than most people think. Since the 2022 amendment, section 6 of the Act protects a work for the life of the author plus 70 years, so almost nothing recorded in the last century is safely “public domain” without checking both the composition and the recording.
Which music licences does a business video need in Canada?
A business video needs the rights to copy the music into the video and to show that video wherever it will play. The table below is the map. Most contractors never touch the first row, because clearing a commercial hit is a negotiation with a publisher and a label; the rows below it are where business video actually lives.
| Licence | Who grants it | What it covers | When a business video needs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synchronisation (sync) licence | Music publisher or songwriter | Pairing the composition with moving images | Any time you use a recognised song; usually negotiated case by case |
| Master use licence | Record label or artist | Using that specific recording | Together with sync, unless you re-record the song |
| Production-music / royalty-free licence | Library, under its own terms | Sync and master in one document, for stated uses | The usual route for corporate, training and recruiting films |
| Creative Commons licence | The creator, via the CC terms | Reuse under conditions set by the licence type | Only CC BY, CC BY-SA and CC BY-ND permit commercial use |
Three distinctions that cause most of the confusion:
- “Royalty-free” does not mean free. It means you pay once, up front, instead of per play. The licence document still sets the uses: web, social, paid advertising, broadcast, internal training, and sometimes a spend or audience cap.
- Public performance is a separate right. When your video plays in a lobby, at a trade-show booth or at a company event, the venue or the business may need a performance licence from SOCAN and Re:Sound, which since 2019 they issue jointly through Entandem. That licence is about playing music in a place; it does not clear the music inside your video.
- Collective licences are not sync licences. CMRRA, for example, licenses reproduction of songs in existing audiovisual services and user-generated content; it is not where a business goes to put a hit under a brand film.
If you re-record a song with your own musicians, you still need the composition cleared (publishing), but not the master. That is rarely cheaper for a business video than licensing a library track that was written to be licensed.
Where can a business get music it is allowed to use?
Use a source that gives you a written licence for commercial use and keep that document with the project files. The music itself is a creative choice; the paperwork is what protects the video for the years it will run on your website, your sales deck and your careers page.
| Source | Cost model | Commercial use | What to keep on file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production-music libraries (subscription or per-track) | Monthly subscription or one-time fee | Yes, within the uses listed in the licence | Licence certificate naming the track and the project |
| Royalty-free catalogues (single purchase) | One-time fee per track | Yes, check paid-ad and broadcast limits | Receipt and licence PDF |
| Platform audio libraries (for example, YouTube’s) | Free | Yes, often limited to that platform or with attribution | The track’s licence note, screenshot dated |
| Creative Commons music | Free | Only CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND; the three NC variants are non-commercial only | Creator, licence type, source URL, attribution text |
| Commissioned composer | Fixed fee | Yes, as set in your agreement | Signed agreement with the rights assigned or licensed |
Rules of thumb that keep a business out of trouble:
- Pick the track from the library’s commercial tier, not its personal or editorial tier.
- Read the ad-spend and broadcast lines. If the film will become a TV or pre-roll spot, say so when you license.
- Record the licence against the specific video, so you can show which video was made under which term.
- Sound effects follow the same rules. Our guide to finding free sound effects for video covers the Creative Commons types and the sources that are safe for commercial work.
The licensing step is one line on a longer list. Our post-production planning checklist shows where music clearance sits in the edit, and who owns the footage covers the other rights question contractors ask at the same meeting.
How a Calgary studio clears the music for you
On a Storimatic project, the music, stock footage, fonts and sound effects are licensed by us from their owners for your use of that specific video, and that licence stays with the finished film. You do not open an account, pick a tier or keep a certificate; the paperwork is ours, tied to the deliverable. Our licence agreement sets this out.
Two lines from that agreement matter here. The licence does not give you the right to extract the music, the stock clip or the font and reuse them elsewhere. And where a licence limits broadcast or paid advertising spend, we tell you in writing at delivery.
At a glance
- Music: licensed per video from production-music sources; licence documented against the deliverable
- Supplied material: if you provide a track, you confirm you hold the rights and you carry any claim arising from it
- Timeline: the standard project takes 3 weeks (week 1 pre-production, week 2 shoot, week 3 post-production and delivery); testimonial videos about 2 weeks (14 days); other services vary by scope
- Shoot: Calgary and across Alberta, no travel fee in Calgary
- Drone: Founder Jared Ho holds an advanced RPAS licence certified by Transport Canada
Music is chosen in week 1, in pre-production, when the film’s structure is set, not dropped in at the end of the edit. For an interview-led film like the one we made for Foothills Academy‘s annual gala, that means the score is picked to sit under parents and students telling their own stories, and cleared before the first cut goes to you for review. If you have a track you love, bring it to the first call; we will tell you whether it can be cleared for your uses and what the alternative is.
Once the film is delivered, the next question is where it runs. Our video content calendar template is built for exactly that, and the licence we provide already covers your website, social platforms, paid advertising, trade shows and internal training.
We work from 118 Waterfront Ct SW in Calgary and shoot across Alberta. Shoots in Calgary carry no travel fee; travel elsewhere in the province is quoted up front.
Music licensing for business videos: FAQ
Can I use a popular song in my company video if I give credit?
No. Credit is not a licence. A recognised song needs a sync licence from the publisher and a master use licence from the label, negotiated for your uses. For a business video, a licensed library track is the realistic route.
Is royalty-free music free to use commercially?
Royalty-free means you pay once rather than per play; it is not free. Commercial use is allowed only if the licence tier you bought says so, and some tiers cap paid advertising or broadcast. Keep the licence document with the video.
Do I need a SOCAN licence to play my own video at an event?
The music inside the video is cleared by the sync and master (or library) licence. Playing music in a venue is a separate public-performance right, licensed in Canada through Entandem, the joint SOCAN and Re:Sound body created in 2019. Ask the venue what its licence already covers.
What happens if YouTube flags the music in our video?
The rights holder chooses the outcome: block the video, run their own ads on it, or track its views, and the choice can differ by country. If you hold a valid licence, dispute the claim with the licence certificate; libraries usually have a clearance process for this.
Do sound effects need a licence too?
Yes. Sound effects are sound recordings under the Copyright Act and follow the same rules: buy from a library’s commercial tier, or use Creative Commons effects that allow commercial use and keep the attribution.
Who owns the music licence after the studio delivers the video?
The studio holds the licence for your use of that specific video, and it stays with the film. You cannot extract the track and reuse it in another video; that needs its own licence.
Plan your shoot with the music already cleared
Send us the address and the brief, and the music will be chosen and cleared in pre-production, before anyone presses record. Book a free 15–30 minute call at contact us. We work from 118 Waterfront Ct SW in Calgary and shoot across Alberta, and every project starts with a written scope before any work begins. The full process is on our video production in Calgary page.
