F.A.Q

Music Sales Ltd is the UK subsidiary of the Music Sales Group. It is also the parent company of Chester Music and Novello and Co.

Sister companies within the Music Sales Group include Edition Wilhelm Hansen in Denmark, G Schirmer in the US and Union Musical Ediciones in Spain. Music Sales Film & TV is also a subsidiary of Music Sales Ltd.

As well as Chester Music and Novello & Co, the following companies are based at Music Sales UK:

Bosworth & Co Ltd
• Alain Boublil Music Ltd
• Alfred Lengnick & Co Ltd
• Paterson's Publications
• Omnibus Press
• Golden Apple
• J Curwen & Sons Ltd
• Edwin Ashdown

Music from the above list of companies can be hired or purchased in exactly the same way as for Chester or Novello works.

In addition to these, Music Sales also distributes for many other major publishers including Hal Leonard, IMP, Dover Music and Shawnee Press.

First, to check on the availability of a piece, please visit the catalogue section of our website at www.musicroom.com. If you can't find the piece you are looking for, it may not be published by Music Sales or it may be out of print. If you're not certain who publishes the piece you want, the ASCAP and BMI websites are good references for publisher information

Once you are sure that the piece or book you require is published by Music Sales and is currently in print, please follow the instructions below:

Members of the public can purchase sheet music from either their local music shop or online at www.musicroom.com and www.sheetmusicdirect.com.

New trade customers must first open an account with Music Sales Ltd. before they can purchase sheet music at trade discounts. To find out how to open an account visit www.msdealers.com.

Current trade account holders can purchase music either via www.msdealers.com, their local Music Sales rep, from the Trade Sales Hotline: 01284 705050 or by fax: 01284 702592.

UK hire orders can be placed with our Hire library. If you wish to hire material outside the UK, please view the list of our hire agents

For classical composers, contact the relevant composer manager through the promotions department at promotions@musicsales.co.uk.

Remember to budget for production costs, which are a contribution towards the printing and editorial costs incurred preparing the performing materials. Information on commissioning fees may be obtained from the British Academy of Songwriters and Composers at www.britishacademy.com.

For film & TV work, contact media@musicsales.co.uk .

Permission requests must be submitted in writing via mail or fax. You also need permission to copy music as part of an article, book or dissertation. Send your request to copyright@musicsales.co.uk .

If you are trying to obtain archival photocopies of music you believe is published by Chester, Novello, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Union Musicale Ediciones, Bosworth & Co., and associated Music Sales companies but is now out of print, please make your request in writing to:

Special Orders Dept.
Music Sales
Newmarket Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 3YB


or by fax on 01284 702592,

or via e-mail at special.orders@musicsales.co.uk .

Please include as much identifying detail as possible: composer, title, publisher(s), instrumentation, date, catalogue numbers, etc. together with your name, address and the number of copies required. If a copy can be located we will inform you of the price of the piece and carriage charges. Payment may be made by credit card or cheque. We do not despatch until payment has been received.

We would hope to get the copies despatched to you within 7-10 working days. This, of course, is dependent upon whether or not we have a copy in our archives. If we do not have a copy, but you do, we offer a service where you send us a copy/original, we will master it for our archives and send you the first 10 copies of your order free of charge. You would only be charged for the remaining copies and carriage.

The copies come to you printed double-sided, either folded and stapled or spiral-bound depending on the piece of music. If you prefer not to have it bound we can also do that for you. The size of the paper varies according to the piece.
Please note: if you already have access to a copy of the music, it will be simpler and faster (and less expensive) to obtain permission to make your own photocopies, rather than asking us for archival photocopies. For this permission, please contact copyright@musicsales.co.uk .

We have biographies for many of the composers we publish, but not all. Take a look at the composer page on our site for a list of current biographies. Programme notes are listed where available as well as works. If you don't find the information you are looking for, please send a written request via mail, fax, or email. We will provide the information if we have it. Translations of composer biographies and programme notes are often available. Please contact your local agent for details. Some programme notes are protected by copyright; you will need permission from the copyright holder before using them.

UK licence requests can be placed with our Hire library. hire@musicsales.co.uk

Mechanical licences are licences issued to manufacturers of audio products, such as records, audio tapes and compact discs. Permission to obtain a mechanical licence for first time recordings (e.g. Premiere Recordings) is required and may be obtained by contacting Paul Narey at the Hire Library ( hire@musicsales.co.uk ). All material hire agreements should be completed prior to the recording date. Copies of the Premiere Recording will be required by the Composer and the Publisher for copyright and promotional purposes, the exact amount to be determined by the Publisher.

Licences for Musical Compositions that have been recorded previously are referred to as COMPULSORY MECHANICAL LICENCES. This means that permission is not required to record these Musical Compositions and that the royalty rate is set by the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society). If you have any further questions contact www.mcps.co.uk.

Please click here to view our grand rights/performance licensing information page.

We do not handle the sale or distribution of composers' recordings. For information as to the availability of a particular piece of music, you should ask your local record shop. Refer to the composer's discography for further information.

We may not be the primary publisher of your composer. You may wish to consult service organisations such as PRS (Performing Right Society) or BMIC (British Music Information Centre) for such information. Publications such as the Grove Dictionary series are also good sources for publisher information.

Try the following organisations:

Music Publishers Association (MPA)
3rd Floor Strandgate
18-20 York Buildings
London
WC2N 8JU
Tel: 020 7839-7779

Performing Right Society (PRS): PRS

If we have not yet answered your question, please send a message to the marketing department at marketing@musicsales.co.uk .

We occasionally have 8 week summer placement opportunities for interns. CVs should be sent to:

Intern Placements
Editorial Department
Music Sales Ltd
14-15 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LJ

We have no opportunities for freelance arrangers at this time.

We have no opportunities for freelance engravers at this time.

We have a number of people working for us in this area. However, opportunities occasionally arise. If you feel that your work compares favourably with the audio we use on our books such as the ‘Sing With…’ or ‘Backing Tracks For…’ then send a demo CD to:

Managing Editor
Editorial Department
Music Sales Ltd
14-15 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LJ

We very rarely consider unsolicited manuscripts for publication. Our publishing schedule is very full and we have a number of people working with us to generate ideas for future publications. If you are convinced you have spotted an unexploited niche in the market then you should write to us with the following details:

1: Comprehensive outline of proposal 2: Sample pages 3: Assessment of market interest (who is going to buy this product?) 4: Assessment of market placement (what products does it compete with?)

Send mail to:

Manuscript Reviewer
Editorial Department
Music Sales Ltd
14-15 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LJ

You should enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope if you wish to have your materials returned to you, should we decline the opportunity to publish.

As a general rule we do not publish works by unknown composers. Before you consider having your piece published you should attempt to get your piece well known by having it performed as much as possible by well known performers.

Send your product to us along with the following details:

1: Comprehensive written summary of the product.
2: Assessment of market interest (who is going to buy this product?).
3: Assessment of market placement (what products does it compete with?).
4: Estimated retail price.
5: Estimated quantity of first run.


Send mail to:

Product Distribution
Editorial Department
Music Sales
Newmarket Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 3YB

We are not a record company. We publish sheet music. Therefore you should not send us demos.

Address your query/complaint to:

Queries / Complaints
Editorial Department
Music Sales Ltd
14-15 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LJ

Please make sure that you include the following information: 1: Title of book

2: Product code of book (this can be found on the back cover and is likely to start with the letters ‘AM’ or ‘CH’
3: Details of your query/complaint including page numbers.
4: Please also ensure that you include contact information so we can get in touch with you.

If the piece of music is still protected by copyright then you are legally obliged to approach the copyright owner in question for permission to reproduce the music.

Your local copyright protection society should be able to confirm whether a piece of music is still copyright protected, and who you should contact to get copyright permission. In the UK you should contact PRS for Music with such queries (tel. 020 7580 5544)

Please note that in the UK, if the composer/author of a piece of music died within the last 70 years the title will still be copyright protected, and permission must be sought from the copyright owner before it can be reproduced in any form. However this rule differs overseas. You should contact your local society for confirmation of the copyright law in your territory.

If the piece of music you want to use is no longer protected by copyright and has fallen into the public domain it can be reproduced without permission.

Please note that even if an original work is out of copyright, a particular popular arrangement of the work may still be copyright protected. Therefore it is essential that you check with your local copyright protection society before printing. Never assume that a piece of music is in the public domain.

Music Sales Limited represents, in print, Europe’s best known publishers, artists and writers. Please see below for some of the major publishers we represent:

Alain Boublil
Blue Mountain
Carlin (Destiny/Manor/Redwood)
Chariscourt/Straitjacket (Mark Knopfler)
Chelsea
Chrysalis
Dejamus
Dwarf/Special Rider (Bob Dylan)
Elvis/Gladys Presley
Eric Clapton
Experience Hendrix
Evolving Music (Rodrigo & Gabriela)
Famous
Gibb Brothers
Global Talent (Ellie Goulding)
Hornall Bros (Jewel/Tristan)
Imagem Songs
International Music Network (Memory Lane Music)
Kobalt
Led Zeppelin
Minder Music
MPL Communications
Nettwerk One Music
Notable Music
P & P Songs
Paul Simon
Peer Music/Latin American Music
Perfect Songs
Reverb Music
Rondor
Rory Gallagher
Sony/ATV
The Really Useful Group
Them Crooked Vultures
Universal (MCA/MGB/Dick James/Island/Polygram)

The title of the piece along with the composer and/or lyricist is necessary in order for us to identify the correct work. If you are requesting permission to use a popular arrangement please also provide full details of the arrangement and the arranger’s name.

We require as much information as possible to determine the fee and process your request. At the very least we need the initial print run, retail price and territory of sale of the publication.

We generally issue licenses for UK/Europe, however specific deals allow us to approve use for World excluding North America as well as Worldwide territory. Please check with us if you are unsure.

Our general term is two years, requiring a reprint application once the licence expires.

No. Any amount of copyright-protected music requires permission from the copyright owners/original publishers.

As soon as we have received your request form we will confirm which of the titles we will be able to clear for you. We will then begin the copyright clearance procedure. Some titles will require approval from various sources. These can take longer to clear. We suggest that you allow a minimum of 15 working days before receiving an update from us on the progress of your request.

Please note that occasionally clearances can take many months to be processed. In this situation we will endeavour to chase the parties involved for information, but we cannot ensure a quick response.

If you have a particularly urgent request that requires immediate attention, please let us know, and we will do our best to assist you to meet your deadline.

Please also note that we cannot guarantee that all requests will be approved. If permission is denied, under no circumstances should you proceed with printing. This would be a breach of copyright and could result in legal action.

When copyright permission has been granted you will receive confirmation of the terms and conditions of your approval, along with details of any fees payable.

A request can be denied if the original publisher has any reason to do so. Also, as a general rule in mixed folios, we do not license content that makes up more than 20% of the overall publication.

Unfortunately all denials are final and MSL is not obliged to disclose its reasons for doing so.

In most cases we have a standard fee for the reproduction of copyrighted material. We can provide details of the fee that most suits your request.

If a fee is quoted on a ‘most favoured nations’ basis or MFN, this means that we are entitled to a higher fee should you have agreed to pay an original publisher of a work also in the folio (or co-publisher of a work) a higher fee.

If you are searching for a particular piece of sheet music we suggest you visit our website www.musicroom.com to see whether it has been published in one of our publications. You can also visit www.sheetmusicdirect.com which has a download facility. Alternatively, please call Musicroom.com Service on 01284 725725.