In Thursdays class Eve and I worked on creating a letter to send to music publishers/bands to gain access to music for our films. It was fun as we tried to make it sound as professional as possible while trying to stroke the bands ego subtly so that the publishers/band would say yes. Paul gave some feedback on our original letter and helped Eve to create this revised version which she forwarded to me. I will obviously have to change the description of my film within the letter if I choose to send it out to any publishers. I wonder if I sent this out to a band like Alt-J if they would ever agree, it certainly doesn’t hurt to try.

I’m thinking some really calming, rhythmic style music as an undertone for my film – once I have a theme for my film nailed down it’ll be easy to narrow down music to choose from. At the moment I’m collecting royalty free music in a folder, which will be a resource I can resort to if unable to gain permission from a band or musician I like.

To whom it may concern/ (name of label) / the members of (band name).

I am writing to you because I am inspired by (name of band’s) music, and often enjoy listening to them at home, as well as having seen them live on numerous occasions. I am a passionate advocate for alternative local music and want to do my part as a prospective filmmaker to promote and support Melbourne musicians and their labels.

I am a student at RMIT University, studying a film focused Communications Media degree. I am seeking the permission to use a sample the song XXXX created by XXXX in a small project I am working on.

The one minute long piece is part of an educational assignment. The simple piece features the protagonist walking through the State Library. The song xxxx would be an essential element of this piece as it would bring complexity and emotion to the character.

If I gain permission to use the requested song, I will put it up on Vimeo and post it onto my student blog. I would approximate a small viewing audience; perhaps 30-50 people would see it. However, due to the public nature of Vimeo and blog sites, that they can be accessed by anyone in the general public.

If permissible, please send in writing (formal or otherwise) that I have permission to sample this song legally, as outlined previously. If permission is granted, the song will not be used in any way that deviates from the proposed piece.

Due to this being educational in nature I am requesting to sample the requested song at no cost as it is a non-for- profit piece and use will be limited.

I am contactable via email or phone (xxxx) if you have any questions or concerns and hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you for considering my request.

Warm Regards,

Aine Rose Hamilton

* If there is a possibility that it will be used for festivals etc mention that

* With small bands, look into opening a dialogue about skill swapping aka they give you permission to use the song and you film one of their shows.