If you’re working in sync, branding is still important.

I know for some people that’s one of the ‘bad’ words – branding, networking, marketing, sales – those are things that, as artists, we don’t want to think about.

But what if I told you that your brand can be the difference between getting paid $1000 sync fee and a $10,000 sync fee?

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not “just about the music”.  It’s about the music and the artist delivering that music.

Now, I’ll tell you, if you’re a non-performing songwriter or just not a front-facing artist, can you still get synced?  Yes, totally.  In fact, most of my placements over the last 10 years have been as a non-performing songwriter.   

There are lots of placements that can be had, especially through music libraries.  

The sync fees for these placements might be on the lower end of the scale ($1000 – $2500 on average) for sync but they are plentiful so you make it up in volume.

Now if you have a brand, that means some name recognition, a social media following, a growing fanbase, that might qualify you for higher sync fees in commercials.   (from $10K to $100K)

Brands like artists that have a brand.  Because they can attach their brand to yours.

So if you have tiktok followers or are on some influential playlists, you are now attractive – especially if you have syncable music.

There are certain artists that get higher sync fee placements because they have a name and a history -artists like Gizzle or Vo Williams.   You may not know their names, but the folks choosing music for TV, Ads and Movie Trailers know them.  Or, at the whole other extreme of commercial success you have Lizzo (who was getting sync placements before you ever knew her name). [I’ve been told that Lizzo commands 7 figures per sync placement (unconfirmed)]

So, what does that mean for you? If you are new to sync and you’re an artist, just know that continuing to develop your brand will pay you dividends in the future.  Don’t look at sync as an escape from branding.  Look at it as another way to monetize your growing brand.  

Grow your brand, so you can grow your opportunities and get more money.