Classical music for film license
Festivals, distributors, and errors and omissions reviewers all ask the same question: who owns this recording and can you prove it. Classical Sync answers with a clean chain of title. The compositions are public domain, the masters are software renders owned by our legal entity, and every license ships with a PDF plus a public verification URL carrying the Master ID and SHA-256. For theatrical, festival, television, or streaming productions, the Broadcast and Film tier covers your production in one payment.
Recommended starting tier: Broadcast & Film $499 one-time
TV, radio, cinema, film, festivals & streaming. Perpetual, worldwide.
What this license covers for film
The Broadcast and Film tier includes everything in the Commercial tier plus TV, radio, cinema, theatrical film, festivals, streaming and VOD productions, and broadcast advertising, perpetual and worldwide for one production entity or franchise. That is the tier distributors expect to see on the cue sheet. Creator and Commercial explicitly exclude theatrical, festival, broadcast, and streaming productions, so a short that starts as a YouTube upload and later gets into festivals should be upgraded before it screens.
Upgrades cost the price difference only against a verified prior license for the same email and track, so licensing Creator or Commercial early for the edit never wastes money. Name the production at checkout exactly as it will appear on festival paperwork, keep the license PDF with your deliverables, and put the verification URL in your music cue documentation so any reviewer can confirm the license without emailing you.
Which tracks fit short film
Mozart Symphony No. 40 first movement brings tense, urgent strings that carry chases, arguments, and ticking clock sequences without sounding like a modern trailer library. Beethoven Symphony No. 5 first movement delivers the most recognizable dramatic hit in the catalog: use it sparingly for reveals and turning points. Vivaldi Summer third movement is stormy and fast, built for weather, pursuit, and unraveling plans.
Beethoven Pathetique first movement gives directors a stormy piano bed for interiors, confessions, and slow building dread. The Beethoven Seventh second movement is the processional choice for funerals, weddings inside the story, graduations, and end credits that need dignity. All five sit in the short catalog cut format, so spot them against picture, pick the energy arc that matches the scene, and license the exact cut you lock.
How to use them in your production
Spot the music the way you would any score: lay the preview against picture first, confirm the edit points, then license before final mix so the WAV is in the timeline at full quality. The licensed WAV replaces the watermarked preview, which must never appear in a delivered cut. You may cut, fade, and level match freely, and you may run the cue under dialogue, montage, and credits within the named production.
Keep the license PDF with your chain of title documents and give the verification URL to your producer, distributor, or festival coordinator. If a platform flags the film after delivery, the license ID plus verification URL resolves it the same way it does for YouTube: one link that shows track, tier, licensee, and issue date. Never register the recording with a PRO or fingerprinting service, and never include it on a soundtrack album without broader rights.
Content ID, festivals, and distributors
We do not enroll these masters as Content ID references and we do not claim revenue from licensed uses, which keeps festival screeners, Vimeo reviews, and streaming deliveries clean from our side. Third party systems can still misidentify any classical recording, including ours, because many recordings share the same public-domain notes. The verification page exists for exactly that moment.
Distributors doing errors and omissions review get a license PDF with terms version, hash, and timestamp plus a public page they can check without an account. If a claim names our recording, email support with the license ID, verification URL, and the affected URL, and we use commercially reasonable efforts to release our claim within 10 business days. One payment per track, no renewals, no festival surcharges.
Preview the tracks for this use case
Symphony No. 5 in C minor
The Four Seasons: Summer (L'estate)
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Pathétique
Symphony No. 7 in A major
License one of these tracks
One payment per track. Creator $29, Commercial $99, Broadcast & Film $499. Secure checkout with Stripe, 14-day money-back guarantee, and our masters are never registered with Content ID.
FAQ
Which tier does a festival short need?
Any film headed to festivals, theaters, television, or streaming services needs the Broadcast and Film tier, because Creator and Commercial exclude those uses. If the short lives only on your own monetized YouTube channel with no festival run, Creator is enough, and you can upgrade later for the price difference if plans change.
What do I send a distributor or E and O reviewer?
Send the license PDF plus the public verification URL. Together they show the track, tier, licensee name, issue date, Master ID, and SHA-256, which is the complete chain of title for the recording. The composition needs no clearance because it is in the public domain, and the PDF states that the recording is a software render owned by our legal entity.
What does a Classical Sync license cover?
You license our software rendered master recording for one named project under the tier you buy, perpetual and worldwide. Creator ($29 one time) covers one project or series, including monetized YouTube with platform served ads, streaming podcasts, and wedding videos. Commercial ($99 one time) adds client and freelance work, music inside paid web and social advertising, small business marketing, and multi project use for the same licensee. Broadcast and Film ($499 one time) adds TV, radio, cinema, theatrical film, festivals, streaming and VOD productions, and broadcast advertising. Title to the recording stays with Magnolia Apps LLC. Every tier delivers the WAV, the license PDF, and a public verification URL.
Will this music trigger a YouTube Content ID claim?
Our masters are not registered with Content ID as reference files, so a licensed use starts claim free from our side. If a claim still appears, email licensing@thepodcastapp.dev with your license ID, your public verification URL, and the video URL. We use commercially reasonable efforts to release our claim within 10 business days of a complete notice. Third party or automated platform claims can still occur on any platform, and that pledge covers our own enrollment of the delivered master.
Do I have to credit the composer or Classical Sync?
No attribution is required. The underlying compositions are in the public domain, and you license only our recording of them from Magnolia Apps LLC. A credit line such as the track title and composer is welcome but optional. What you must not do is register the recording with a PRO, Content ID, or fingerprinting service, resell it as a standalone audio product or sample library, or sublicense it beyond delivering your named project.
What files do I receive after checkout?
Every license includes the licensed WAV (delivered by a 15 minute signed download URL and by email), a license PDF that records the terms version, hash, timestamp, Master ID, and SHA-256, plus a public verification URL of the form /verify?id= that proves the license to YouTube, clients, or distributors. Checkout runs through Stripe, one payment per track, with a 14 day money back guarantee. Keep the license ID with your project files so any dispute can be answered in one email.