It’s no secret that the music industry is notoriously hard to make a living out of. One way of garnering new fans, getting media attention and making some decent dollars is through getting songs licensed into TV shows. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to give your music the best chance of being heard and licensed.
YOUR MUSIC Quality: Ensure your music is of a high quality - production and mastering qualities can make a big difference to a music supervisor either listening or not listening to your songs. Put your songs up against other tracks that are being synced into TV shows. Get feedback from professionals like radio pluggers before you send them to music supervisors.
Meta data songs: If you’re unsure on how to fully meta data songs look it up ASAP! The easier you make it for a music supervisor or sync licensing company to find out who you are, and everything about your songs the better. Include not just a name and email, but include lyrics of your song, themes of the songs and the writers details including the PRO. Keep access to audio stems: Make sure you always keep the pathway to your stems; they are sometimes requested when you land a sync deal.
INVEST IN TOOLS OF THE SYNC TRADE For a lot of bands and musicians taking their work to the next level is nothing but a fantasy. But for musicians who want to be taken seriously, it’s worth investing in. Not just your time and passion but also a little money for various tools that are available. My recommendation is to always get your songs into a several good music licensing companies around the world and also pitch your music direct to music supervisors, music co-ordinators or ad agency producers. For non-exclusive libraries its worth checking out the Music Library Report www.musiclibraryreport.com - it lists heaps of good libraries and has reviews from people using them, look at getting your songs into a non-exclusive library in all the key countries – USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. Another great tool is The Sync Report www.thesyncreport.com - this site gives you a step by step guide on how to build lasting relationships with music supervisors and it also includes a report on who’s licensing the music for hundreds of TV shows, films, commercials, trailers and brands.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
WATCH AND LISTEN The worst thing you can do is send in appropriate song to a music supervisor that’s licensing the absolute opposite of what you sent them E.g do not waste your time sending an EDM track to a show that syncs blues rock tracks.
Sites like www.tunefind.com/ and www.heardontv.com provide all the songs being placed in various shows.
REACHING OUT
The first step of reaching out is to create a killer email that is going to grab the attention of whoever you are trying to contact. Be personal, be specific and be polite. Don’t ever blast bulk emails, as you will get a zero response rate. Take the time create a solid email that starts with their name, includes why you are contacting them and a link to a song or two. Never attach mp3’s - a simple link through Box or hightail works well and most music supervisors are familiar with those digital delivery services. If you don’t get a reply on your first email then send a follow up, and then even a third - this will take persistence and patience. If you are really serious about your music then pick up the phone and make a call.
WHEN TO PITCH For Network and cable you should be reaching out up to 3 months out from the first air dates. For streaming services anywhere up to 6 – 9 months - many shows on Amazon, Hulu and Netflix are completed well before they are made available for streaming.
CHECKLIST Make sure your songs are world class and fully meta dated. Do you home work on the shows you want to target. Make sure your songs are registered with your PRO. Research the people you want to contact and find their contact details. Produce a great intro email. Start reaching out. Keep track in an exel spreadsheet of who and when you contacted and follow up! Be patient but be persistent – most people will quit! don’t be one of those people.
Submitted October 25, 2016 at 11:58PM by SYNCMAN88 https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/59fb7v/essential_tips_on_how_to_get_your_songs_licensed/?utm_source=ifttt