Step Four: Keep records
Keep a record of every approach to every rights holder. Monitor and chase outstanding requests – but not too often. Repeated chasing just irritates. Do it sensitively and no more than once every two weeks. If you don’t get a response, then stop after three attempts and make a risk assessment. But do not erase your records. Keep them as evidence that you made reasonable attempts to contact the rights holder.
Keep a record of permissions granted by phone. Even if you have no direct confirmation in the form of a licence, at least you will have written evidence of the conversation and what was said. Add the date and time of any phone call to the record.