short for film festival/music rights
 

i know you have to have permission for copyrighted music but is it the case when entering a film festival since youre not profiting from it and its only being screened? i know you can go through ascap to get permission and hve heard that if its for film festivals or other projects that youre not benefitting monterily you can use it
anyone with info on this appreciated.

Re: short for film festival/music rights
 

Short answer, you should only use music you have a legal right to use. Most festivals require that you have proof of actual right to use music. The festival itself will be selling and presumably be profitting from the the screening, so they are reasonably concerned about avoiding any issues.

As a consequence, most people will produce their own music, and/or buy rights to use music in productions. Here is a bit of an analysis from ASCAP.

ASCAP's Articles and Advice FAQ: How To Acquire Music For Films

There are a lot of places on the web to acquire original pieces and or scores for your film. I have used Digital Juice Staxx Trax, Cinescore, and Sonic Fire Pro for scores for Festival Films.

Re: short for film festival/music rights
 

All "distribution" (including exhibition at a film festival) requires licensing of all copyright-protected content. The legitimate festivals should require proof of license, releases, etc. for everything in the production. There is NO exception for non-profit distribution or non-commercial production.

No, you can't go to ASCAP (or BMI or SESAC or whoever licenses the music) to get a sync license for film/video. You must negotiate sync licensing with the copyright owner. At least in the USA, there is no compulsory license or any statutory rate such as there is for mechanical licenses (for CDs or MP3s, etc.) In other countries, sync licensing is a more straightforward process.