Everything You Hear: Music, Guests, and Clips in Podcast and Audio Production
By Casey Scott McKay ·
A podcast is a download and an on-demand stream, which means it engages the reproduction, distribution, and public performance rights at once, and none of the compulsory licences that make radio and streaming work applies to it. This article explains what that means in practice: why every piece of music in an episode needs two separate permissions negotiated individually, why the theme tune commissioned from a friend is usually owned by the friend, and why a three-second archival clip can be a more serious problem than a whole song. It works through the fair use analysis after the Supreme Court's decision in the Warhol case, the guest release that most shows do not use and occasionally need badly, the trademark clearance that show names almost never receive, and the ownership of the RSS feed, which is the only asset in the whole enterprise that cannot be replaced. It closes with the advertising rules, which are enforced far more often than copyright in this medium.
IP and Technology > Copyright | Article | Published 6 December 2025 - Updated 11 August 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. A podcast is a download and an on-demand stream, which means it engages the reproduction, distribution, and public performance rights at once, and none of the compulsory licences that make radio and streaming work applies to it. This article explains why every piece of music in an episode needs two separate permissions negotiated individually, why the theme tune commissioned from a friend is usually owned by the friend, and why a three-second archival clip can be a more serious problem than a whole song. It works through fair use after the Warhol decision, the guest release most shows do not use, the trademark clearance show names almost never receive, and the ownership of the RSS feed.
Keywords: podcast licensing · sync licence · master use licence · mechanical licence · sound recording rights · fair use in audio · guest release · right of publicity · show name clearance · RSS feed ownership · FTC endorsement guides · DMCA safe harbour · sampling · archival clips · work made for hire
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