This agreement, its working patterns and the fees that apply to them may be used for the recording by the categories of musicians it covers of signature tunes and incidental music. It specifies additions to the basic fees for the recording of incidental music for more than one episode of a series or serial, and reductions in them for the recording of music for Schools and Continuing Education programmes, both network and regional.

The agreement contains provisions for payment of travel and subsistence allowances, for payment of allowances to musicians required to wear evening dress, and for porterage payments to harpists.

The agreement also deals with the acquisition of the performers’ rights of musicians engaged under it, and defines the

uses licensed to the BBC on payment of the basic fees, and the further uses that may be licensed on payment of further fees. These aspects of this agreement are summarised in the Managing the Idea pages of this producer’s toolkit.

The BBC deals with the ISM through the Contributor and Talent Rights area of Finance, Property and Business Affairs. The full text of the agreement is held by that department, and by the Business Affairs teams in the genre programme groups and in the Nations/Regions.

You can get advice on interpretation of the agreement from the Business Affairs team in your genre programme group or Nation/Region.