Questlove from The Roots explains late night show walk-on music:

back when i was the music guy at the chapelle show, outkast’s publisher might tell us they want $150,000 for “the way you move” in that puffy/real world/fonzworth bentley/cambodian breast milk sketch….BUT if you just ring up Big Boi and explain to him the nature of the sketch and how we just want 6 secs of it next thing you know Big Boi says “ill tell my lawyers to request the standard basic rate….if yall write me into a sketch” deal done. we get our outkast song for 10 secs, dave and neal write big boi in that “nick cannon is hiwwalrious” sketch and the rest is comedy history. —ive had to make ALOT of phone calls of that nature (hey ahmir do you know blah blah? can you do me a favor and make a call?) for projects im not even involved in. but of course the “see what happens when lawyers run the industry?” blog is a WHOLE nother lesson. (just found out bruuuuuuce cut max a break on conan by charging basic rates instead of his normal $tandard.

all who want an explanation of the world of walk on music…