Licensing

For using the music or the artwork in something of your own.

Start here — what you probably need

If you want to play a traditional piece yourself, at a concert, in a class or on a recording of your own: you do not need us. The repertoire is the tradition’s. Credit the Mandinka tradition and go ahead.

What needs a licence

• Using our recording in a film, an advertisement, a game or a podcast.
• Using our photographs, films or illustrations in anything published.
• Using the name or the artwork on goods, or in a way that suggests we endorse something.

What we will not license, at any price

• Anything that presents the music as generic “world” or “ethnic” background.
• Any use that strips the credit from the family or the tradition.
• Training a model on the recordings, the images or a family member’s likeness.
• Material tied to the Kankurang or other masquerade practice without the family’s agreement first — some of it is not ours alone to give.

How to ask

Write to licensing@korainstrument.com with: what material you want, what it is for, where it will be seen, for how long, and your budget. Those five things let us answer quickly.

What to expect

A real answer within seven days, from a person. Rates depend on the use, not on a tariff sheet. Small, respectful and well-credited projects are treated generously.

Educational use

Teachers and students: write and tell us what you need. Classroom use is normally granted free. We would rather the kora were taught than protected into silence.