Dear Indie Artist, Your Producer Might Be Costing You Sync Placements

Read Time: 3 minutes

As a sync agent and sync educator, I’ve seen a lot of mistakes made that have kept artist’s from securing a lucrative sync placement.

The most frequent mistake that I’ve seen usually involves issues with a producer’s instrumental.

Unfortunately, indie artists don’t know what to look for when it comes to music production – they might know what sound they want but they don’t know the many ways that music production can disqualify them for sync.

I hope to shed some light on that today.

Mistake #1: Leased Beats

Too often, independent artists will write their songs to leased beats.

They need a track fast and they want the transaction and terms to be simple. They don’t know, though, that a song written to that leased beat can’t be used on TV, Film or in Ads.

Why not? Because there’s no way to know how many other people may have leased that same beat previously.

So, not only do you open yourself up to potential content ID issues. But, you don’t own your musical creation – and ownership is critical if you hope to license that song for TV, film or commercials.

Mistake #2: Buying from a Beat Marketplace

Mosts artists can understand why leasing beats are problematic. But those same artists will go to a beat marketplace to purchase instrumentals. They think that since they purchased the exclusive license for the track, they can now use it for sync placements.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Why not? Because, most exclusive tracks were available for lease before they were sold exclusively.

So, despite what the license says, you can’t guarantee that someone else has not released a song with that beat already. And that disqualifies you from licensing it for commercials or video games or any other sync usage.

“If you have any hopes in sync licensing, don’t lease your beats, don’t buy your beats, music supervisors won’t touch you.”
Ari Herstand

There’s only two business arrangements that I’ve seen that work for sync placements.

Either, collaborate with a producer on an original song.

Or, pay a producer to create a custom instrumental.

Those are your options.

Mistake #3: Undynamic Production

Sure, your song sounds great while you’re singing over it. But, when the vocals are removed, does it still keep interest for the whole 2 mins and 30 seconds? Or, does the instrumental sound like a loop?

That will kill your chances for a sync placement.

Out of all the placements I’ve had with my music on TV and Ads, probably 80% only used the instrumental.

The instrumental has to hold interest all by itself. And, it has to grow and evolve so that it doesn’t get predictable or boring.

So for an indie artist, choosing an interesting instrumental is 75% of the work in getting a sync placement.

Choose wisely.

“Dynamics are also crucial in sync licensing – your song should be evolving throughout, with new details introduced as you build tension and release. Not only does this help maintain interest in your song, but it also supports on-screen moments like scene changes or other transitions.” –
RecordingArts.com

Mistake #4: Long Introductions

Sure, that 60 second orchestral introduction sounds like a good idea when you first hear it. But, then you find out that most supervisors only listen to the first 15 – 30 seconds of a song.

Not such a good idea now huh?

“While going through my DISCO Inbox, I was able to start with the first submission and listen to the first few seconds of each track to know if it was a fit or not.”
Ryan Svendsen

Mistake #5: No Paperwork

I’ll tell you a secret.

No one wants to talk about splits after a session.

It doesn’t feel good to anyone.

Yes, it ruins the creative vibe.

But, those of us who’ve been at this a while know…

a better time never presents itself.

So, we get it done.

Split Sheets

One Stop Agreements

Work For Hire Agreements.

Get it Done.

That’s it. The 5 most common mistakes that I’ve seen producer’s make which ruin the artist’s chance at getting a sync placement.

Share this with your production team and make sure that you don’t disqualify yourself from getting your music on TV or in Ads.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

CTRL Camp – FREE – Join over 6500 other members in the CTRL Camp community. You get access to our free comprehensive Sync 101 course (everything you need to know to start pitching your music for sync placements). You also get access to our free music submissions which open up every other month.
The Listening Sessions – Get regular feedback on your music from Eric by joining our monthly listening session. Attendees will get feedback on one of their songs and find out how it may work for TV, Film or Commercials.
The Winner’s Circle – Join this exclusive community of 50 students who get hands on coaching from Eric. Members of this group have gone on to get their first placements, have developed working relationships with award winning composers and some have gotten paid upfront sync fees to create custom music for top sync production companies.