Blanket License
A license granting permission to use any song in a PRO's catalog for a set period.
Definition
A blanket license is a comprehensive licensing agreement that grants permission to use an entire catalog of music from a performing rights organization (PRO), music publisher, or other rights holder for a single fee. Rather than negotiating individual licenses for each song, the blanket license covers unlimited use of all works in the licensor's repertoire for a specified period and set of uses.
The blanket license model is fundamental to how music gets used in commercial settings. When a radio station plays music throughout the day, a restaurant plays background music, or a streaming platform offers millions of songs, negotiating individual song licenses would be impossibly complex. Blanket licenses solve this by bundling access to vast catalogs under single agreements.
Different types of blanket licenses serve different uses: PRO blanket licenses (from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) cover public performance rights; synchronization blanket licenses cover use in video and film productions; mechanical blanket licenses cover reproduction rights for streaming and physical distribution. Each addresses specific usage rights within the music copyright framework.
The fee structure for blanket licenses typically considers factors such as the type of business, audience size, revenue, and how prominently music features in the operation. A major broadcast network pays substantially more than a local coffee shop, reflecting the different scales of music usage and commercial benefit.
Why It Matters
Without blanket licensing, the modern music ecosystem would be virtually impossible to operate. The sheer volume of music usage across radio, television, streaming platforms, venues, businesses, and digital platforms would require millions of individual license negotiations. Blanket licensing makes music accessible at scale while ensuring rights holders receive compensation.
For music users—broadcasters, venues, streaming platforms, businesses—blanket licenses provide legal certainty and operational simplicity. They can use any music in the covered catalog without researching ownership or negotiating individual deals. This flexibility enables creative freedom while managing legal compliance.
For songwriters and publishers, blanket licensing provides collective enforcement and efficient royalty collection that individual rights holders couldn't achieve independently. PROs aggregate millions of uses, collect fees, and distribute royalties based on sampling, reporting, or monitoring—handling at scale what no individual could manage.
Understanding blanket licensing is essential for anyone using music commercially. Operating without proper blanket licenses exposes businesses to significant copyright infringement liability, while understanding available licenses enables legal, cost-effective music use.
Examples in Practice
A national restaurant chain negotiates blanket licenses with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC to play background music across all locations. The single agreement covers all songs in each PRO's catalog, eliminating the need to track what specific songs play in each restaurant. The annual fee provides unlimited access to millions of songs.
A radio station holds blanket licenses from all major PROs, enabling them to play any song without prior approval or per-song fees. The license fees are calculated based on the station's revenue and market size. In return, the station reports playlists that help PROs distribute royalties to songwriters.
A fitness studio chain negotiates blanket licenses for playing music during classes. The licenses cover public performance of any songs from the covered catalogs, allowing instructors to create playlists without copyright concerns.
A production music library offers blanket licenses to video producers, granting unlimited access to their catalog for a subscription fee. Producers can use any tracks in their projects without per-use fees or additional negotiations, simplifying the music licensing process for video content creation.