Music Licensing: The process whereby copyrighted musical compositions and recordings are made available for use by people who do not own the rights to the music. Before a piece of music can be used in a commercial video production, for example, the production team must first secure permission to use the music from the rights holders, typically the artist, publisher, and recoding label. Then, the producers must pay the rights holders a license fee, which is based on the intended use and audience reach of the finished production.