Besides, that hard cash is not always the main reason behind the sync deal. There are hundreds of careers that broke as a result of a single sync hit.
We all have a couple of memorable songs we've discovered in a cinema theater, but if that's not enough, here are some quick statistics to drive the point home:. Essentially, sync deals can become a semi-advertisements for the artists — especially for the lesser-known acts. Promotion teams commit vast resources into getting on Spotify playlist to get heard by , people. The same artist can get a sync deal for an ad for a major brand and end up riding the wave of ten million dollars in media spend.
Their song will be played four times per hour in front of an audience of the prime-time national TV, and they'll make money in the process. Plus, everyone in that audience will be able to Shazam the song in a click of a button. Sign me up, right? Of course, not all syncs turn into a fruitful promotion for the artist — the stars have to somewhat align to make this channel work. The song has to catch the audience's attention and doesn't blend into the background, and, most importantly, the synced content has to complement each other.
That is something that both sides of the deal are interested in, and when the sync does fit the bill, everyone is happy. So, let's take a look at who is responsible for making it happen. Like it usually is in the music business , the goal of the industry is to connect artists and final users — and you can start building that bridge from either side. Let's start with demand. The list of potential sync users is not that long — generally speaking, the vast majority of sync deals will fall into the following four categories:.
We can potentially expand that list by adding independent cinema and video creators i. However, while independent creators and small scale businesses often need music to go with the visuals, they will rarely follow through with a full-blown licensing deal.
Instead, the majority of "small-scale users" will go with soundbank solutions like Soundstripe. This subset is often referred to as "micro-licensing", and, while it can be a sustainable revenue source for some of the artists, we won't dwell on it for too long — the deal is pretty straightforward here.
For "classic" sync deals, the process is much more complicated. Essentially, any production team has two main criteria when it comes to sync — whether it's a 7-minute movie scene, second TV-show cue or 15 seconds of background music in a TV commercial. First, the song that will be the best possible fit for the content , amplifying the overall effect, mood and action of the final material.
Generally speaking, the creative power behind the content, whether it's the ad-agency creative team or a movie director, will define how the desired sync should sound like. Those initial briefs can vary significantly in terms of their structure. In some cases, the creative decision-maker will use temporary placeholder music, e. That is the second criteria of the licensing sync deal — the license has to be acquired on budget and on time.
Here's where music supervisors come in. Their goal is to make sure that the two criteria are met. Music supervisors can be either a part of a production company or an independent agency, but in any case, they work closely with the creative team to turn an unstructured creative brief into more precise queries.
Supervisors often search for music using terms like genre, mood, time era, energy, tempo, instruments used, vocals type and so on — which is why taking care of the metadata to fill those tags is the first step of unlocking artist's "passive" sync opportunities. Supervisors are the liaisons between the sync users and the music industry.
If original scores are required, they act as a record label for the soundtrack project: contracting composers, booking recording sessions, renting out studios, and overseeing the recording process.
When it comes to sync, music supervisors are intermediaries between the production company and artists or their representatives. Those monetary restrictions on the music supervisor side are what make sync such a golden opportunity for independent artists.
With Radiohead out of the picture, the next best thing would be to find a lesser-known song that is still able to capture the mood and emotion of the scene. I mean: of course, some blockbuster movies and video-games heavily emphasize the soundtrack, making it a part of their brand, and end up with millions in sync budget, like Suicide Squad or Fifa series. Likewise, there are ads aiming to power the brand by bonding with trending artists.
Those are, however, exceptions — in most cases, the music supervisor will look for up-and-coming artists to save money while maintaining the overall emotional impact. In that sense, sync becomes one of the few promotion channels in the music industry that actually favors developing artists over established acts. On the downside, however, that very predisposition to all things independent turns licensing sync into an extremely competitive landscape.
Prominent music supervisors receive hundreds if not thousands pitches every single day, and to cut through that clutter artists need connections and, most of the time, a professional representative on the licensing side.
Enter Licensing music companies. As a result of the duplicity of music copyright, licensing turns into a diverse landscape on the artist's side. That means that in order to use the song, supervisors have to clear two separate sets of rights:. Music supervisors have to deal with both publishing and recording industries separately — even if the recording artist and the songwriter is the same person. For that reason, most established labels and publishers have some sort of licensing department, processing incoming licensing requests and proactively reaching out to music supervisors.
The duplicity of music rights also opens up a way for music supervisors to alleviate some of the sync costs by using cover songs instead of the original sound recordings. Of course, the exact details of the deal are never disclosed, but our guess is that the song was recorded specifically for the ad.
So, Apple or, rather, the agency behind the ad only cleared the synchronization license with the Dire Straits publisher, alleviating the costs of the master use license. For those reasons covers — whether explicitly recorded for the soundtrack or otherwise — became a widespread sync practice.
However, the licensing companies are not limited to the licensing departments of publishers and labels. In-between you have all sorts of music supervision agencies providing services to production companies, ad-sync consultancy agencies working on the side of the brand — you name it. The sync landscape is as diverse as it gets, even though there are just a few core roles.
Generally speaking, the expertise of the licensing rep rests on two pillars: the company's network of music supervisors and the knowledge of the catalog it represents. Given the amount of content produced today, almost every artist and almost every song has a sync opportunity out there. It's all about making the match between the right song and the right opportunity.
If the label doesn't have a dedicated licensing team, it will typically subcontract an independent licensing agency. In that case, the label will share its part of the sync licensing fee — the artist share remains untacked. As for the monetary compensation, licensing representatives traditionally take a stake in potential sync revenues.
The other point to consider when signing the licensing representation deal is exclusivity. Most sync reps will ask for exclusive rights to represent the artist's music for the duration of the contract. Such deals are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, exclusivity should secure the agent's position as a sole representative of the artist catalog and motivate them to pitch the artist.
If you need further assistance in locating complete publisher information, please contact our. JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address. You can also call the BMI repertoire information hotline at where you can request information on 3 song titles per call. Sound Exchange along with Record Companies license the exclusive rights on behalf of copyright owners in a sound recording which is separate from the copyright in the underlying musical works that BMI represents under U.
Copyright Law to authorize many digital transmissions e. Need help logging in? Why License? Downloads Testimony News More Info. Sync licenses will pay fees upfront that will be distributed among the owners of the copyrighted master and the copyrighted composition.
Later payments of royalties work the same way. Brands often pay big bucks for the right song that sets that perfect mood. Brands has famously spent millions on advertising campaigns that feature well-known songs.
Sync licensing may not be the first revenue stream you consider when starting a music career, but it becomes important as the music becomes more professional in production and mix quality. Check the rest of our site to learn more about your other possible revenue streams. Subscribe below and get our FREE Ultimate Release Checklist that will give you the edge you need to better navigate the music industry.
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What Is Sync Licensing? Video Games. Sports, Politics, and Live Events. Suggested Reading:. Music Libraries — Music libraries like MusicBed and Pond5 maintain archives of songs for filmmaker usage. Publishers — Music publishers like the American Composers Alliance will share in ownership of a copyright and help find and negotiate sync placements. Record Labels — Big like Sony or indie like Strange Music, will share in ownership of a copyright and help find and negotiate sync placements.
Wrapping It Up. Music With Flavor Staff. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on linkedin. Share on pocket.
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