Skip to content
310-857-6389 info@angrymobmusic.com
  • Blog

Let’s be honest, Music Synchronization is a key monetary component for the publisher (owner of the composition copyright), label (owner of the sound recording copyright) and songwriter (could also be the publisher).  And why not further diversify your work?  Royalties that come in through TV, film and advertising are great ways to expand revenue streams while extending audience reach.  Yet, closing a sync deal is much easier said than done, especially when trying to merge creativity with commerce.

To bring some insight to this issue, we have a few tips that might help the chances of your song getting placed.

Have A Great Hook

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What is a hook and are you even doing it right? A hook is the sticky point in a song that captivates the attention of listeners. It could be the repeated chorus of lyrics, melody or riff that really stands out from the rest of the song.  To do it right, it has to be memorable. It has to be catchy. Take a look at the greatest pop hooks of all time.

Chills and Goosebumps

The finished song and recording should evoke a very strong feeling or mood and the vocal performance should convey a “soulful” connection, regardless of genre, melody, or tempo.  There are a lot of great songs that come across as “just ok” because the vocal performance is not connecting with us.  There isn’t an exact goosebump formula but here are a few examples from NME.

Dynamic Interest

Has the teacher in your public speaking class ever scolded you for being monotone?  Admittedly, it’s pretty dull to listen to someone who doesn’t change their verbal pitch, emphasis or tone.  The same is true for music.  Your songs should have a dynamic shape that supports your lyrics along with interesting musical peaks and valleys.  It should almost surprise us with waves of anima.

Complementary Breathing Room

Sometimes the best song for a specific sync placement is the song that doesn’t take away from the scene.  In other words, it isn’t the key focus and doesn’t compete with the picture, but in some weird sense, compliments the situation. A song that is one big musical wall of sound may sound exciting in your car but will be constantly fighting to fit in under dialogue in show.

Lyrics Leads to A Scene’s Conclusion

Lyric content is a big factor in securing a license.  Words and themes that have more of a universal tone with interesting metaphors will have more opportunities than those that focus on one aspect of a personal relationship.  Some accessible themes are self-empowerment, freedom, the beauty of life, overcoming challenges, and new beginnings.  Two examples of very accessible songs are “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons and “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers.  However, one thing to watch out for when creating the lyrics is writing a song that becomes too wordy, as this may fight against the dialog when used in a film or TV show (related to #4 above).

Easy Clearance

Aside from all of these creative choices, there is a key legal aspect. Who does a production need to work with to clear a song?  A dream scenario is that you wrote and recorded the song by yourself. That would mean that you are the sole songwriter, the only publisher, and the recording owner. The proverbial one-stop shop and a music supervisor’s dream scenario. Even with more than one writer, you could have a simple written agreement that either writer can clear syncs on behalf of the other or electing one of the writers to be the one who always clears 100% of the song. Speaking of percentages, if a song is a co-write, definitely make sure that all the writers are accounted for and each respective percentage has been determined and documented prior to pitching.

Instrumentals

Finally, you should always have instrumental tracks for every song.  Not only can the instrumental have a life of its own but it can also be edited in a scripted show that keeps your song playing when dialogue starts.  A longer use like this means more back-end performance royalties!  Lastly, and sometimes most importantly, always have high-res AIFF or WAV files for every song and not just MP3s since they are unacceptable by broadcast standards.

Even if each factor is perfectly executed, a song’s ability to touch the hearts and emotions of listeners is as unpredictable as it can be accidental.  It’s impossible to know the type of feeling music will evoke in different listeners.

The movie below talks about how Beethoven uses a mix of both consonance and dissonance, resulting in the uncertainty of emotion and certainty of mathematics.  As Hector Berlioz said,  “It is one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify.”

All to say, get ready for a musical trip!

For more information on music synchronization check out the article, “8 Things Music Supervisors DO NOT Want

Back To Top