At a time where mashups and, licensing, and fair use rights are usually points of “aggressive debate,” the Danny Elfman Project contributes a new perspective. It allows filmmakers to use selections from Elfman’s new album, Rabbit and Rogue, in their short film projects…free of charge…but for a specific creative purpose.
The available soundtrack is 12:12 in length and is completely free for indie filmmakers to use. In turn, they can also submit their short films using Elfman’s music to a competition presented by the LA Film Festival. The requirements are flexible in that entries not only have free license to use the music but submissions can integrate the music as direct accompaniment or simply as inspiration.
If you’re wondering what this has to do with the orchestra business, look at it as an example of using a “Yes, And…” approach to dealing with contentious issues between stakeholders that have been fought over for decades. If you aren’t familiar with the approach, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book by Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton. Just be sure you’re ready to wrap your mind wrap around the idea of approaching stakeholder relationships by accepting and building on what others have initiated without having to first tear down and destroy.