Music
Most brands assume a FILSCAP licence clears a song for their ad. It does not. Putting a track into a video and playing that video to an audience are two different rights, and a jingle built on someone else’s melody is a third. Here is which licence covers what, and who you actually ask.
Why is one licence not enough?
Copyright is a bundle, not a single permission. Republic Act 8293, the Intellectual Property Code, grants the owner separate rights over reproduction, adaptation and public performance. Using a song in an ad can touch all three at once, and clearing one does nothing for the other two.
| What you are doing | The licence that covers it |
| Recording the song into the video file | Reproduction licence, also called mechanical or synchronisation, under Section 177.1 of the IP Code |
| Changing the lyrics into a jingle | Modification or adaptation licence |
| Playing the finished ad to an audience, or music at the event | Public performance licence |
FILSCAP sets this out plainly in its own guidance for election campaigns, which is the clearest public statement of the rule: a reproduction licence is needed if a song is recorded, “e.g., incorporation of a song in a campaign video”, and that is separate from both the adaptation licence and the public performance licence.
What does FILSCAP actually cover?
FILSCAP is the only organisation accredited by the Intellectual Property Office to license the public performance in the Philippines of copyrighted local and foreign songs. The Supreme Court described it in G.R. No. 233918 as a government-accredited collective management organisation assisting music users to obtain authorisation.
It also issues reproduction and synchronisation licences, but only for songs inside its own repertoire. That is the gap brands fall into. A FILSCAP public performance licence covers the playing; it does not, on its own, put the song in your edit.
The question that settles it
Ask: is the song being recorded into our file? If yes, a public performance licence is not the licence you need. For a jingle built on an existing melody, FILSCAP’s own advice on campaign music is to ask the composer or publisher directly.
Who do you ask for each one?
→ Public performance. FILSCAP, for anything in its repertoire. This is the licence most venues and organisers already hold.
→ Reproduction or synchronisation. FILSCAP if the song is in its repertoire; otherwise the publisher who controls the composition.
→ Adaptation, for a jingle. Directly with the composer or publisher. FILSCAP’s guidance on campaign jingles points users to them, not to itself.
→ The recording itself. A separate conversation again. Sync clears the song; using a specific recording of it means clearing the master with whoever owns it, usually the label.
What about library music and AI-generated tracks?
Production library music exists to collapse all of this into one licence, which is why most commercial work uses it. Read the terms for the specific use: advertising, broadcast and paid media are usually priced apart from general use, and a licence bought for a corporate video may not cover a TV spot.
AI-generated music avoids the publisher conversation but raises the ownership one instead. The same question we covered in who owns AI-generated content applies here: what you can stop a competitor reusing depends on how much human authorship went into it, and a prompt alone is thin ground.
General information, not legal advice. Music rights are negotiated per song and per use. Confirm the chain of rights with the publisher or your legal lead before the ad ships.
What should the brief settle before anyone records?
→ The track, named, before the edit locks. Swapping music after approval means re-clearing from scratch, often at a worse rate.
→ Which rights, for which media. Online only, broadcast, paid social, out-of-home, and for how long. Scope drives price more than the song does.
→ Territory. Philippines only, or APAC, or worldwide. A regional rollout clears differently from a local launch.
→ Composition and master, separately. Two owners, two conversations, unless the library licence covers both.
→ Who holds the paperwork. The licence has to be findable two years later when someone asks.
This belongs in the same document as everything else the shoot needs. Our video production brief guide covers where it sits alongside deliverables and formats.
What should you ask your agency?
PUNX produces AI-generated brand content in Makati: 50-plus people, founded 2023, with P&G, San Miguel, Petron, GCash and Sun Life on the client list. On any campaign with music, ask your agency which licences are cleared, for which territories and for how long, in writing, before the edit locks.
FAQ
Does a FILSCAP licence let me use a song in my ad?
Not by itself. FILSCAP is accredited to license public performance, which covers playing music to an audience. Recording a song into a video needs a reproduction or synchronisation licence under Section 177.1 of the IP Code, which FILSCAP issues only for songs in its own repertoire.
What licences does a Philippine ad with music need?
Up to three: a reproduction or synchronisation licence to record the song into the video, a modification or adaptation licence if the lyrics are changed, and a public performance licence to play the result to an audience. They are separate rights and clearing one does not clear the others.
Who do I ask to use a song as a jingle?
The composer or publisher directly. FILSCAP’s guidance on campaign jingles says permission for adapted music should be sought from the composer or publisher, because adaptation sits outside its public performance accreditation.
Is library music enough for a TV commercial?
Often, but read the terms. Library licences are commonly tiered by use, and a licence covering corporate or online video may exclude broadcast and paid media. Check territory and term as well as use.
Related
AI content production — what PUNX makes, and for whom
Who owns AI-generated content — where authorship sits under Philippine law
Video production brief — what to settle before the edit starts
Campaign with music coming up?
Send us the track and the media plan. We will tell you which licences it needs, for which territories, before anything gets cut to it.
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