When it comes to getting your songs licensed, does the magic carpet ride exist?


The answer is an overwhelming NO. Well, unless of course you have the Major Label A –Team behind you with a multi-million dollar marketing budget, but even then there's no guarantee.

So where does that leave you as an independent?

Whether you're managing a label, sync catalog, band(s) or producing music there will always be the BIG challenge of getting your songs heard by the right people.

These days the supply and demand of music is greatly off kilt, swaying heavily towards supply. This means competition is fierce not just in sync licensing, but across the board in the music industry.

So if your artists are not buzzing, charting or getting radio play - how do you get the attention of music supervisors within the sync industry?

Fly around the world to conferences – Sure!

Fly to LA & London and cold call your way into meetings – Yes!

Get music partners with pre-existing relationships – It Won't Hurt!

Knock on as many global doors as you can – Absolutely!

The fact is, if you are consistently doing any or all of the above then you're on your way to getting sync love, but if you're not doing any of it then you can't expect sync deals to fall into your lap, you have to work for them!

So with that said, here are 4 key factors that can help you get more sync deals…


1.Do the Math

The law of averages simply states that the more doors you knock on the more doors will open. Making plans to reach out to 100 people is going to serve you much better than making grand plans to reach out to 10. Yes there are going to be people who won't or don't want to talk to you (for one reason or another), but there are plenty who will, and those doors will open.

2. Do the Homework

This is where people fail dismally. Doing the homework makes you stand out from the crowd, it allows you to formulate a strong pitch and it shows the recipient that you are worthy of a response. Research music genres that brands or shows are using and know if your music is a good fit before reaching out. Also keep in mind the quality of musicianship and production of songs being licensed, are yours up to scratch? If not, you're just not ready!

3. Be Consistent

Another area where most fail is being inconsistent – I once heard someone say that being 'consistently good at something' is far better than being 'inconsistently great'. In other words, to move forward you will need to dedicate a set time every day/week to get your songs heard.

4. Be Smart

People seem to think that getting attention by adding someone's email address onto a newsletter is a good idea. It's not. Anyone who tracks his or her open rate will tell you that it's low, really low. If the relationship has already been forged then yes it's a good idea to stay top of mind, but to blast out cold newsletters is a waste of time, and in short will piss off the person you're trying to build the relationship with.

On a final note, always remember that those people who say 'you really need to know people in the industry to get sync deals' are the ones that either never put the work into getting the relationships, or have the relationships and don't want you to have them! The key is to begin.

Persistence is insurance against failure.

About the Author – Daniela D'Onofrio

Daniela has been responsible in representing hundreds of indie artists, and successfully securing placements with Virgin, Qantas, Contiki, Jeans West, Twitter, Joe Fresh, Sony PlayStation and countless Films and TV Shows with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, HBO, Showtime, The CW, FOX, Netflix, USA Network, MTV, CTV, Warner Bros, ABC (USA), and NBC Universal.

Passionate about the sync industry, Daniela has had many speaking and teaching engagements including Q Music, Music Industry Inside Out, and SYNC Master Classes at Queensland University of Technology