SERVICE - EXPIRED LICENCE RECOVERY
Expired License Recovery
Expired License Recovery
Expired License Recovery
SERVICE - EXPIRED LICENCE RECOVERY
The licence ended. The content didn't.
The licence ended. The content didn't.
The licence ended. The content didn't.
For labels, publishers, composers, music houses and licensors: we find brand content still live after the licence expired, evidence the overrun, and recover the value.
Music licences are limited by design; by term, territory, media and scope. Brand content is not. Social posts stay up after the campaign ends. Ads get re-cut and re-used. Usage drifts to channels the licence never covered. The brand keeps earning engagement from your music long after its right to use it lapsed.
This is the quietest leak in music licensing — and the easiest to prove, because the brand has already agreed your music has a price. It's written in the licence.
What we do
What we do
Licence mapping
We work from your actual agreements — term, territory, media, scope, so every finding is measured against what was really granted.
Licence mapping
We work from your actual agreements — term, territory, media, scope, so every finding is measured against what was really granted.
Licence mapping
We work from your actual agreements — term, territory, media, scope, so every finding is measured against what was really granted.
Overrun detection
Live brand content matched against expiry dates and licence scope: still up after term, running outside territory, re-used beyond the agreed media.
Overrun detection
Live brand content matched against expiry dates and licence scope: still up after term, running outside territory, re-used beyond the agreed media.
Overrun detection
Live brand content matched against expiry dates and licence scope: still up after term, running outside territory, re-used beyond the agreed media.
Evidence
Persistence of use after expiry documented post by post; timestamps, engagement accrued since the licence lapsed, and scope drift
Evidence
Persistence of use after expiry documented post by post; timestamps, engagement accrued since the licence lapsed, and scope drift
Evidence
Persistence of use after expiry documented post by post; timestamps, engagement accrued since the licence lapsed, and scope drift
Recovery management
Managed to the natural outcome: a renewal at proper value, a retrospective fee for the overrun, or removal — your call, our casework.
Recovery management
Managed to the natural outcome: a renewal at proper value, a retrospective fee for the overrun, or removal — your call, our casework.
Recovery management
Managed to the natural outcome: a renewal at proper value, a retrospective fee for the overrun, or removal — your call, our casework.
How do you know a licence has expired?
You tell us what you licensed and on what terms; we watch what's still live. You supply the licence details you already hold — brand, track, territory, media, term — and we monitor brand, agency and creator content against them. When content is still published and still earning after the term ended, that's a discrete, documented gap, and it's usually much easier to evidence than a use that was never licensed at all.
You tell us what you licensed and on what terms; we watch what's still live. You supply the licence details you already hold — brand, track, territory, media, term — and we monitor brand, agency and creator content against them. When content is still published and still earning after the term ended, that's a discrete, documented gap, and it's usually much easier to evidence than a use that was never licensed at all.
You tell us what you licensed and on what terms; we watch what's still live. You supply the licence details you already hold — brand, track, territory, media, term — and we monitor brand, agency and creator content against them. When content is still published and still earning after the term ended, that's a discrete, documented gap, and it's usually much easier to evidence than a use that was never licensed at all.
What does it cost?
Nothing unless we recover. We work purely on contingency — no monthly fee, no platform fee, no retainer. We are paid out of what we recover, and if we recover nothing, you pay nothing.
Nothing unless we recover. We work purely on contingency — no monthly fee, no platform fee, no retainer. We are paid out of what we recover, and if we recover nothing, you pay nothing.
Nothing unless we recover. We work purely on contingency — no monthly fee, no platform fee, no retainer. We are paid out of what we recover, and if we recover nothing, you pay nothing.
Isn't this awkward with a brand we already have a relationship with?
It's usually the opposite. A brand that licensed your music once has already demonstrated it will pay, and an expired-term conversation is a renewal conversation with evidence attached. These are frequently the least confrontational and highest-converting matters we handle — the brand often simply hasn't noticed that a campaign asset from two years ago is still live.
It's usually the opposite. A brand that licensed your music once has already demonstrated it will pay, and an expired-term conversation is a renewal conversation with evidence attached. These are frequently the least confrontational and highest-converting matters we handle — the brand often simply hasn't noticed that a campaign asset from two years ago is still live.
It's usually the opposite. A brand that licensed your music once has already demonstrated it will pay, and an expired-term conversation is a renewal conversation with evidence attached. These are frequently the least confrontational and highest-converting matters we handle — the brand often simply hasn't noticed that a campaign asset from two years ago is still live.
Who actually runs the claims?
Our in-house legal team, led by a qualified solicitor. They run each claim end to end: evidence, rights validation, correspondence, negotiation and settlement. Where a matter needs to escalate, we work with a specialist litigation partner.
Our in-house legal team, led by a qualified solicitor. They run each claim end to end: evidence, rights validation, correspondence, negotiation and settlement. Where a matter needs to escalate, we work with a specialist litigation partner.
Our in-house legal team, led by a qualified solicitor. They run each claim end to end: evidence, rights validation, correspondence, negotiation and settlement. Where a matter needs to escalate, we work with a specialist litigation partner.
Do we keep control of the relationship with the brand?
Yes. Nothing goes out without your approval. On expired-term matters especially, the commercial goal is usually a renewed licence rather than a settlement, and we position it that way unless you tell us otherwise.
Yes. Nothing goes out without your approval. On expired-term matters especially, the commercial goal is usually a renewed licence rather than a settlement, and we position it that way unless you tell us otherwise.
Yes. Nothing goes out without your approval. On expired-term matters especially, the commercial goal is usually a renewed licence rather than a settlement, and we position it that way unless you tell us otherwise.
What's actually in an evidence pack?
Post links, screenshots, timestamps, platform metadata, engagement and usage history, and the rights mapping connecting each use to your recording or composition — set against the licence term so the overrun period is documented precisely. It also includes marketing and legal contact routes for the brand.
Post links, screenshots, timestamps, platform metadata, engagement and usage history, and the rights mapping connecting each use to your recording or composition — set against the licence term so the overrun period is documented precisely. It also includes marketing and legal contact routes for the brand.
Post links, screenshots, timestamps, platform metadata, engagement and usage history, and the rights mapping connecting each use to your recording or composition — set against the licence term so the overrun period is documented precisely. It also includes marketing and legal contact routes for the brand.
How far back can you look?
Well beyond the point you engage us. Campaign content routinely stays live for years after the campaign ends, and that whole period is where the value sits. How far back a claim can practically run depends on the territory and the circumstances, which we'll cover in the case review.
Well beyond the point you engage us. Campaign content routinely stays live for years after the campaign ends, and that whole period is where the value sits. How far back a claim can practically run depends on the territory and the circumstances, which we'll cover in the case review.
Well beyond the point you engage us. Campaign content routinely stays live for years after the campaign ends, and that whole period is where the value sits. How far back a claim can practically run depends on the territory and the circumstances, which we'll cover in the case review.
This page describes our services in general terms and is not advice on your particular situation. For a view on a specific case, ask us for a case review.
Case Review
Case Review