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Education
The Full Guide to Landing Sync Deals with Music Production
What are sync placements?
Licensing your song for sync (synchronization) involves pairing the audio with a moving image, such as in TV (streaming, broadcast), film, video games, advertisements, branded content, and more. The majority of the time, songs are licensed on a non-exclusive basis and can be licensed to outside companies.
A music supervisor, clearance agent, or representative from a production will need to clear both the master recording and the publishing rights to issue a licensing agreement.
Master recordings are often represented by a record label, the artist directly, or a sync licensing company. Publishing is often represented by at least one publisher—or more, depending on the number of songwriters. Independent artists might be what is called a one-stop owner if they represent 100% of both the master recording and publishing rights. This makes it significantly easier for music supervisors to license their music quickly.
Depending on the platform, you may earn performance royalties for the public broadcasting of, for example, a TV show or a streaming film. Mechanical royalties may come into play if the medium is offered as a download or as a physical copy, such as a DVD.
For more information about the different types of royalties and music rights, check out Music Publishing Made Easy: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners.
Types of Sync Licenses
Music Syncing for Film
Music can be licensed for use at major studios (e.g., Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros. Pictures, Disney), large mini-majors such as Lionsgate, MGM (owned by Amazon), and STX, or up-and-coming independent entertainment companies such as the highly regarded A24. Music can also be licensed at prominent streaming services such as Netflix, Max (HBO), Hulu, and Amazon Prime, or on a smaller scale for independent filmmakers and indie producers.
Music Syncing for Television
Music can be licensed for use on traditional media, which typically includes network and cable television, or episode-based programming on new media (streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Max, Apple TV+, and more).
Music Syncing for Commercials & Advertising
Regarding commercials and advertisements, typically, an agency or production company will pay for the rights to use a song in a commercial instead of the brand itself. Unlike TV and film, advertorial content is generally specified for a specific term length. For example, a six-second pre-roll, which will run for 16 weeks worldwide, or a one-year worldwide broadcast with paid media covering 32 weeks.
Music Syncing for Video Games
There’s a world of possibilities when syncing music for video games. Major studios like Sony, Electronic Arts (EA), Epic Games, Rockstar, Activision/Blizzard, and Guerrilla Games, or independent developers and mobile game makers frequently work with artists to license their music for everything from retro video games, soundscapes for video game storylines, or even a specific style like Bandai Namco. These deals are made in perpetuity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Licensing Your Music for Media
How much money can you make with sync?
The scope of a typical license fee varies greatly depending on multiple factors: overall budget, the requested rights/terms, type of use (main/end title, background use, etc.), length of time the media is live/available (in perpetuity, one year only, etc.), whether the use is exclusive to a category (e.g. auto company advertorial exclusivity), how well known the artist or track is, where the media will be licensed from, where it will be seen, and more.
License fees vary widely, especially within the film and TV landscape. Some films have a $100K budget; others have $50 million. Some TV shows have $10K per episode in total, while others have $100K.
Can you also sync music to podcasts?
Licensing music to podcasts may technically not be considered syncing because podcasts are an audio format. But there still is a big potential when it comes to music licensing for podcasts, as explained here by Synchtank:
Can you get sync placements with uncleared samples?
As the world’s home of sampling, here at Tracklib we cannot express enough how important it is to use cleared samples. That’s even more so the case for landing sync placements. Music with uncleared samples will NOT be accepted for sync placements. To put it this way: Why would music supervisors and/or music clearance teams risk clearance issues and lawsuits around an uncleared sample when they already have thousands of cleared original songs to choose from?
Tracklib offers unlimited sample clearance to use cleared samples without licensing fees. This allows you to fully engage and chase that sync gold!
In case you’re under the impression that people won’t find out about uncleared samples in sync placements—think again before going rogue. Our longread Myths & Misconceptions About Sampling Music Debunked explains why it’s best to stay out of trouble.
Can you sync beats made with Tracklib samples?
Most songs available on Tracklib include the right to synchronize the new song (derivative work) with a sample. However, tracks marked with the orange icon Sync On Request do not include the rights to synchronization without prior approval of the original rights holders. For more info, check out Tracklib’s Licensing Guide.
Sync: A 'How To' Guide
How to Land Sync Placements on Netflix and Other TV Shows
Chart-topping, trend-setting success stories like Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" in Stranger Things show the huge potential of music synchronization licenses for streaming platforms. While the Stranger Things sync is the pinnacle of what’s possible, there’s a range of opportunity when pairing songs to the screen. For every blockbuster hit, there are songs placed over montages, songs playing on a jukebox at a bar, or in the background of a party.
Key takeaway: Music supervisors rarely accept music directly from artists. Due to bandwidth and turnaround times for projects, music supervisors simply aren’t able to listen to every song sent to them directly. They typically rely on trusted partners such as sync agents, record labels, publishers, and friends, who can send pre-vetted tracks.
Sync agents are a conduit between supervisors and independent artists or record labels, publishers, managers, and more, who liaise with supervisors and music publishers. Sync agents also work independently or on behalf of a sync licensing company. Over time, they build up a strong network and understanding of the sync licensing world.
Music supervisors prefer to work with trusted partners because they can respond to music needs within creative briefs and ensure that the song selections have been pre-cleared or are in compliance with copyright.
Think of a sync agent as a "one stop,” working on behalf of an independent artist, publisher, or record label to clear all the master and publishing rights and efficiently centralize all rights for approval, thus making the clearing process go faster.
If you want to learn more about the differences between master rights and compositions, then there’s a dedicated section about that in the guide Sample Clearance Demystified: How to Clear a Sample.
How to Submit Beats and Music for Sync
Getting your metadata right is critical
Make sure all information is part of the audio file of the actual song or the instrumental version. In addition, original songs and master rights need to be properly registered with a PRO (publishing rights organization) and a neighboring rights collection agency.
For more about metadata when licensing your music, check out our instruction guide on The School of DISCO.
Be as precise and concise as possible based on the creative brief
A creative brief (synchronization briefing) details what a music supervisor is looking for. The overview describes the project, the general mood, the style, the tempo, and potentially ‘Similar To…’ reference tracks. The closer you get to a perfect song for a sync brief, the bigger your chance of landing a placement. For example, if a music supervisor is after a, say, Alchemist-type beat, don’t submit Nujabes-inspired lo-fi beats.
Be prepared to deliver different versions of the actual song
A delivery of instrumentals, stems, additional mixes, a TV mix, or—in the case of profanity—a clean mix: he right delivery can be hugely beneficial to land sync placements.
Fun Fact: You can store all these alternate versions and stems under one DISCO track link.
Clearly state if your sync submission is one-stop
For many music supervisors, working with a "one-stop" is preferred to have all the necessary legal rights, publishing, and master rights in place.
Make your delivery clean, clear, and easy
A music management platform like DISCO is a go-to tool for many music supervisors and sync companies. This way, you can include all necessary metadata, lyrics, and release information.
Pro Tip: Avoid ad-based preview links, streaming links that expire, or attaching an audio file to an email.
"When listeners arrive to check out that track they've just heard in a TV show, commercial, or movie, it's easy for them to then go even deeper into an artist's catalog on Spotify, save their new favorite songs to playlists, and share them with friends."
—Bryan Johnson (Spotify's head of artist/industry partnerships), taken from 'How Syncs Supercharge Your Fans: Insights from Spotify for Artists and Netflix'
How music producers can start pursuing sync placements
Landing sync placements might feel overwhelming at first. As long as you keep this helpful guide on hand and break the steps down one at a time, you’ll be placing a beat or composition onscreen in no time.
About DISCO
Since 2016, DISCO has revolutionized music and media file management, providing industry professionals with robust tools to manage, share, and pitch music seamlessly. DISCO is a mission-critical software for the world’s music supervisors and trusted by thousands of global teams working across the music ecosystem—including major labels, film studios, and chart-topping creators—DISCO is the leading platform in digital asset management, hosting over 110 million tracks. Built by the music industry for the music industry, DISCO is committed to driving success across the music ecosystem.