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Synchronization licenses have become not only one of the main sources of income for independent artists, but also a way to advance their careers and gain new fans. If you want to take advantage of this, you can make your tracks available for use in movies, on TV, and in commercials.

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To make this project a success, we invite you to discover how and why online syncing exists, how to get started, and the rules for compensation. The last section is dedicated to self-produced artists. Ready? Let’s jam!

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How and why was online synchronization created?

Online synchronization involves placing music, with or without lyrics, over visuals such as TV shows, commercials, video games, movies, and mobile apps. Commercials, movies, and games are the most sought-after media by music creators since they offer the highest compensation. The amount of money earned depends on this, but also on the popularity of the track and its creator or performer, the territory where it’s broadcast, and the duration of the sync contract. The more famous you are, the more you cost, and the more you’re played, the more money you make.

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Online synchronization wasn’t particularly valued before the decline of the CD industry, but it has since become a way to offset that loss. Thanks in particular to the explosion in the volume of audiovisual productions and video games, it is a resource that is playing an increasingly significant role in creators’ income, so it’s important to understand how it works and its legal framework to maximize your revenue opportunities.

Online synchronization involves placing your music in audiovisual products in exchange for money. It’s a source of income that can offset the decline in revenue from physical product sales, as well as a way to build your profile and expand your fanbase.

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How am I paid when I do synchronization?

The right of synchronization refers to the legal authorization to combine music with an audiovisual work and generally applies to publishers. There are two types of publishers: music publishers who work alongside songwriters and therefore operate within the framework of copyright; and phonographic publishers who work with record labels and producers and benefit from neighboring rights (if you need a refresher on these two categories of music rights, we explain everything here).

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The Roles of Publishers

Both types of publishers are responsible for managing online synchronization—one of many ways to market a work—which involves distributing it on audiovisual platforms such as TV series (streaming or broadcast), films (feature-length and short), commercials, video games… There is one simple difference: the music publisher allows users to create their own version based on the original work, whereas the phonographic publisher provides them with a specific, pre-recorded version.

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In short, the music publisher markets the lyrics and sheet music of a musical work, while the phonographic publisher markets its recording (master, recording).

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Historical Contracts in Publishing

The collaboration between songwriter and publisher is governed by a transfer agreement and music publishing contract between the two parties, which formalizes their respective shares of copyright royalties if the work is actually exploited. Both parties are members of a copyright collective management organization (CMO) such as Sacem to receive their royalties.

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The work of the record label is governed by license agreements that it purchases and signs with the producer. This contract may be exclusive or non-exclusive, but its principles remain the same: the producer entrusts the master to the publisher for a limited period, and they share the revenue from exploitation—obtained through the contract when the publisher finds a client and via neighboring rights generated when the recording is broadcast.

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To collect these royalties and share them with publishers, record labels join a collective management organization (CMO) specific to their industry, such as the SPPF (Société Civile des Producteurs de Phonogrammes en France), which represents mostly French and smaller record labels, or the SCPP (Société civile des producteurs phonographiques), which represents major labels like Universal and Warner.

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Spoiler: if you manage your own recordings, you’re your own producer! You’re a self-produced artist, and we’ll explain how to handle this situation right below.

The music publisher markets the lyrics and sheet music of a musical work. They share copyright royalties with the songwriter through a music assignment and publishing contract. To collect these royalties, you must join a collecting society like Sacem. The phonographic publisher markets the recording of a work (master, recording) and collects neighboring rights through a licensing agreement. To collect these neighboring rights, you must register with a collecting society dedicated to producers.

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How does it work if I’m self-produced (without a publisher)?

It has become common for an artist to manage their own recordings. If this is your case, you are a self-produced performing artist. You may also have composed the music and/or written the lyrics for your track. In this case, you wear several hats and are also a songwriter, so you are also entitled to copyright royalties.

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Here, we’re focusing on the performance and production aspects—your neighboring rights. To collect your copyright royalties for online syncs, you’ll need to work with your OGC.

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Let’s use our favorite band, Super Groupe, as an example. Ten years after breaking all streaming records with their debut album, they’re ready to make a big comeback. To mark the occasion, they fire their aging producer Pascal and leave their label Juste Les Cousins, whose director got caught up in the #balancetonlabel hashtag. In short, they decide to self-produce.

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The problem with the release of their self-produced album: no one remembers them anymore, and their comeback goes unnoticed. To make up for it, they decide to release a 100% instrumental version of their album in the hope that several of their tracks will be used in audiovisual productions

Before we go any further, here’s a reminder of who’s in Super Groupe:

• Amin on vocals, keyboards, and lyrics,

• Leïla on composition and guitar,

• Antoine on bass, who works on the composition with Leïla,

• and Jamie on drums.

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The division of their roles confirms that they are all performing artists and share the neighboring rights, even Amin, who is still present on the instrumental master since he plays the keyboard. To try their hand at online syncing, Super Groupe decides to share the only single from their self-produced album on TuneCore Sync, a music publishing management service that allows its members to be featured in stores, on videos, in games…

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All they have to do is wait to be spotted by an advertiser. It happens fairly quickly, and alongside the platform’s legal teams, they negotiate a licensing agreement to provide the soundtrack for a commercial. Various factors come into play: the cost of the license itself, which depends mainly on the recognition of their name and track, the sound and creative quality, the type of production (ad), the territory (Europe), the contract duration (10 years), and the number of distribution channels (online streaming, cinema, TV).

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Once it’s signed, they earn 100 euros every time the commercial airs. 10% goes to their publishing administrator, TuneCore Sync, and they split the rest equally, which comes to €22.50 each. Since they are properly registered with ADAMI, the largest French collecting society that manages neighboring rights for performing artists, they earn 100% of the music royalties owed to them through this ad—that is, their synchronization rights AND their neighboring rights.

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At the same time, to increase their chances and their income, they upload the entire instrumental project to Jamendo Catalog, a royalty-free sync service. This service operates like an e-commerce site: it sells predefined licenses to clients, and the artist receives a percentage of those sales. They don’t have to worry about negotiations and know in advance how much they’ll earn, since revenue doesn’t vary based on how many times the video using the track is viewed. So all Super Groupe has to do is upload their instrumentals and collect money every time a track is purchased.

If you’re self-produced, the principle is the same as between a record label and a producer, except that you go through an online publishing and sync service like TuneCore Sync or a royalty-free platform like Jamendo Catalog, from which you receive your neighboring rights. Otherwise, if you wear both the hats of songwriter and self-produced artist, consider joining a collecting society for your copyrights to supplement the neighboring rights paid by your distributor.

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