Music Synchronization: Why is a Sync deal important for all Music Artists

In this age of streaming services where most of the chunk goes to the publishing houses and labels, artists hardly make any revenue through stream plays and royalties. Physical and online sales of music are at an all time low. Getting play time on radio and television is next to impossible for any upcoming artist as most of the programming is filled with established acts. The basic performance fee for any new act is negligible. So how is an artist supposed to support himself/herself ?

Music Synchronization

The entire music industry is powered by "Music Synchronization" in this current age. Synchronization is basically permitting your song to be used in an advertisement, television show,  movie, video game, radio jingle or any other audio-visual medium. This practice came into being more than 30 years ago and at that time it was frowned upon by most of the artists as it took away their creative freedom for some quick money. The value for such kind of a deal is gigantic and many considered it as signing a deal with the devil. Sync deals create opportunities for artists to earn passive income through continued royalties or usage fees. There are two different forms of copyright needed in obtaining a sync license: the master copyright, which refers to the recording itself and is typically owned by the label that owns for the recording; and the composition copyright, which is owned by the songwriter.  Permissions from both parties is essential  in order to use a track in any audio-visual medium.

Benefits of Signing a Sync Deal

Since we are living in a post sampling era, the practice of using existing music and rebranding it to make it sound fresh has reached a new level. This is a tried and tested practice which has been around since the start. Listeners get attuned by the nostalgia factor by hearing an old track in a new medium. Music Synchronization has become pivotal in today's age when it comes to sales and profits. The brand custodians would prefer a familiar song favored by all over a new song.

Importance of Nostalgia factor

The nostalgia factor is an important aspect of a Sync Deal. Many songs stay with you over the years because of an emotion behind it. This works brilliantly in brand marketing and is effectively used by brands all over the world to sell products. Every commercial features a familiar sounding musical track which brings about a nostalgic emotion in you, making you feel good and like that product. Nostalgia makes viewers more willing to spend money on consumer goods and services and millennials are the prime targets.

How to get a Sync Deal?

In order to get a sync deal an artist has to start somewhere, it can even be an ad for your local Gym or a pet-shop.

1. Identifying your music with a brand is vital.
2. The artist and brand -both should benefit out of a sync deal.
3. After identifying which track works well with the brand, pitching that said track is very important.
4. An artist should be able to pitch perfectly and reason why his/her track works well for the brand and get them interested in your music.
5. Every artists should aim high and wise

Most of the established artists today have come a long way and have benefited through a sync deal early in their career. Keeping aside the monetary gains, exposure and reach are also vital for an artist. A sync deal solves majority of problems faced by an artist in today's age and is set to become the main source of income for the artists in years to come. From Beatles to Sinatra to Michael Jackson and present day artists, Sync has become an integral part of the Popular culture and is here to stay and also grow in terms of its influence Apple as a brand is the flag bearer when it comes to synchronization of music in commercials and advertisements. Over the years they have featured music by Daft Punk, Gorillaz, N.E.R.D and one of Apple’s favorite bands, U2. More recently Apple also made a commercial featuring FKA Twigs and music by Anderson Paak. Check out the commercial below [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2lkz2oFmM0[/embedyt] Labrinth, Sia and Diplo’s collaborative project LSD's new single - "Thunderclouds" is topping the charts thanks to its appearance in Samsung Galaxy Note9’s “Powerful S Pen” ad. Video Below: [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_6HncNxoD8[/embedyt]