This is a guest post written by Tyler Connaghan of Strofe, a platform which allows users to easily create music using artificial intelligence technology. Strofe comes with built-in mixing and mastering tools, you can customize the music to perfectly fit the mood and theme of your content. The website has a beautiful layout and interface, plus it’s free to use!
Since the Napster takeover in the early 2000s, the music industry has been in a constant state of evolution. With the changing landscape, musicians have been continuously adapting to find success in what 20th-century musicians would have called “non-traditional” avenues.
However, these non-traditional avenues are now some of the most commonly taken, one of which is sync licensing. Nowadays, every burgeoning musician has the ability to land their music in some of the industry’s top television shows and films.
Not only is sync licensing a great tool for artists who want to expose their music to larger audiences, but it’s also one of the best ways musicians can earn money.
Interestingly enough, sync licensing still feels like it’s in its wild west days, and navigating the process can feel overwhelming. Luckily, you’ve found yourself in the right place, as we’ve created an all-you-need-to-know guide for getting your music in TV and film.
Let’s dive in!
What Is Sync Licensing?
Let’s get the basics out of the way first.
Synchronization licensing, or sync licensing, is the process of synchronizing music with visual media, whether television, film, video games, or advertisements. These visual media productions must secure the right to use your copyrighted music in their work.
How these licenses are negotiated can vary based on the specific agreements, which we’ll get into in a bit. What’s important to note is that the gatekeeper to these visual productions is often a music supervisor.
What Role Do Music Supervisors Play?
Music supervisors arguably play one of the most pivotal roles in the world of sync licensing, providing a bridge between musicians and visual media creators.
While the roles and responsibilities of a music supervisor can be quite fluid, they’re often responsible for two main things: song selection and clearances/licensing. They’ll often work closely with the creative visionaries of a given project, whether a director or producer, to find music that aligns with the project’s personality.
Once the music supervisor finds the right songs, they’ll get the necessary clearances and licensing rights from the rightsholders. They will negotiate with you, the artist or producer, and any adjacent rightsholders, such as your publisher or record label. This helps them ensure they have all the required permissions to use your music.
Where Are Music Supervisors Looking for Music?
Now that we know who the gatekeepers are, the question becomes, how do we get our music to them?
There are certainly plenty of experienced music supervisors in the industry with vast personal collections of music. It’s their job to stay updated with new releases and up-and-coming artists. However, beyond their personal catalogs, there are a few common ways music reaches the ears of music supervisors:
Music Libraries
Many music supervisors find their music in popular catalogs and music libraries, such as:
- Alibi
- Marmoset
- Nightingale
These libraries offer a one-stop shop for pre-cleared, sync-ready music. This makes it easy for supervisors to find music for their projects based on specific characteristics, such as genre, tempo, or mood.
Submissions
Publishers, labels, and music licensing companies often submit their artists’ songs to music supervisors for sync licensing opportunities. Having a company on your side to facilitate submissions and target the right supervisors working on projects that align with your music can be very beneficial.
Networking
As with anything in the music industry, finding success in sync is about building the right relationships, and sometimes simply having the right industry contacts is the best thing you can do. To network with professionals, consider attending conferences or industry events like Sync Summit or SXSW.
Of course, you can put in all of the networking time your brain has bandwidth for, but if your music isn’t up to par, it’s a moot point.
What Makes Music ‘Syncable’?
While music is practically boundless, a few strategies might make your music more ‘syncable.’
Expand Your Music’s Reach
Let’s take a look at some of today’s biggest television shows.
Yellowstone is filled to the brim with folk and country tunes from both major labels and independent artists. Then there’s the latest season of Selling Sunset on Netflix, which had songs in transition scenes from major sync artist Zayde Wolf, among others.
If we compare the two, one could argue that the ‘definition’ of sync music is pretty vast. It can come from all sorts of sources, with sounds varying significantly. However, for the sake of this article, let’s discuss universality – which I believe to be one of the most important aspects of great sync music.
You want your sync music to feel versatile. While Colter Wall’s “Sleeping on the Blacktop” may have fit like a glove in Yellowstone, the song itself is pretty limited in terms of adaptability.
On the other hand, you have a track like Zayde Wolf’s “Next Level,” which has not only a beautifully adaptable title and universal lyrical content but also a sonic palette that could amplify just about any major sports network promo.
Composing versatile sync music widens the opportunities for its use, from serving as background music in diverse media projects to complementing various commercial advertisements. This flexibility can greatly expand your audience and potential collaborations.
However, it’s equally important to define what the music is intended for, bringing me to my next point:
Write for Your Imaginary Client
It’s often a good idea to approach your songwriting and music production as if you were creating that track for a specific client. Consider the type of music you hear in different verticals, such as:
- Trailers
- Advertising
- Sports
- Promos
- Gaming
- Specific television shows
It’s equally important to consider moods and themes. For example, a song with a strong female vocal and an uplifting instrumental might be the perfect culprit for an advertisement centered on female empowerment. Similarly, an upbeat disco-pop track with a quirky spoken word delivery might be the ideal fit for a fashion-centric advertisement.
This helps guide the creative process, ensuring the music effectively communicates your desired mood, narrative, or theme and truly resonates with the intended audience or application.
Keep Up With the Trends
Remember, trends are constantly changing, so make sure you’re up to date with what you’re hearing now and not what you heard five years ago.
Yes, the stomp-clap, chain-dropping, blues-riffing, Black Keys-style music may have found its way into a million advertisements back in 2015 (so much so that Fred Armisen even spoofed it on Portlandia). But if we look at the ad department, we’re starting to see an emergence of Latinx rap from artists like Jarina DeMarco and bubblegum indie pop from artists like Teddi Gold.
Staying in the loop about the latest sync music trends can really give you a leg up. It’s all about catching the eye – or rather, the ear – of those music supervisors looking for the perfect tune for their project. If your music aligns with what’s hot right now, it’s more likely to get noticed and used, which is the name of the game in the end, isn’t it?
Prepare Variations
Whatever the project, always ensure instrumentals, alternate versions, and stems are available when pitching. The sync licensing world moves quickly, and I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve received stem requests with turnarounds in less than an hour.
Alt versions can also be beneficial if your track contains explicit themes or lyrics. You won’t get any calls from Disney if your track has profanity, so consider having a clean version on hand.
Focus on Quality
Lastly, always consider production quality. You want good arrangements, performances, and productions. Music supervisors don’t want music that sounds amateur.
Try using AI music-making platforms like Strofe as a jumping-off point! Equipped with advanced AI technology and mixing and mastering tools, Strofe offers a space of inspiration for musicians to create unique, high-quality music for various types of content.
You start by choosing the mood and music style you want the AI to follow. Once your unique track is generated, you can customize it until you find your sound. This is a great way to experiment with music and sharpen your music production skills.
Building a Successful Sync Licensing Strategy
Once your music is armed and ready to rock, it’s time to start strategizing.
If you’re a relatively new artist, the first thing to do is find the right support. Getting your music in front of industry decision-makers can be time-consuming, not to mention incredibly difficult if you haven’t already established the right connections.
You have a few general support options for music placement, including:
- Sync licensing companies
- Publishers
- Libraries
- Labels
Each of these support systems has unique pros and cons, so let’s take a look at what you can expect from each.
Sync Licensing Companies
The job of sync licensing companies or sync agents is to secure sync licenses for clients by pitching music. The major benefit of working with a sync licensing company is that they’ve already established relationships with music supervisors over the years.
In return for landing a sync with your music, they’ll take a percentage of the sync fee. The beauty of working with a sync company is that you can retain your copyrights and remain independent while getting your music in the hands of those who matter.
Music Publishers
Publishers work similarly to sync licensing companies in that one of their main revenue streams is pitching to music supervisors. However, they also focus on copyright administration and composition protection, taking not only a percentage of sync fees but a percentage of royalties as well.
In my experience, working directly with publishers is more beneficial, thanks to the breadth of resources and connections. Sure, you may not get to retain 100% of your publishing, but your chances of landing a large sync might be greater.
Record Labels
While traditional labels honed in on marketing, sales, promotion, streams, and distribution, many modern labels are hiring sync managers and drafting up publishing deals with artists. This allows them to act as one-stop shops for quick clearances.
It’s better revenue for them and great support for you. However, depending on your deal with your label, you can often expect a higher fee percentage with each placement.
Of course, it’s difficult to make a blanket statement as to which option is the “best,” as it depends on the company and your contract with them. The best advice I can give you is to read everything in the proposed agreement before signing your music away and compare different agreements to find one that suits your project best.
Lastly, be cautious when it comes to exclusive, long-term contracts with skewed splits that aren’t in your favor. Signing with a publisher willing to provide you with a $15,000 advance for 100% of your publishing rights might seem like the deal of a lifetime if you aren’t making money with your music right now.
However, it’s a different story if that publisher turns around and lands your music in an Apple Ad with a $200,000 sync fee. You won’t see any revenue because you signed 100% of the publishing rights to your publisher.
Sync Licensing Platforms and Production Libraries
While locking in a deal with a publisher or label may take some time, you can start by registering your songs today with reputable online sync platforms that connect you with music supervisors.
Some of the most popular options include:
- EpidemicSound
- Music Gateway
- Musicbed
- Soundstripe
You’ll find an array of both exclusive and non-exclusive deals through these platforms, so make sure to do your research and see which one best aligns with your style and goals.
Understanding the Basics of Sync Contracts and Licenses
Sync licensing deals can often be complex, so it’s a good idea to seek legal advice if you’re unsure of something. With that said, there are a few basics to have a grip on, including usage rights and duration.
An agreement will typically have a usage rights clause, which dictates whether or not your music can be used for certain projects, media types, or in distinct territories. The duration is the length of the agreement. The main thing to look for when it comes to usage rights and duration is if there’s an exclusivity clause or any restrictions on using your music in the future.
Download the Worksheet
Turn your interests into revenue-generating strategies and start earning more income with your music.
Final Thoughts
Sync licensing opportunities are more available to musicians than ever. And thanks to the seemingly endless amount of new content found across an ever-evolving network of platforms and outlets, the chances of landing a placement are higher.
What’s key is making quality, authentic music and getting it out to the right people or companies. From there, it’s all about being patient and continuing to be the best you can be as an artist or producer.
Some of the links in this post could be affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and make a purchase, we could get a commission payment as a result. We are an Amazon Associate, so a lot of our links go directly to Amazon, one of our fave online retailers. The products we recommend on this site are personally recommended by us because we either have used the product personally or know close friends who have. There is no extra cost to you by clicking on our links. Plus, it helps keep this blog going. Win-Win! If you have any questions about our affiliate policy, click here to view our terms of service.
Enjoying this content? We’d love to send you our latest posts fresh off the press! We’ll deliver new posts directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll be notified when we host giveaways, webinars, and other fun stuff. Join our mailing list here.
Want to showcase your product to our audience? Take a look at our advertising options here.
