How To Get Your Songs Placed In Movies And On TV

Landing your song in or show or film can have a far reaching range of benefits for artists, both in terms of financial gain and notoriety. So what are your options when it comes to sync licensing, and what are the steps to take in order to get your songs these coveted placements?

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Guest post Annabelle Short 

Music sync licensing, the process of getting placements for your songs in Movies and on TV, has a range of benefits for you as a musician. For starters, it is an effective method of making money from licensing fee and royalties. It could be a life-changing opportunity, giving exposure to your music in front of new fans and opening up new avenues for you as a music artiste to feature in more popular TV shows and movies in the future. But what sync licensing will offer your music career is much more than these. What options do you have in music sync licensing and what steps can you take to get your songs placed in movies and on TV? Read on to get answers to these questions and more.

3 Sync Deal Options to Consider

There are 3 main strategies you could use to acquire placements for your songs in movies and on TV shows: 

• Secure the services of a publisher who will search for, negotiate as well as sign licensing opportunities for you.
• Have your catalog placed in music libraries as this will yield benefits for you through the traffic the platforms receive.
• Bypass publishers and libraries to get your songs licensed directly to clients by developing relationships yourself.

Which of these 3 strategies is best for you if you’re just getting started with music sync licensing? You can adopt a combination of options 2 and 3. 

Having said that, let’s now discuss 5 steps to take to have your music played in movies and on TV.   

• Do Some Research

As you may have noticed, different movies or TV shows normally adopt specific music styles, depending on the production plot as well as vibe. By gaining an understanding of the types of music each one typically chooses, you are able to track down an upcoming movie or show that is well-suited to your songwriting style. Then, you need to find out the individual that is responsible for supervising the music production so you can send your song to them when they are in need of it. With the right online tools, this research is not actually difficult.  Good places to check out are www.tunefind.com and YouTube; on the platforms, you’ll be able to discover the music used in all episodes of a particular show or TV movie. Another idea is to contact TV network providers.

• Target a Particular TV Show or Movie

The next step is to find out the actual music supervisor for the movie or TV show that you’ll target. To know the music supervisor who is in charge of production, visit IMDB.com and then search for the show you plan to target. When you get to this website, scroll down until you see the individual you are searching for, and click on their name so you can go through their profile. You will also be able to know what other productions they currently have in the works. 

• Do Quality Song Production 

Everything you record needs to be of superb quality, whether you’re an artist that is trying to pitch pre-existing songs, or you specifically wrote a song for the production. This recommendation applies to music licensing in particular. You should keep in mind the fact that what you recorded will be the final version on the soundtrack. So it must sound as great as every other thing, getting into film and TV. While this step is really among the easiest of all, it’s quite often disregarded by songwriters. Don’t make this mistake as music supervisors look at the production value of the song you sent in first, even before considering if it is a cool song or is appropriate for their show. 

• Organize Everything 

Having recorded your songs and got ready to pitch to your targeted music supervisors, the next step is to put a finishing touch to all you have done. Ensure that you’ve created an instrumental-only mix of the songs. Occasionally, music supervisors will elect to make use of a recording of your song, devoid of any vocals, so that there will not be interference with the dialog on the screen. Also, you should ensure that you’ve added all the appropriate metadata in your file before it is submitted. Use of metadata will help a music supervisor to correctly file your songs and call you if they can’t recall who sent it. 

• Pitch Your Songs 

Now is the time to take the ultimate step: Pitch your music. The biggest obstacle in getting your songs placed in movies and on TV shows is that connecting with music supervisors could be laborious. Please, bear in mind that they get 100s of songs every week from other artists like you, who desire to secure placements for their music on TV and in films. However, if you keenly applied the tips we provided above, this would give you an edge above your competitors. A trick that often works with getting your music heard when you are new in the industry is, building direct relationships with supervisors, or going through persons that have existing relationships with them.

Increasing the Likelihood of Getting Music Placements

We will conclude this write-up with a handful of tips on how to increase your chances of getting your songs placed in movies and on TV.

• Don’t use MP3s; instead, send a WAV file using box.com
• Include a Sounds Like description in your subject line
• Let your email be brief and professional
• Don’t spam music supervisors, so you don’t get blocked, ignored, or blacklisted
• Keep your emails clear, straight to the point, and respectful.

Once you follow the steps we highlighted above, you are head and shoulders above your competitors in the music industry, who, like you, are also seeking placements for their songs on TV shows and in movies.