Sync or sink? · Aug 4, 02:36 PM

Licensing music to be played in films, adverts and TV shows has been part of a label’s income for a long time, but recent high profile artist tie-ins with games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero has made it big news. As sales from physical music decline, how far can this slice of revenue help to plug the gap? How much of a priority should it be for a label?

Like many parts of the music industry, sync looks like a black art to outsiders. How do you start getting sync work? Who do you need to know? Who should you be working with? We asked three industry experts to let us into their world…

Jonny Reggae, now head of label management at the Independent Label Scheme, had huge sync success with his label, Catskills Records. Catskills artists’ music soundtracked many high profile ads – iPod, Hyundai, Ray Ban – and Levis, who used a Pepe Deluxe track. Jonny and the ILS now advise labels on sync licensing.

Dave Philpot, Skint Records Head of Business Affairs/Licensing, co-founded Sync Inc in Spring this year. Run by Dave and co-founder Matt Kaleda (former BBC TV Music Supervisor, ex Ninja Tune Sync Licensing Manager and ex Warner Music Head of Creative Sync), Sync Inc aims to become the one stop creative music agency.

And, to get a view from the other side of the sync fence, we spoke to James Yuill – James was a music supervisor for 3 years, before chucking in his day job to do music full time. James makes “lusciously sad laptop folk with a dancefloor pulse” (The Guardian) and can (and should) be checked out here

The label point of view:

How did you start getting sync work?

Jonny Reggae: When we first started Catskills Music Publishing we realised that if we owned the master and publishing rights to a track we would get paid twice on any syncs. At first we really didn’t make any concerted effort to get our music heard, music supervisors would go and spend hundreds of pounds a month in their local record store and build libraries of good music. This is what happened with the Levis ad. We just got a call from the supervisor for Levis telling us they wanted to use the track.

From there we took time to find out who the main supervisors were and send them music. We have a database that includes many different companies – ad agencies, film production, computer games – as well as music supervisors. We were also fortunate to work with a label in the US that had its own in-house sync department and as they were in LA we got a lot of work through them.

Dave Philpot: We started getting ad agencies contacting us in about 1997. We were new and quite cool then as a label so creatives at the agencies were hearing our music and getting in touch.

Jonny, with the Levis ad, talk us through how it happened…

It really came out of the blue. I took a call late one night from the guy who was supervising the music – he’s a pretty high profile sup, did a lot of the really cool Guiness ads. He told me what was happening and he wanted me to see the ad straight away, so he couriered a copy of the tape down from London to Brighton there and then – it arrived at about 1am. It was a pretty cool ad. The music worked incredibly well.

From there it was straight to the legalities, as the track contained two samples and we needed to clear the rights from the copyright owners of those samples. One went with it and one fixed a price so high that it was never going to happen. The thing with the Levis ad that people don’t realise is that the fee is very very small. They know you want to do the ad so you have to make it pay in other ways.

We then had to go through the process of re-recording the vocal so that we could complete the license. The producer of Pepe Deluxe (who’s studio was in Helsinki) worked via ISDN with the new vocalist to interpolate the vocal and thus a new track ‘Before You Leave’ was born from the original ‘Woman In Blue’. It was a shame we couldn’t clear the original vocal as it is still the best but it did mean we then owned a good proportion of the publishing which previously wasn’t there.

There were many more complexities involved with that deal, which turned us grey and are too complex to really go into. Safe to say that that deal was signed off as Levis were sat in a press conference ready to launch the new campaign. It was that close!!! From there we licensed the album to Sony and had a big hit with it.

Dave, what’s been your biggest sync success? How did it come about?

It depends whether you are talking money wise or exposure wise. Money wise it was probably an advert we did with a Macy Gray and Fatboy record, but exposure wise in late 1998 / early 1999 we did two different adverts with Fatboy music for Adidas. The ads were very high rotation and this coupled with all the other exposure Norman was getting helped get the “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby” album to number one.

Did you look for all sync opportunities yourself, or do you use specialist companies? How does it work?

Dave Philpot: Back in 1997 we were not very active as a label, but we began getting more active as soon as we worked out that this could be a useful and profitable avenue to explore. We do use a few third party companies but procure most of our sync direct with the agencies or through our new sync company – Sync Inc.

With Sync Inc it can work in a number of ways, but mostly we get a music brief and the visual from an agency and look at these together and pitch music we feel fits the music brief and visuals supplied.

Do you think games are the new holy grail for sync?

Dave Philpot: No, I think games are a very good way to get your music heard by a certain age group and are evolving in a interesting way, but with the royalties of old only there for the big games like Guitar Hero, there’s not that much money any more. It may, however, be the coolest brand of syncs.

Jonny Reggae: To be honest I haven’t done a games sync since the Dream Cast!!! I do know the amount of money Rockstar threw at the music for GTA4 though. Huge amounts!

“Sync licensing is a handy way to make extra revenue and stay independent” – Agree / disagree? How much of a priority do you think it should be for a label?

Jonny Reggae: Absolutely agree. Record labels can’t make money from sales now so they have to evolve.

Dave Philpot: It is a handy way to make extra money, independent or not.

Priority for a label would always be to put out the best music they can. Sync is something a label should think about and explore as best they can, but it is not something you can rely on income from.

Some companies don’t pay artists/labels because the exposure is so great – is it still worth it?

Jonny Reggae: This one will split people – I would never do an ad for free. It’s a dangerous precedent to set, and ad agencies are aware that labels are desperate for income and so the fees for licenses are tumbling. However, if I was offered a track in a hit US program like One Tree Hill for example, either for a low fee or for free, I would take it. You may well sell 50k downloads from the back of that!

Dave Philpot: No, it devalues your music. If a company wishes to sell their brand or get exposure for their brand with your music they should pay for it. Simple as that.

Any advice for labels that aren’t doing this yet? (Do you think there are any?)

Jonny Reggae: I doubt it…. I think its pretty common knowledge that this is a great revenue stream. Build a good database and keep putting out music you believe in, that’s the key. And be patient, deals come along when you least expect it. A track can be 3 or 4 years old before it gets a sync.

Dave Philpot: They should contact me or Matt at Sync Inc ;-)

It’s actually not that straightforward getting into sync. It takes a while to build up relationships and sometimes that time is best spent getting the label right. All I would suggest is that if you do go with a 3rd party for syncs make sure you go with someone you trust.

The music supervisor view:

Could you briefly explain how the process of sync licensing works?

James Yuill: When sending over the tracks you make an initial inquiry as to whether the artist ‘in principle’ would be okay for the usage. This depends on media, budget and whether the ad itself is credible. Once the ad agency choose a track/multiple tracks we would then approach the rights owners for a definite cost.

Should a label need to pay to work with a sync licensing company?

No, definitely not. It should be the by-product of putting out a record, not the goal.

What’s the biggest earner? adverts? TV series?

I really only have experience with adverts. But I would say that adverts do because they get played more often which means the Performing Royalties are vast.

Some companies don’t pay artists/labels because the exposure is so great – is it still worth it?

I believe that any company that uses a piece of music should pay for it. It is a service to provide music for an advert and one that should be paid for. They wouldn’t work for free so why should a musician?

What makes good sync music?

It varies with every advert. If it’s a fast cutting ad you’ll need music that has lots of edit points…not necessarily a fast track mind you. I’ve seen fast plinky plonky marimba work brilliantly over slow motion so there’s no specific format. Just use your eyes/ears.

How does a music supervisor judge if a song placement has been a success? What do they get measured on?

Whether the ad agency comes back to use you in the future. You’re only as good as your last advert.

Any advice for labels that aren’t doing this yet?

Labels that would like to have their music used on adverts should send their catalogue in to the various companies that source music and the ad agencies themselves. They should also keep them up to date with any new releases if they want a sync tie-in with a release.

Who are good sync licensing companies to work with in the UK?

The Sync Agency, Soundlounge and Rachel Wood at Woodwork Music

Also a lot of the labels and publishers have great sync departments too.

What other method of revenue generation do you think labels/artists should look at apart from sync licensing and direct sales of vinyl/CD/digital?

Merchandise is a big one. Also you get paid for youtube and last.fm plays now.

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Big thanks to Jonny, Dave and James for giving up their time. If anyone can suggest other sync companies that people should check out, we would love to hear from you.

— Kate

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Comments

1. Nice one. This really helped us get our heads around this whole concept. Cheers. Have been spreading the word!

   — A New Hope Records · Sep 2, 10:01 AM · #

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2. Guys,
   Terrific interview on an amazingly pertinent subject. I have just begun the process of reaching out to music sup’s with my own material. These are more exciting times than ever for emerging indie artists.
   Best,
   -Zank

   — Zank · Nov 13, 03:03 AM · #

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3. great info, I’ve been looking for someone to shed more light on this. Thanks.

   — Kelvin K · Mar 17, 09:30 AM · #

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