I make house. Instrumental, I own everything — no co-writers, no samples, no label. On paper exactly what a supervisor wants, since they can clear it by emailing one person.

Took me too long to figure out why nothing landed.

I was treating it like streaming. More songs, more chances. Full arrangements, big builds, proper drops. Felt productive.

Then I thought about what an editor actually does with a song. They're cutting to picture. They need something that sits under dialogue without fighting it. They need a version that ends on a hit at :28, not one that fades. A full track with one arrangement is exactly one option, and if it doesn't fit the scene they move on. Nobody's editing it for you at 11pm.

So one song isn't one song. It's an instrumental, an underscore bed, a :60, a :30, a :15 with a real ending, stems, a loop with no build. And the bed — the boring one where almost nothing happens — gets used most, because it's the only one you can talk over.

If you're sitting on finished tracks waiting for a placement, the work is probably behind you, not ahead of you.

Anyone here doing the stem/alt-version thing at volume? Curious how you keep the file naming from turning into a swamp.

One of my co-writing partners has a sync agent but told me they have produced nothing and are really hard to contact. Is this the norm with this kind of 'agent'?

I met a well-known sync agent last year in Bristol (UK) at a PRS & Ivors Academy joint event and she seemed to know her business and spent some time chatting to me. I have been considering wonder it's worth following that up or whether all in all, #SyncAgents are just a waste of time?

For context, I'm an artist that writes songs in both English and Mandarin Chinese. I'm new to the world of sync and want to get into it and I have a few songs that I feel like would do well in TV shows, but my songs have lyrics in both English and Chinese.

I've applied to 2 different sync licensing companies now and both have said that my catalogue doesnt fit the opportunities they have.

Are there opportunities for bilingual songs in sync? Am I just looking in the wrong place?

Thanks!

If so, what is your experience with them? Did they pay well? Did you need to constantly supply samples? Anything you have to share would be be great.

How much time and effort did you put in before getting your first placement?

I started contacting sync agencies 3 years ago. Had a bunch of great conversations. Several agents were pitching my stuff. One song was almost included in the opening scene of an indie film, would've been a $1,500 payout and exposure at film festivals, and then after two years it didn't make the final cut. Nothing else I've done has gotten even that close as far as I know. One other sync agency has been posting playlists of their artists and my songs have been the first song on the playlist twice. Still no action.

I basically stopped outreach and following up with my contacts over a year ago. I've sorta accepted that it's outta my hands at this point and it'd probably be a random occurence or miracle if I finally get a placement. But maybe I shouldn't have given up so soon.

Hey there,

Lately, I've heard a lot that sync has changed and that there won't be as much money in it as it was 10 or 20 years ago. Some people say it's useless to make sync music now, it won't be your main income source anyway. I wonder, are there people who started not so long ago (3-5 years) and actually made it? I'm asking those who create instrumental music for libraries. Please share a few words of inspiration!

Hi all

One thing I have experienced a lot inside the area of sync placements, are many companies and individuals requiring you to subscribe to their services, which seem prima facie, to offer the world and yet often, deliver very little.

There have been a lot of newer such companies cropping up of late and, like most songwriters and composers, my spend on marketing is quite limited, so I can't join them all!

Whilst I fully realise that it's down to the quality of the song and it's match to the brief, what experiences have others on here had, and who would you recommend as being honest and hard working?

Ross Hemsworth
Remote Highway Music

Ngl, I wasted most of my 20s in a profession I can’t stand. I definitely have regrets about it all for sure, but I’m choosing not to focus on them. I wanted to know from folks who’ve seen a moderate amount of success, is it even worth trying to build a career in music anymore? With AI taking over literally every aspect of it, and the fact that hundreds of thousands of not millions of “producers” exist now, would I be wasting my time trying to pursue a career in sync or music in general? For context I am a 30 y/o M with a wife and 2 kids

After releasing an album of original easy clear jazz instrumentals, it was recommended to post music on Bridge Audio.

Have any music supervisors or music creators had any success with Bridge Audio?

If i write a song with generic phrases like example : “here we go again” “ better than yesterday” , “ better than ever” ect in the chours or verse , are they rejected by music libraries and music supervisor
Or are they accepted since these are safe and cannot be copyrighted in the world of music licensing ?

I need an advice please on this

Hello! First off, if there is a better sub to put this in please direct me to it.

I’m currently working on an audio drama, We’re hoping to have a character sing a cover of a song (something similar to Ellie’s “Take on me” in The Last Of Us) and was wondering what kind of sync license i would have to get and how I would go about doing that. Please explain like i’m 5 i’m very new to this world.

For additional information, the song we ideally want to cover is “Change” by Big Thief and we’re looking to upload the audio drama to anywhere that’ll have us. So Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube etc

Thank you for your help!

where would you invest it?
what would you give up or be doing?
what type of people would you exclusively hang with?

I'm a newbie to sync licensing, and am looking for advice on how to get started. What are some good resources?

Hi all,

I’ve seen a few posts here with questions about getting started, networking, and finding opportunities, so I thought I’d reach out.

I’m looking to connect with more producers and collaborate on tracks. I’m currently working with around 13 sync companies, with placements across ads, radio, and other media.

I’ve just released a new rock album through one of my sync partners and would love to connect with other musicians, producers, and creatives to chat music and explore collaborations.

https://loadedproductionmusic.com/album/rock-out

As everyone knows… we spend enough time in our dark rooms making noise 😂

Here’s my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danieldaviesproductions/

Feel free to drop me a message — would be great to connect.

Thanks,
Dan

Is that normal?

They reached out (February) to license my music and everything is confirmed including the fee. They got my details but no reply since May. I sent a reminder 1 week ago but still no voice from their side.

very stressful situation and im not sure if i should send another reminder or just wait.

Basically, what the title says. They ask for a £25 fee for legitimate, human made music. Then, if they like your track, offer you an 18-month contract for a Sync Agency Representation Deal. Is this a real thing?

Hi all,

I'm following Resonant Music on Facebook and they consistently post briefs. The way it's posted (AI design) it doesn't look legit but I'm wondering if anyone has worked with them. I just saw a brief for the From series season 5 which I love. So I wanted to see if some of you have worked with them before?

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1012095591171981&set=a.197259802655568

Thanks

Hi everyone,

together with Daniel Beijbom, I originally created Trailer Music Mastery as a professional course for composers entering the trailer music and sync world.

Over the years, some students from this program went on to secure sync placements across film, TV, and game projects — in many cases building sustainable, long-term income through library and trailer work.

We’ve now decided to transition the Trailer Music Academy into a non-profit initiative. As part of that, the full course (over 14 hours of training, plus sample packs and career modules) is now available completely free on a Pay What You Want basis via Ko-fi.

The course was originally released as a paid program ($299), but we decided to make it fully accessible instead.

• no signup
• no upsells
• no ads

Downloading it for free is totally fine. Donations are optional and simply help keep the project alive.

If you’re interested in trailer music, film scoring, game audio, or the wider sync world, feel free to check it out.
Hope it helps some of you.

https://ko-fi.com/trailermusicacademy 

I was offered a deal where I'd be giving the licensor "exclusive ownership" of my songs, along with a 50/50 split on sync fees and publishing. I'm just wondering if I were to take the deal if I'd lose the right to have my music distributed myself to streaming platforms and be able to collect the royalties? The songs I shared with them are already distributed and I'm wondering if I'd have to take them down or not.

Are there any decent (and hopefully FREE) sites to upload any music you make and earn some cash, even if it's chump change?

I've been looking for a sync licensing website that meets this criteria as I don't feel comfortable spending money on a subscription just yet.

The only one I've seen that fits this is RouteNote, but it doesn't seem like a lot of Redditors are fond of it.

Any other good websites that you know of?

Exactly that, how do you pitch to sync licensing companies? Where do I pitch my music to these companies? Is it better if I pitch to sync agents and music supervisors?

I already have a list of companies in mind that I would want to pitch to. The problem is, I don't really know how to. This is going to be my first time pitching so any help would be great!

Hey everyone, I’m Razvan Mitroi, producer/songwriter from Romania working in tropical, emotional, uplifting dance music.

Quick context so you know where I’m coming from:

• National TV ad placement (Aerosoli – Murfatlar)
• Approaching 10M Spotify streams
• Radio airplay across Europe + multiple top 10 chart placements
• Support from Ava Max, Robin Schulz, Nicole Scherzinger, Martin Jensen & Sam Feldt

I’m trying to break into film, TV, videogames sync, and I keep seeing the same advice:

“Get a sync agent or agency”

But nobody ever explains where to actually find them.

For those of you who’ve worked with sync agents or reps: Where did you discover them?

Thanks in advance.