A license is really nothing more than a contractual right that gives someone permission to engage in an activity or to use music or music products that is owned by you. Licenses have taken on special significance as the universal means to protect "music proprietary" (ownership). A license allows the holder of intellectual property rights (the "licensor") to make copies or to be used in the way an agreement is written.
Before you even get to the point of negotiating a license agreement, it's extremely important to make sure that you first have the exclusive rights to the music or music propuct. While the law is constantly evolving in this area, the best way to lock in exclusive rights to intellectual property is to register for any or all of the following that may apply to your situation:
Copyrights - original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression
Trademarks -- words, names or symbols that identify goods made or sold, and that distinguishes them from goods made or sold by others
While having an attorney draft a licensing agreement from start to finish would obviously be the best way to proceed. We consult with members of the Rap Network until both parties can agree on all terms on the license agreement and then have our attornies look over the agreement. We routinely work with independent recording artist and understand the need to keep costs down, we came up with a way to help keep cost down and still have our member's agreements safe.
A license is really nothing more than a contractual right that gives someone permission to engage in an activity or to use music or music products that is owned by you. Licenses have taken on special significance as the universal means to protect "music proprietary" (ownership). A license allows the holder of intellectual property rights (the "licensor") to make copies or to be used in the way an agreement is written. 
