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In this article I’m going to show you my proven formula for responding to briefs in a way that has helped land me many sync placements.

First, let’s talk about what a ‘brief’ is.

In short, a brief is just a request from someone who licenses music. That includes music supervisors, ad agencies, creative directors, film producers etc. They can also come from sync agencies (like sus3 Music) or music libraries when they’re looking to add music to their catalogs.

The brief details exactly what they’re looking for. It may include tempo, genre, lyrical themes, and possibly song references.

Some musicians make the mistake of glossing over these details and choose to just ‘take their shot’ by sending in their music as is.

This is a big mistake, in my opinion. Not only are you ignoring the supervisor’s urgent need, but you’re giving them more work to do (reviewing your music) with no benefit for themselves. So the next time your name comes up, that’s what they’ll remember.

Now, let’s break down the brief and show you how how to analyze each part of it.

Step 1. What’s the genre?

One of the first things listed should be the genre of music the requester is looking for. This is easy to understand – most musicians know not to send in a rock song if they’re asking for hip hop.

Where the mistakes happen, however, is when sub-genres are listed.

Most briefs that I see try to really be specific about what they’re looking for. They’re trying to help you, help them.

So, if a brief says they want New York hip hop circa 1990, then give them songs that sound like B.I.G., Tribe Called Quest or The Wu-Tang Clan.

Now, you might have a a great 90s track in your catalog. But if it sounds more like early Outkast or Uncle Luke – don’t bother – no matter how good it sounds.

Just to give one more example, during our last submissions window, we had a brief for Amapiano music. Amapiano is a South African house music genre with a very specific style. We got a bunch of submissions that were clearly Afrobeats and even some that were Caribbean influenced. No matter how good the songs were, they were rejected. We had a really specific need and sending in things that ‘come close but not really’ did not help us at all.

Step 2. Don’t Overlook BPM

If you ever get a brief with a tempo requirement, please pay attention to it.

Often briefs will keep this general by saying they want something ‘uptempo’, ‘mid-tempo’ or ‘down tempo’. Sometimes they will give you a specific tempo range (e.g., must be between 100 and 120 bpm).

Whichever format they give you, make sure you take note and pitch accordingly. Sometimes, commercials and TV scenes are shot with ‘temp music’. When they search for the actual music to use they might need to keep the tempo the same as the temp music so that the video won’t need to be reshot.

Step 3. Emotional Energy.

Sometimes the brief will state or strong imply that they need a certain emotional energy. It might include words like “emotionally upbeat” or “feel good” or, on the other spectrum, “dark”, “moody” or “tension”.

We get a lot of submissions that are the right genre and tempo but miss the mark emotionally. If we ask for a mid tempo house song with a feel good vibe, we’ll still end up with some submissions that are 4 on the floor but have an in-your-feelings emo vibe.

Step. 4. Lyrical Theme

Just like with emotional energy, sometimes the brief will request a specific lyric theme (e.g., looking for a song about empowerment or overcoming obstacles). Sometimes they will go so far as to state specific lyrics that must be included (e.g., looking for songs that mention “being on top” in the chorus).

As with the above, if they take the time to get this detailed, it’s because it’s important. Be sure to send songs that include exactly what they’re asking for.

Step 5. Song References.

Often, the briefs will include song references that demonstrate the exact vibe that they’re looking for.

A lot of people struggle with this. Some get too close and create what is basically a ripoff. Others ignore this altogether in the name of ‘staying creative’.

Personally, I love references. They keep me focused but still allow me plenty of room to fully express my creativity while satisfying the brief.

I could write a whole other article just on my method of writing songs to song references. It really is the cheat code for winning at sync.

If you’d like to hear more about this, just reply and let me know that you’re interested. If I get enough replies, I’ll make this the topic of next week’s article (maybe I’ll call it – “Get More Syncs by Mastering Song References”)

[UPDATE – Based on the demand, I did, in fact, write that article – You can grab it here]

In Conclusion

I hope this helps you understand how to really break down and attack a sync brief.

Remember, the more detailed the brief is, the more important it is to make sure your song hits EVERY point that they’re looking for.

I look forward to seeing you apply this during our next submission period.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. CTRL Camp – FREE – Join over 6700 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. 2. 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. 3.  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.