Music Sync Licensing
25+ tips for songwriters and composers who want to have their music licensed
We had an amazing conversation about Music Sync Licensing with Martina Comuzzi - Music Licensing Manager at West One Music Group (Netflix, LEGO, Disney), Alberto Albis - Head of A&R with Triple Scoop Music (Adobe, Google. Sony) & Willow Stephens - LA-based artist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist with music featured on Nickelodeon, OWN network.
Here are some amazing advice gleaned from this meeting, tips that we believe will be very useful now in 2021 and into the next decade or so - on planet Earth at least =)
Songwriting, Production and Post-production
When going into a songwriting or production session with another composer/songwriter, make sure to write a song split sheet during the session (you can find many templates available on google). When a licensing opportunity shows up, you want to have everything cleared, all documents ready and signed by all composers.
When producing a song, have a deal with the producer so that you are able to keep a copy of the session.
Have an archival system, invest in a hard drive so you have a copy/backup of the music you write and produce. Even if you can’t open the session, you’re still able to take it to a studio or to an engineer who can - in case you need it in the future.
When mixing a song that was already produced, make sure to request the following to the mixing engineer:
group stems
full version
instrumental version
a cappella version
TV version version
light version (mainly vocal Adlibs, oohs, etc)
other possible versions: 30 seconds, 60 seconds, stings
When mastering a mixed song, have all the mix variations mastered. Once your music gets licensed, the company might request and use these different variations for different purposes and channels. For example, the “full version” can end up on a trailer and the “a cappella” can be used on a particular scene of a movie.
If you want to learn more about back-up strategies and how to prepare your files for mixing, check out the free e-books by Elevate Music Production.
Getting your music out to the world of Licensing
There are no good deals or bad deals - composers/songwriters should always get their royalties!. There are different deals for different moments of one’s career. The composer/songwriter needs to evaluate what’s fair. Sometimes there might be a lot of money and sometimes not a lot or none. That’s why it’s important to get informed and learn how to navigate in this landscape. For example, when you write a song to a library, understand that an “exclusive deal” means that the song will be owned by the publisher and owner of the master and will never be able to be used anywhere else. If it's a “non-exclusive deal”, the song can be licensed to different companies.
The best way to approach Licensing companies:
Have great and very well produced music
Have all documentation ready (song splits for example)
When writing e-mails to companies, be succinct. Licensing professionals receive hundreds of e-mails with new music every day, so be as direct as possible
Work on your presentation. Social media presence is not important but a nice website with a good bio and photos is a plus. A first visual impact may be decisive. Licensing companies also create custom press releases with material provided by songwriters and composers
Do research on licensing companies catalogs to see if they already offer genres and styles that are similar to what you produce. You can open a conversation by offering something different from their catalog
Some licensing agencies require songwriters who have their music available on various streaming platforms to NOT monetize their content via content ID (Facebook or YouTube for example), because when the song gets licensed to a particular brand, it’s assumed that the brand will use it on a commercial that will run on multiple platforms, and when content ID is active the brand - that already paid the license to utilize the song - will get notifications and infringement claims.
If your goal is to write commercial music
Music for licensing should have great motifs, great-sounding instrumentation, and arrangements.
Find something that you're really good at and develop that craft into something that’s unique, a signature to your productions. if you're from another country and play authentic music to your country, use that in your favor.
Watch commercials, tv shows and videos by brands to see what they are using, the genres, and production approaches.
Collaborate with different kinds of artists, consistently. That will help you expand your connections and chances of having opportunities.
Do what you love!
If you're good at writing multiple styles of music and you want to develop that into a craft to exclusively work with music licensing, then maybe following trends and creating to modern standards is a great path. But if you want to focus on creating art and explore licensing opportunities for your music, then chasing trends might not be ideal for you. If you're gonna spend your whole life chasing trends you're gonna be chasing trends your whole life =) So do what you love, enjoy what you're doing.
Re-play Episode 14 feat. Martina, Alberto and Willow.
Panel moderated by Bruno Justi and Grecco Buratto.