Which of the following describes a method to acquire music for a film?

• A. License a pre-existing recording
• B. Hire local performers to improvise during filming
• C. Use stock sound effects instead of music
• D. Hire a graphics house to write a score

Answer: (A)

Accessing music for a film typically means clearing the rights to use a track. Licensing a pre-existing recording is the clearest and quickest way to acquire music because it gives you permission to use that exact recording in your film. You’ll usually need both a master-use license (for the recording owner) and a synchronization license (for the underlying composition), and you can set terms for where and how long the music appears.

Hiring local performers to improvise during filming creates new music rather than obtaining rights to an existing track. It’s a route to original music, not a method of acquiring a pre-existing piece. Using stock sound effects isn’t music at all, so it doesn’t satisfy the goal of providing musical material. A graphics house writing a score isn’t typical or appropriate—the score is music, usually written by a composer or music writer, and would involve commissioning new music rather than acquiring an existing recording.