Sync Licensing
Getting your music placed in TV, film, ads, and games — and how those deals pay.
What it is
Sync (synchronization) licensing is when your music is licensed to be paired with visual media — a TV show, film, advertisement, trailer, video game, or social campaign. Depending on the deal, it can pay a negotiated licensing fee up front, performance royalties when the placement airs, or both — the structure varies from placement to placement.
When you need it
Prepare for it before release. A placement opportunity moves fast — if your track isn't sync-ready and cleanly cleared the moment a supervisor asks, you lose it.
Preparing sync-ready assets is mostly your time and production effort. If you pitch through libraries or agents, they take a share of placement income. Verify current terms with any partner.
Where artists lose money
A single sync placement can dwarf a year of streaming — and depending on the deal it can pay on two fronts: a license fee up front and/or performance royalties when it airs. But most artists are never even considered because their catalog isn't sync-ready or the ownership isn't cleanly cleared.
Why sync can pay so well
Sync deals vary. Some pay a one-time license fee negotiated for the use; some pay performance royalties collected on the songwriting side every time the placement is broadcast; many pay both. The terms depend entirely on the specific deal — don't assume any single structure going in.
Because a license fee is negotiated per placement (not a fixed per-stream micro-payment), a single well-placed song can be worth far more than streaming — but amounts vary enormously and are never guaranteed. Do not chase a specific number; build a catalog that can be placed.
Depending on the deal, sync can pay a license fee up front, performance royalties when the placement airs, or both. When there is a performance-royalty side, it's collected through your songwriting registrations.
What makes a track sync-ready
Deliverables (commonly requested, not a fixed checklist): the versions supervisors most often ask for are an INSTRUMENTAL, a CLEAN (no-profanity) version, and often STEMS (separated tracks) so the music can be edited to picture. Every placement is different — some also want radio edits, alternate lengths, or specific file formats. The goal isn't to tick a rigid list; it's to be ready to provide whatever the supervisor asks. If all you have is the final mixed master, you'll often be caught short.
One-stop clearance: to use your song, a music supervisor has to license two separate things — the composition (the song itself) and the master (your specific recording). If you control BOTH and everyone's splits are signed, the supervisor can clear the whole track in one place, from you — that's what being a 'one-stop' means, and it makes you dramatically easier and faster to license. Unsigned splits, a co-owner nobody can reach, or an uncleared sample can kill the deal.
No uncleared samples: a track built on an uncleared sample is effectively unplaceable for sync.
Instrumental, clean, and stem versions are the most commonly requested — have them ready alongside the main master, and be prepared for occasional one-off asks (radio edits, alternate lengths, specific formats).
Controlling both the composition (the song) and the master (the recording), with all splits signed, makes you a 'one-stop' — a single place a supervisor can license the whole track. It's the single biggest factor in getting placed quickly.
Metadata & splits — the boring part that wins placements
Tag your files properly: title, artist, writers with splits, contact/ownership info, and descriptive tags (mood, genre, tempo, instrumentation) so a supervisor can find and clear your track.
Lock split sheets before you pitch. A supervisor will not risk a placement on a song whose ownership isn't documented. Use the Split-Sheet Generator.
How to get placed (the honest version)
Routes include pitching directly, working with a sync agent, or placing tracks with production-music/sync libraries — each with different exclusivity terms and revenue splits.
Which specific libraries, agents, or supervisors to approach — and how to negotiate terms — is exactly the kind of relationship-driven guidance that comes from hands-on consultation, not a hardcoded list. Get the catalog sync-ready first; the doors open faster when the assets and clearances are already clean.
Work with Jak
Book a rollout session with Jak — 25 years in the industry
Which libraries, agents, and supervisors to approach — and how to negotiate the deal — is relationship-driven. That's exactly what a session covers: Jak walks your catalog to sync-ready and maps the pitch, one-on-one.
$15045–60 min · Zoom or in person in Atlanta
Black Hole Studioz, Atlanta