Sync Royalty for Indie Artists

Sync Royalty for Indie Artists.

Usage of music along with visual output, as in video games, trailers, commercials, movies, TV shows etc. is called Synchronization. The licences required by a user to use a track for a ‘synch’ are a ‘synchronization license’ and a ‘master use license’. Mostly publishers chase these opportunities and score a sync deal for the writers and catalogues they represent. I have written about this in detail in my blog Royalty Entitlements for Indie Artists.

Interestingly, there’s no set fees for syncs. There are plenty of opportunities in the syncs market and high tier syncs can score into the tens of thousands of dollars. Hence, when a charting pop record is synched to a big Hollywood movie, the kind of money it earns is unimaginable. The soundtracks of hit series are bound to increase the artists’ record sales, not to forget the public performance royalty income that follows. There’s a lot of exposure to be gained by indie artists to make complete use of different kinds of licenses available for their music.

You can make money from syncing through monetization of YouTube videos, by using your existing catalogue and by creating custom music. The monetization of YouTube videos is actually a form of leveraging existing music, but quite different in application. Hence, it deserves special treatment. As I have mentioned in my blog How to Become a Better Indie Artist?, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter kind of platforms do not require any expertise and are the best place to advertise yourself. YouTube is the new radio. Perhaps, this is the reason why indie artists say they do not find the need to campaign on radio these days. Some say because their audience is not listening to radio anymore, some say radio is only for major label artists. Another reason is lack of time and resources to even consider radio campaigning in their marketing plan. All of these methods are financially lucrative and good for an artist to gain exposure.

Existing Catalogue Syncing

Where your music is matched up with visuals, try to create opportunities to score synch deals. As I have mentioned before, if you have a designated publisher, you have much better chances to score synch deals because publishers mostly chase synch deal opportunities for the writers and catalogues they represent. However, you can also pursue these opportunities yourself. It is noteworthy that clients that bring in the biggest synch business are video production studios, advertising agencies, big corporations, videogame studios etc. Certain publishers focus solely on scoring synch deals from such clients. Some work on an exclusive basis for single tracks, or on a non-exclusive basis for total catalogues. In any case, as soon as a synch is scored, both typically claim exclusivity on a track.

If your publisher does not actively pursue synchs, you’re missing out, because a typical publishing agreement is exclusive and covers all the work of a composer. If you are already signed with a publisher who doesn’t pursue synchs, you can propose to let other publishers score synchs for you and have them divide the spoils. When you put this proposal forward, it will become a tricky situation for your existing publisher, as all publishers want all the benefits form your music, instead of having to sharing them. In case you are not signed with a publisher yet, you should upload your catalogue to a number of synch publishers that are non-exclusive. Most publishers have online libraries showcasing the repertoire they currently represent. Their clients can browse their libraries to find the specific track they need. They also have creative agents who actively match tracks in their catalogue to the client’s requirement, and sometimes even offer ‘custom music’ opportunities. Most of these publishers have created multiple opportunities for indie artists’ relatively small catalogue in a short span of time and are a blast to work with.

Beware and check how these publishers register your tracks with PRS’, when signing up to them for synch. Some of them are fraudulent and re-title the tracks so that they can collect royalty for everything rather than just synch royalty. Look for anything related to ‘registration’ in your contract before signing. If your track becomes a charting hit, this kind of re-titling can become a substantial loss for you, if you are not careful in signing the deal

More on this later. Please leave your comments and I will add them in my future blogs.

If you need help in creating and maintaining a website, HyperEffects can help you connect with your target audience efficiently. HyperEffects is one stop for your website, marketing and cyber development requirements. It helps you to create a website to display your talent or sell your indie music or indie art.