Creative License
Creative License is a B2B entertainment licensing firm that helps Fortune 500 brands and advertising agencies identify, negotiate, and procure music rights, celebrity talent, and intellectual property licenses for advertising campaigns across broadcast and digital media.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Creative License does
Creative License is a New York-based, founder-led B2B entertainment licensing firm founded in 1999 by Kevin McKiernan, who continues to serve as CEO. The company serves Fortune 500 brands and their advertising agencies by identifying, negotiating, and procuring music rights, celebrity talent, and intellectual property licenses for advertising and promotional campaigns across broadcast, digital, and social media. Its core service offering spans three integrated practices: music supervision and licensing (rights to songs and soundtracks), celebrity talent ideation and procurement (actors, athletes, musicians, comedians, influencers, subject matter experts), and intellectual property clearances (film/TV clips, character rights, literature, fine art, trademarked assets). Add-on services include social media influencer procurement and live corporate/private talent bookings.
The business is a pure services firm with no proprietary software platform, no disclosed technology stack, and no AI/ML component. Underlying capability is built on the firm's entertainment industry contact network and the institutional knowledge of a stable senior team — CEO McKiernan, SVPs Graham Micone and Josh Barnes, and Director of Business Affairs Linda LaSala — supported by 11–50 employees. Creative License operates on a sales-led, senior-executive-engaged GTM motion, directly approaching enterprise clients and positioning itself as a strategic partner across multiple verticals including automotive, retail, food/beverage, insurance, pharmaceutical, gaming/hospitality, financial services, and technology.
Revenue is generated primarily through licensing fees and commissions on music, talent, and IP rights negotiated on behalf of clients, with pricing negotiated on a per-contract basis. The company claims to have negotiated over 1,000 contracts and to deliver 25–35% cost savings versus ad agencies or industry competitors. It is independent and privately held, incorporated in Florida as Creative License LLC, with no disclosed external investors, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity.
Creative License firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Creative License
- Legal name
- Creative License LLC
- Website
- https://creativelicense.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Creative License is a B2B entertainment licensing firm that helps Fortune 500 brands and advertising agencies identify, negotiate, and procure music rights, celebrity talent, and intellectual property licenses for advertising campaigns across broadcast and digital media.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Creative License industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Entertainment Licensing Services
- NAICS
- Music Publishers (512230), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Contracting, Licensing & Rights Management (Music/Performance Releases) (HSACAHAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Talent, Likeness & Personality Rights Licensing (MPABANAG), Sync Royalty Administration & Reporting (Cue Sheets, Claims, Audits) (MPAIALAL)
Keywords
Where Creative License is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Creative License business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Entertainment Licensing Services: Creative License generates revenue through licensing fees for music, celebrity talent, and intellectual property procurement for brand advertising and promotional campaigns. The company negotiates rights and services on behalf of clients, earning fees for their expertise in identifying, negotiating, and procuring entertainment assets. They have successfully negotiated over 1,000 contracts.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Creative License product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Creative License is a B2B entertainment marketing firm that identifies, negotiates, and procures music rights, celebrity talent, and intellectual property clearances on behalf of Fortune 500 brands and advertising agencies for use in advertising and promotional campaigns. The firm guides clients through a three-step Find–Negotiate–Deliver process, leveraging a 25-year network and over 1,000 prior contracts to secure music supervision, talent bookings, and IP rights at competitive fees.
Product overview
Creative License is a creative and strategic entertainment marketing firm offering a unified suite of services centered on three core offerings: Music Supervision & Licensing (procuring music rights for advertising campaigns), Celebrity Talent Ideation & Procurement (securing actors, athletes, musicians, comedians, influencers, and subject matter experts), and Intellectual Property Clearances (licensing film/TV clips, character rights, literature, fine art, and trademarked assets). The company operates as a single integrated service offering rather than a software platform, guiding brands and agencies through the complete process from concept ideation to project completion—finding the right music/talent/IP fit, negotiating rights at competitive fees, and delivering and managing fulfillment of all deal points. The firm has successfully negotiated over 1,000 contracts and celebrates 25 years of entertainment supervision licensing excellence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Music Supervision & Licensing
Quantifiable outcome
- 25-35% cost savings (cost avoidance) compared to ad agencies or industry competitors
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Creative License
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Creative License technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Creative License partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Creative License competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MassiveMusic: Global music supervision and licensing agency that negotiates music rights and sync for brand advertising campaigns. Directly comparable to Creative License's music supervision business line and serves many of the same Fortune 500 brand advertisers.
- Primary Wave Music Publishing: Independent music publishing and talent management company that administers rights and manages catalogs across publishing and recordings. Comparable to Creative License through its work on music rights administration and talent-side representation for commercial uses including advertising.
- APM Music (Associated Production Music): Long-established production music library licensing music for advertising, broadcast, and brand campaigns. Closely comparable to Creative License's music rights procurement for ads, with substantial overlap in Fortune 500 client base and rights negotiation workflow.
- Cutting Music Group: Independent music supervision and licensing firm serving advertising agencies and brands. Operates in the same niche as Creative License — securing sync rights, master licenses, and custom music for major brand campaigns.
- JSM Music (Joel Simon Music): Boutique music supervision firm focused on advertising and film, handling music licensing, original scoring, and rights negotiation for major brand and agency clients. Highly comparable in service scope and target customer (ad agencies and Fortune 500 brands).
- Butter Music & Sound: Music and sound design studio producing original scores and licensing music for advertising campaigns. Competes with Creative License for music-related deliverables on the same brand/advertising RFPs.
- Squeak E Clean Studios: Music and audio post-production studio specializing in advertising work, including original music composition and licensing. Overlaps directly with Creative License on the music supervision side for brand campaigns.
Broad incumbents
- Creative Artists Agency (CAA): Global talent and sports agency with dedicated brand consulting and licensing capabilities that handle celebrity procurement for major brand advertisers. Directly comparable to Creative License's talent procurement service but with vastly greater scale and integrated representation business.
- United Talent Agency (UTA): Major talent and entertainment agency with brand partnerships and endorsements divisions. Comparable on the talent procurement side of Creative License's business, working with Fortune 500 brands on celebrity-driven campaigns.
- WME (William Morris Endeavor / Endeavor): Major talent agency with brand licensing and endorsement divisions serving Fortune 500 advertisers. Competes with Creative License's celebrity talent procurement service but operates at much larger scale with broader portfolio including representation, sports, and media.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Creative License social profiles
Digital presenceCreative License financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Creative License leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Creative License funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Creative License M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Creative License
What does Creative License do?
Creative License is a B2B entertainment marketing firm that identifies, negotiates, and procures music rights, celebrity talent, and intellectual property clearances on behalf of Fortune 500 brands and advertising agencies for use in advertising and promotional campaigns. The firm guides clients through a three-step Find–Negotiate–Deliver process, leveraging a 25-year network and over 1,000 prior contracts to secure music supervision, talent bookings, and IP rights at competitive fees.
Is Creative License a public or private company?
Creative License is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Creative License founded?
Creative License was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Creative License based?
Creative License is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Creative License make money?
One revenue line is on record: entertainment Licensing Services.
Who are Creative License's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MassiveMusic, Primary Wave Music Publishing, APM Music (Associated Production Music), Cutting Music Group, JSM Music (Joel Simon Music), Butter Music & Sound and Squeak E Clean Studios. Broad incumbents are Creative Artists Agency (CAA), United Talent Agency (UTA) and WME (William Morris Endeavor / Endeavor).
Does Creative License have an API?
No public API is recorded for Creative License.
What industry is Creative License in?
Creative License's product category is Entertainment Licensing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAHAM, Contracting, Licensing & Rights Management (Music/Performance Releases), with a secondary code of MPABANAG, Talent, Likeness & Personality Rights Licensing. Its NAICS code is 512230 and its SIC code is 7900.