Sync licensing: music in film, TV and ads
Sync licensing is getting music used in visual media – film, TV, ads, trailers, games and social. Every placement needs two licenses: one for the song and one for the recording. The upfront fee is negotiated and varies wildly, and there's a backend of performance royalties once it airs.
What sync actually is
Sync – short for synchronization – is when music gets paired with moving picture: a song in a TV episode, a track under an ad, a needle-drop in a film, a cue in a video game, a clip on social. The buyer (a music supervisor, an ad agency, a game studio) pays for the right to put your music to their visuals. It’s one of the few places a single placement can pay an independent artist real money up front.
Every sync needs two licenses
This is the part to get right. A sync placement always requires two separate licenses, because there are two copyrights:
- A synchronization license for the composition – granted by the songwriter or publisher
- A master use license for the specific recording – granted by the label or master owner
Both have to be cleared before the music can be used, and you’ll usually see two separate fees – one for publishing, one for the master. Here’s the advantage for an independent artist who wrote and recorded their own song: they control both copyrights, so they can grant both licenses on the spot. That makes them far easier to clear than a song tangled across a label and three co-writers – and supervisors love easy to clear.
How the money works
Sync fees are negotiated, not fixed, and the range is huge. A small indie film or a social placement might pay a few hundred dollars – or nothing but exposure. A network TV episode might pay a few thousand. A national ad campaign or a major film can run well into five or six figures. What moves the number is the usage: how prominently the music is used, for how long, in what territories, and how exclusively. There’s no statutory rate here – it’s a deal.
Don't forget the backend
The upfront fee isn’t the whole story. Once the show, film or ad airs, it generates performance royalties on the composition, collected through the PRO – a recurring stream on top of the one-time sync fee. For something that re-airs across many markets, like a TV placement, that backend can outlast and even outweigh the original fee. Make sure the song is registered and the splits are filed, or the backend goes uncollected.
Common questions
- What is sync licensing?
- Licensing music to be used alongside visual media – film, TV, ads, trailers, video games, YouTube and social. The user pays for the right to pair your music with their picture.
- What licenses do you need for a sync?
- Two. A synchronization license for the composition, from the songwriter or publisher, and a master use license for the specific recording, from the label or master owner. Both have to be cleared. If one artist controls both, they can grant both – a real advantage for an unsigned writer-performer.
- How much does a sync pay?
- It's negotiated, and the range is enormous – from a few hundred dollars (or just exposure) for a small indie placement to five or six figures for a national ad or major film. On top of the upfront fee, broadcasts generate backend performance royalties through the PRO.