What to Expect When Working With a Sync Rep
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:44 am
If you want to get your music featured on TV, film, etc., working with a sync manager can be a bit mysterious for those who haven't done this before. That said, we'd like to demystify this process. In this article, we'll explain what goes on behind the scenes so you know exactly what to expect before you take the plunge.
What to Expect When Working With a Sync Rep
This is how it works…
Once you sign a contract with a sync rep and hand over your music, it can feel like everything goes quiet. Don’t panic. On the other end, there’s a process going on that will take quite a while. Sync reps work on commission, so they have a huge financial motivation to sync your music. After all, they won’t make a cent until they get it done. But first, they’ll need to spend time getting to know your catalog so they know exactly where they can sync it. This means a lot of listening, reading lyrics, creative tagging, and adding songs to playlists for supervisors.
Then there's the pitching. Lots of pitching.
Any given sync represents dozens of pitches that didn't connect with the brief they were submitted for. However, the ones that fail can lead to syncs down the road. When a music supervisor is looking for a specific type of song, they write up a brief and solicit pitches from all their trusted sources. Ultimately, they narrow it down to one song, but it would be foolish to dismiss a bunch of good music just because it doesn't fit the brief. After all, good is good.
Music supervisors have their own stashes of music, so if something catches their eye, they save it. They often work on multiple productions at once, so they might try it out for another scene uk number list or earmark it for another project. Six months later, they might be looking for a specific lyric that just happens to be the hook for your song. With a simple lyric search, BOOM! You’ve got a sync.
The key to success is not always winning the competition, but getting your music heard by as many supervisors as possible. It's like planting seeds.
What happens now?
If you've read our article on the lifecycle of a TV sync , you'll know that a licensing request doesn't mean anything until the picture is locked in and the song is officially confirmed. That's usually when you'll hear back from your sync rep. After all, delivering good news is the best part of the job.
Until then, you may not hear from them. That’s perfectly normal; there just isn’t much to report yet. Sync reps typically work with hundreds of artists, and while you’d like to know everything about where your music is being promoted, it’s not feasible to provide individualized reports. Aside from the tediousness of compiling them, many of the details, including the mere existence of certain productions, are often confidential. Sharing where music is being promoted also prompts artists to reach out to find out if the song has been placed, a question your rep can’t definitively answer.
Music supervisors don't have the bandwidth to give feedback on releases, so it's impossible to know what they'll ultimately keep in their library long-term. Depending on when the production is released, a decision on a song can take weeks, months, or even a year. At the end of the day, all that really matters is that timing is confirmed.
What to Expect When Working With a Sync Rep
This is how it works…
Once you sign a contract with a sync rep and hand over your music, it can feel like everything goes quiet. Don’t panic. On the other end, there’s a process going on that will take quite a while. Sync reps work on commission, so they have a huge financial motivation to sync your music. After all, they won’t make a cent until they get it done. But first, they’ll need to spend time getting to know your catalog so they know exactly where they can sync it. This means a lot of listening, reading lyrics, creative tagging, and adding songs to playlists for supervisors.
Then there's the pitching. Lots of pitching.
Any given sync represents dozens of pitches that didn't connect with the brief they were submitted for. However, the ones that fail can lead to syncs down the road. When a music supervisor is looking for a specific type of song, they write up a brief and solicit pitches from all their trusted sources. Ultimately, they narrow it down to one song, but it would be foolish to dismiss a bunch of good music just because it doesn't fit the brief. After all, good is good.
Music supervisors have their own stashes of music, so if something catches their eye, they save it. They often work on multiple productions at once, so they might try it out for another scene uk number list or earmark it for another project. Six months later, they might be looking for a specific lyric that just happens to be the hook for your song. With a simple lyric search, BOOM! You’ve got a sync.
The key to success is not always winning the competition, but getting your music heard by as many supervisors as possible. It's like planting seeds.
What happens now?
If you've read our article on the lifecycle of a TV sync , you'll know that a licensing request doesn't mean anything until the picture is locked in and the song is officially confirmed. That's usually when you'll hear back from your sync rep. After all, delivering good news is the best part of the job.
Until then, you may not hear from them. That’s perfectly normal; there just isn’t much to report yet. Sync reps typically work with hundreds of artists, and while you’d like to know everything about where your music is being promoted, it’s not feasible to provide individualized reports. Aside from the tediousness of compiling them, many of the details, including the mere existence of certain productions, are often confidential. Sharing where music is being promoted also prompts artists to reach out to find out if the song has been placed, a question your rep can’t definitively answer.
Music supervisors don't have the bandwidth to give feedback on releases, so it's impossible to know what they'll ultimately keep in their library long-term. Depending on when the production is released, a decision on a song can take weeks, months, or even a year. At the end of the day, all that really matters is that timing is confirmed.