The story behind the 'Mad Men' title sequence

By Eriq Gardner

TV producers know that clearing music rights can be a daunting task. By the time a show has hit it big, musicians with songs incorporated within the fabric of a series have a lot of leverage and often have been successful in either extracting big money or holding up the release of a series onto DVD or in other formats.

Leave it to AMC's "Mad Men," which has been a television trailblazer in various ways, to figure out a solution. 

Before the series appeared on TV, producer Lionsgate decided it needed more than mere license to use RJD2's "A Beautiful Mine" in the opening credits. The studio approached RJD2 and wanted to buy the publishing rights to the song. 

RJD2 turned down Lionsgate several times before finally relenting. The musician now calls the studio's purchase an "extraordinarily shrewd" move now that the series has become so successful. 

It's hard to imagine the "Mad Men" title sequence without the music...