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The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society offers a free information pack with details of how to obtain licences for music, plus other information. It maintains an extensive database and can help identify and locate the rights owners of thousands of musical works.

Equity sets and advises on rates of pay and rights of singers.

The Musicians Union sets and advises on rates of pay and rights for musicians

The Performing Rights Society represents composers, songwriters and music publishers. It licenses musical works and collects royalties on behalf of its members. Anywhere music is played (including part of a film or a TV broadcast, pubs, clubs and supermarkets etc) requires a PRS licence.

MUSIC FOR FILM AND TV - THE PROCEDURE - AN OVERVIEW
Original composition
From a musical viewpoint, the film producer's first dilemma is to determine whether his or her film will contain original music, specifically commissioned, or whether existing music is to be featured. A specific commissioning of an original score can be a very expensive exercise. Composers' fees for a full movie may easily exceed £250,000. The synchronisation rights to the original music will generally be acquired by the film production company but the copyright in the music itself will usually be retained by the composer unless it is already subject to exploitation by a publisher under a music publishing agreement. The master rights to the recording itself will usually be owned by whoever paid for the recording costs. Assignment of the rights to the producer may be negotiated under the terms of the contract. The formal contract between the film producer or production company and the composer will obviously be subject to individual negotiation. It may be sensible for the contract to deal with the prospect of worldwide release in all formats. It is generally far easier to negotiate this before release. If the composer retains copyright in the composition then his royalties for any record or video release will usually be paid to him via the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS). Care must be taken when considering potential US releases as certain rights relating to the theatrical performance of soundtracks are retained by the Performing Rights Society (PRS).
Existing music
Of course, there are many alternatives to commissioning one composer and there is now a growing trend to mix some elements of new composition with selected music already available. The most important aspect to using existing musical works is to make sure that clearance is obtained for their use. Imagine a scenario where, following a successful film release, there is a claim from a writer for copyright infringement. If a retrospective deal cannot be agreed at that juncture, the film would have to be shelved until a new musical score has been put together. The MCPS is the administrative body usually controlling the right to issue synchronisation licences for use of music in film. Many broadcasters, e.g. BBC, have blanket licences which allow programmes to use existing musical works without any other payments to the owners of the copyright. The prospective programme needs to fulfil certain criteria to fall under the blanket licensing agreements. Not all works are under the control of MCPS and sometimes it is necessary to apply for clearance to individual publishers or composers. When using existing music, it is always important to remember that there are two copyrights in a recorded work. The first is in the composition itself (and is dealt with as above) and the second is in the actual recording of that work (the master). The use of the master will be governed by a master use licence which will be the subject of a separate contract between the film producer/production company and the owner(s) of the recording.
Summary
This is a very difficult area of entertainment law to fully understand. The increasing technological advances mean that new opportunities are opening up to exploit film soundtracks. A good, experienced entertainment lawyer and/or accountant is a pre-requisite to clearing and exploiting the rights to their maximum.