Since the later 1960s production music – sometimes known as mood music, library music or background music – has been a feature of post production work, as ubiquitous as the mixing desk. Over the past 10 years, the use of production music in television, radio and film productions has sky-rocketed, turning it into a multi-million rand industry offering high calibre, cost effective music that covers a multitude of genres. And, to keep pace with technology, the days of production music being distributed purely through cassettes and cds are long gone – nowadays, users of this form of music can access it on DVD or though internet downloads and hard drive systems.

Each year NORM publishes a rate card that covers usage of production music (per 30 seconds or part thereof) for film and cinema, audio-visual, live events and corporate presentations, television (including in-flight and closed-circuit), broadcast radio (advertising and programmers), audio only recordings, internet and more.

Users are required to fill in music cue sheets which must be filled in accurately to ensure that composers receive their royalties. Many of the latter ar highly regarded (including contemporary hit-makers and film music writers) and with more and more production music libraries including homegrown music, there are many South African composers who deserve (and depend on) their hard-earned royalties.

NORM is an association of Southern African music publishers and composers - and acts as a negotiating and licensing body for its members. NORM licenses many areas of music usage where music mechanically is transferred from one format to another.
When it come to production music NORM licenses music used in radio, TV and cinema, advertising, films, corporate video production, multimedia and more. What's more, NORM has blanket arrangements with broadcasters that cover the use of production music in normal TV programming, among it documentaries, dramas, magazine programmes and in-house promos.