What news music has to do
News music is branding first. The open tells viewers which station they are watching before the anchor says a word, and the same musical idea carries through every bumper, franchise open and close. That consistency is why stations have historically licensed news music as a package, a family of related cuts, rather than one track.
It also has to work under a voice. A busy melody in the same register as the anchor fights the copy, so good news beds keep the motion in the rhythm and the low end and leave the middle clear.
- Opens and closes: the full theme, plus closes in standard lengths that resolve exactly on time.
- Bumpers and teases: short pieces in and out of break that keep the energy up.
- Franchise opens and stingers: weather, sports, investigative and breaking news segments, all in the same voice.
- Promo beds and IDs: music under newscast promos and short station signatures.
Music for television beyond the newscast
Music for TV covers a lot of ground: series underscore, reality and documentary cues, true-crime tension, promos, sizzles and sports segments. What editors need is consistent across all of it. They want stems, alternate lengths, clean endings and a sound that holds together across an episode or a whole season.
Television audiences experience music differently than advertising audiences. For CBS's FBI Season 2, ITG helped support the series' pacing and emotional intensity through music that heightened suspense and reinforced narrative arcs, with music supervision and licensing. See the FBI Season 2 project.
TV music licensing: what to settle up front
Broadcast music licensing has two layers, and they are easy to confuse. Networks and stations typically hold blanket licenses from performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, which pay songwriters when music is performed on air. Those licenses do not give anyone the right to put a song into a show, a promo or a news package. That is a sync use, and it has to be cleared with the publisher and, for a specific recording, the label.
- Where it airs: broadcast, cable, streaming, the station's website and social clips can each be in or out of a license.
- How long: episodic music is often licensed for long terms, while promos follow the campaign.
- Promo vs. program: a cue licensed in an episode does not automatically cover a promo for that episode, which is an advertising use.
- Cue sheets: every cue in a program is listed on a cue sheet so writers are paid their performance royalties. Production music delivered with full metadata makes that easy.
- Fair use: don't count on it for music added to a story's edit. News reporting gets narrow protection, and a song laid under a package is rarely it.
For the fundamentals of sync, master and performance rights, see our music licensing page.
How ITGM helps networks, stations and producers
Discover. Our catalog of about 44,000 tracks includes our own libraries, such as NEXT and ITG Studios, with series like NEXT's Investigative, Minimal True Crime and Tension albums for news magazines, true crime and procedurals. Search the catalog or send us the show and we'll build a short list.
License. We clear the rights for broadcast, streaming and digital and deliver the files and metadata your post and traffic teams need.
Create. Our composers write custom music for television: news theme music, show themes, promo packages and underscore that stays consistent from the open to the last bumper. A theme written for your station is also the start of a sonic brand.
Frequently asked questions
What is a news music package?
A news music package is a set of related cuts built around one theme: opens, closes, bumpers, segment stingers, promo beds and IDs. Using one package keeps a newscast sounding consistent. Packages can be syndicated to many stations or composed for a single station or group.
Do TV stations need to license music if they already have ASCAP and BMI licenses?
Yes, for any music they put into programs or promos. Blanket licenses from performing rights organizations cover public performance, which pays songwriters when music airs. Syncing music to picture is a separate right that has to be cleared with the publisher and, for a specific recording, the label.
Can I get custom news theme music?
Yes. Custom news theme music is written for your station or show and cut into every length and segment you need. It gives you a sound no other station in your market uses.
What is a cue sheet in TV?
A cue sheet is a log of every piece of music in a program, with timings, how each cue is used, and the writers, publishers and PROs behind it. The production delivers it with the show, and performing rights organizations use it to pay royalties.