Obtaining Permission from Artists for FFR
When trying to obtain permission from artists' songs for use in FFR, there are a few essential points that you need to keep in mind.
1. Be accurate.
Before you even begin to try to get a permission you have to make sure that all of your information is accurate and correct. Make sure that you have the right author / song title / album title (where applicable). Make sure it's not a remix or something like that which could get FFR in trouble with the original author who never gave permission for the remix in the first place.
The other reason for accuracy is so that you show the recipient of the email that you know what you are talking about.
2. Ask the right questions.
Depending on what you are going for you will need to use a different approach. Not every permission request is the same, since sometimes you will need to contact a record label, an artist, or a group affiliated with an artist. Each situation will require a different approach and these will be covered briefly below.
IF you are asking an independent artist / group for their permission then go to step 3a.
IF you are asking a signed artist / group for their permission or a record label for any artist at all then go to step 3b.
3. Asking for Permission
This is obviously the most important step, as this is the whole goal of your endeavor. In order to ensure your success, we recommend the following templates, but you do NOT have to adhere to them by any means.
In your requests, in general, we recommend that you include:
-Your name, introduce yourself. Let them know you have an interest in their music.
-Information about FFR; the web address, member count, perhaps the gist of the game.
-A link to the Permissions thread, and perhaps a link to the current songlist in game, so they can view artists in FFR.
-Ask for permission to use songs. Specify if you want blanket permission, or if you just want to use certain songs.
-(IF ON RECORD LABEL) Tell the artist you sent the request to their label as well, and let the label know you have shown interest to the artist. This keeps them on the same page.
-MAKE SURE you include that the game is non-profit for the songs, and that they cannot be downloaded on the site.
-Thank them for their time, and give them an invitation to ask if they have questions.
3a. Independent Artist / Group
The beauty about independent artists is that they have no record company or label (or they own the label themselves) and so you only need to send one email.
Make sure to be absolutely certain that they don't have a label. Once you are certain try to find a contact address for them. This could either be an email or a letter. Some good places to check for contact points for independent artists are wikipedia, their official website, or myspace (or similar musical outlets such as last.fm).
Once you have an email address you can send the email to them. The template we recommend is here:
Quote:
Dear (band / artist name).
My name is (your name). I'm wondering if I could have a minute of your time to request permission to use (songs / whatever) in a free online rhythm game called FlashFlashRevolution. The website is www.flashflashrevolution.com.
FFR is an online rhythm based game where you hit arrows in time with music. The music is streamed and both the game and music cannot be downloaded. FFR was started in 2002 and we currently have over 1.7 million users.
The full list of artists we have permission for can be seen in the following link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...d.php?t=115492
The full list of artists that have songs in the game can also be found at that link, and the songs in game can be viewed at this link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...s/FFRSongs.php
FFR is a free-to-play website and does not earn any money from these songs. We do not sell or redistribute the music either. Your music will not be sold or available for download.
I feel that if we got your permission to use your songs on our website then we would be able to get more people into your music and that we would have some incredible files for people to play.
In conclusion, I am writing for permission to use your songs on FlashFlashRevolution.com. You do not have to permit whole albums, even a song or two would be enough if that is all you want to offer.
(Alternative for the above paragraph: Ask for specific songs or albums that you want, for example:In conclusion, I am writing for permission to "song 1" and "song 3" on FlashFlashRevolution.com. I feel that these songs would be an amazing addition to FFR and I hope that you will give permission for these two songs).
If you have any more questions regarding my request, or have any other questions at all then please email me at the following address:
(your email)
I look forward to a reply in the future. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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3b. Signed Artist / Group
This does vary from label to label but ultimately your final email will be around the same. The first thing to do is find out which label the artist or group is with. This can most likely be found on wikipedia.
Secondly, you need to go to the label's website and see if you can find any "terms of service" or "artist / license request" forms or information on either. These will usually give you information on how a label feels about distributing the music of their artists. It can also tell you if the label will expect royalties for anything to do with any of their artists.
If you can't find anything like this then you can move on. If you do find a form, and it doesn't mention royalties, then you should use that form to apply for request for music to be put into FFR.
If none of the above is applicable then you'll need to move on to emails.
The ideal route is to send two emails. One to the artist / group and one to the record label. If a band is linked with multiple labels and you aren't sure which label is the right one for what you are asking permission for, then you may have to email every single label and explain the situation.
The following emails are what we suggest as templates for your two emails:
Template for band / artist email:
Quote:
Dear (band / artist name).
My name is (your name). I'm wondering if I could have a minute of your time to request permission to use (songs / whatever) in a free online rhythm game called FlashFlashRevolution. The website is www.flashflashrevolution.com.
FFR is an online rhythm based game where you hit arrows in time with music. The music is streamed and both the game and music cannot be downloaded. FFR was started in 2002 and we currently have over 1.7 million users.
The full list of artists we have permission for can be seen in the following link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...d.php?t=115492
The full list of artists that have songs in the game can also be found at that link, and the songs in game can be viewed at this link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...s/FFRSongs.php
May I just take a moment to say that FFR is a free-to-play website and FFR does not earn any money from these songs. We do not sell or redistribute the music either. Your music will not be sold or made available for download.
I feel that if we got your permission to use your songs on our website then we would be able to get more people into your music and that we would have some incredible files for people to play.
I understand that you are with (record label) and I have sent an email to them as well to request this permission, but I thought it would be fair to email you as well, especially as this is your music I am requesting. I am especially interested in (song / album) and hope that you can give permission for us to use it or tell me what way I should go about requesting this permission from your record label.
I just want to repeat that we will not make any money out of this. If you give us permission then we will buy the (album / song) ourselves. As well as that, with your (song / album) in FFR you will get free publicity and hopefully more people will come to appreciate your music as I do.
In conclusion, I am writing for permission to use (song / album) on FlashFlashRevolution.com. You do not have to permit everything I've asked for, even a song or two would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any more questions regarding my request, or have any other questions at all then please email me at the following address:
(your email)
I look forward to a reply in the future. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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Template for Record Label email:
Quote:
Dear (record label).
My name is (your name). I'm wondering if I could have a minute of your time to request permission to use (songs / whatever) in a free online rhythm game called FlashFlashRevolution. The website is www.flashflashrevolution.com.
FFR is an online rhythm based game where you hit arrows in time with music. The music is streamed and both the game and music cannot be downloaded. FFR was started in 2002 and we currently have over 1.7 million users.
The full list of artists we have permission for can be seen in the following link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...d.php?t=115492
The full list of artists that have songs in the game can also be found at that link, and the songs in game can be viewed at this link:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...s/FFRSongs.php
May I just take a moment to say that FFR is a free-to-play website and FFR does not earn any money from these songs. We do not sell or redistribute the music either. If any permission is given then we will buy the albums / songs ourselves and we don't make any money out of this. On the other hand, the artists you allow permission for will get free publicity on our website and it may entice more people to buy their albums.
I feel that if we got your permission to use your songs on our website then we would have some incredible files for people to play. Permission for even one or two songs from one artist would still be greatly appreciated.
In conclusion, I am writing for permission to use (song / album / artist) on FlashFlashRevolution.com. However, as I've said, you do not have to permit everything I've asked for, even a song or two from any artist would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any more questions regarding my request, or have any other questions at all then please email me at the following address:
(your email)
I look forward to a reply in the future. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4. Results, and Responses
No, you're not done, what were you thinking??
This is the most important part, how will everything turn out. There are various possibilities and ways to handle the results. Run through them to find the one that applies to you.
4a. An artist / band says yes to your request.
If this is the case then well done. You've got a permission. You can use the following email if you wish:
Quote:
Dear (artist / band)
Thank you for your permission to use (whatever they offered). This is greatly appreciated and I'll let FFR know shortly. If you would like, once a song has been put into the game I can email you again to give you a link for the final result?
Again, I just want to say thank you for your permission.
In order to verify the authenticity of this email, would you be able to fill out the form at the following link to say that you do give permission for (song / album):
http://raskanally.webs.com/FFRForm.html
Thank you!
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4b. An artist / band says no to your request.
No worries, it happens. Still send them another email. Again a template for you:
Quote:
Dear (artist / band)
I'm sorry to hear that you won't give permission for (whatever) but I want to just thank you for replying to my email.
Good luck in the future and I look forward to future (songs / albums).
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4c. An artist / band doesn't reply.
Give it at least a week. If you hear no reply then just send another email. Something along the lines of:
Quote:
Dear (artist / band)
I am writing to you again with regards to the email I sent you on (date) about permission for (song / album) to be used in our free online rhythm game at www.flashflashrevolution.com.
I understand that you must be very busy but if I could just have a moment of your time then I would really appreciate a reply to that email. Even if the email is only to say why you can or cannot give permission, that in itself would be enough.
Thanks again for your time and I hope to hear a reply shortly.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4d. A record label replies saying yes.
Again, congratulations, but still be polite and send another email to the record label, something like:
Quote:
Dear (record label / or person's name if someone personally emailed you)
Thank you very much for your permission to use (song / album / artist), I will let FFR know shortly. Once that happens we will start the process of getting steps put to the music and after a few months hopefully a file will be added to the game.
Once again I want to thank you for your permission and for taking the time to reply to my email.
In order to verify the authenticity of this email, would you be able to fill out the form at the following link to say that you do give permission for (artist / band/ song / album):
http://raskanally.webs.com/FFRForm.html
Thank you!
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4e. A record label replies saying no.
Be polite still:
Quote:
Dear (record label / or person's name if someone personally emailed you)
I understand your reasons for not allowing permission but want to thank you for replying to my email.
I wish you and all of your artists the best of luck in the future.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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4f. A record label doesn't reply.
This is probably the most likely case as most record labels are gay like that. If anything, you should still try to send a follow-up email:
Quote:
Dear (record label)
I am writing to you again with regards to the email I sent you on (date) about permission for (song / album / artist) to be used in our free online rhythm game at www.flashflashrevolution.com.
I understand that you must be very busy but if I could just have a moment of your time then I would really appreciate a reply to that email. Even if the email is only to say why you can or cannot give permission, that in itself would be enough.
Thanks again for your time and I hope to hear a reply shortly.
Sincerely,
(your name)
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5. Let FFR Know
If you obtained permission from the artist, be sure to let us know and provide your proof here:
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...d.php?t=115492