Questlove Explains TV Music Licensing

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is the drummer and bandleader of the hip-hop group the Roots, currently on TV five nights a week as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC.

Playing in a band that must perform live music on television for a huge audience every night has given Questlove some inside knowledge about the complicated process of arranging rights clearance for the songs the Roots play as personalized “walk-on music” to introduce celebrity guests. As you might expect, playing even a few seconds of someone else’s song on network television can be quite expensive. (In a February 2009 interview, Questlove explained that part of the reason the Roots were hired was because they could write original music for walk-ons, allowing NBC to save on licensing fees.)

Questlove recently took to Twitlonger to explain just how expensive these things can get, as well as letting me know in advance what my walk-on song will be if I ever get on Late Night:

one day i gave my last minute clearance list in before a show only to be told mid show i couldn’t use “cry me a river” for joan rivers because justin timberlake charged an enormous rate. i “think” he is the only non dead/non rock and roll hall of famer to charge this strange rate….which kills me because the second we get any Richard on the show i wont even be allowed to do “Dick In A Box”…

Read the rest of Questlove’s post here.