What Is Sync Licensing? (Sync Licencing Explained)

Short answer: Sync licensing is permission to use a piece of music "in sync" with moving pictures, such as a TV show, film, ad, trailer, video game, or online video. The person making the video pays the rights holders for that permission. "Sync licencing" is the same thing with British spelling.

How sync licensing works

1. A production needs music. A music supervisor, editor, or brand is looking for a track that fits a scene or a brief.
2. They find a track. Usually by searching a sync library, through a pitch from an agency or publisher, or by contacting the artist directly.
3. Both rights are cleared. The buyer needs permission for the composition (the song) and for the master (the recording).
4. A license is signed. It sets the media, territory, term, and fee.
5. The placement goes live. If it airs or streams in a way that is reported, performance royalties can follow.

The two rights in every sync license

Right	What it covers	Who usually owns it
Sync right	The composition: melody and lyrics	Songwriters and their publishers
Master use right	The specific recording	The artist or label that paid for the recording

If you wrote and recorded the track yourself, and you have no publisher or label, you control both. That is called being "one-stop," and it makes your music much easier to license. Read why sync licensing requires both rights cleared and music synchronization rights.

Who pays whom

• The buyer (a production company, network, agency, or brand) pays the license fee.
• The fee goes to whoever controls the rights: you directly, or a library, agency, or publisher acting for you, which pays you your contracted share.
• Your PRO pays performance royalties later if the placement is broadcast or streamed and a cue sheet is filed.

How artists earn from sync

Sync can pay an upfront license fee and backend performance royalties. What a single placement pays depends on the media, how the music is used, how long it plays, the territory, and the term. There is no standard price. For the factors that move the fee, see how much a sync license costs.

Sync licensing vs other music licenses

• Mechanical license: permission to reproduce a song as audio, like a cover version or a stream. No picture involved.
• Performance license: permission to play music in public or on air. Venues and broadcasters pay these.
• Sync license: permission to pair music with picture. This is the one that leads to placements.

How to get started in sync licensing

1. Make sure you own or control every part of the track, with no uncleared samples.
2. Prepare an instrumental and, ideally, short edits of each track.
3. Register with a PRO and keep metadata consistent everywhere.
4. Get your music where buyers search: sync libraries.

The step by step version is in how independent artists submit music for sync licensing.

A hypothetical example of sync licensing from start to finish

This example is made up to show how the pieces connect. An independent artist writes and records a mellow acoustic song on her own, with no publisher or label.

1. She registers the song with her PRO and puts it, with an instrumental, into a few non-exclusive sync libraries.
2. A music supervisor working on a streaming drama needs a gentle song for a closing scene and searches one of those libraries for "hopeful acoustic female vocal."
3. The song fits. Because the artist controls both the composition and the recording, the library can license both rights in one step.
4. The license sets the use (end scene, partial song), the media (streaming), the territory, and the term. The library collects the fee and pays her share on its next statement.
5. The production files a cue sheet. When the episode streams in territories where performances are reported, her PRO pays her writer share of performance royalties.

Key sync licensing terms to know

Term	What it means
Music supervisor	The person who finds and clears music for a production
Brief	A description of the music a production needs: mood, tempo, lyrics, length
Sync fee	The upfront payment for the license
Master use license	Permission to use the specific recording
One-stop	One party controls both the song and the recording
Cue sheet	The production's report of every piece of music used, which drives performance royalties
PRO	Performance rights organization, which collects and pays performance royalties
Buyout	A deal where the buyer pays once and some or all backend royalties are excluded

Who uses sync licensing

• TV and streaming series use music in almost every episode, from background cues to featured songs.
• Films use music for scenes, montages, and end credits.
• Advertisers license music to give a brand an instant emotional hook.
• Trailers need dramatic builds and big moments.
• Video games use music for menus, gameplay, and cutscenes.
• Online creators and podcasts need steady background music, often through subscription libraries.

Each of these buyers works differently. Sync licensing opportunities explains what each one looks for.

Common sync licensing mistakes

1. Pitching tracks with uncleared samples. A buyer cannot use them, however good they are.
2. No written split sheet with co-writers. One missing signature can stop a deal.
3. No instrumental. Many placements sit under dialogue.
4. Inconsistent metadata. Different titles or writer names in different places make royalties hard to match.
5. Signing exclusive deals without understanding them. An exclusive deal can lock a track away from other opportunities.

Sync licensing in other countries

The basics are the same almost everywhere: a buyer needs permission for the composition and the master before music is used with picture. What changes from country to country is how performance royalties are collected. Each country has its own performance rights organizations, and they share data with each other so a placement that airs abroad can still pay the writer at home. That only works if your songs are registered with consistent titles and writers. Artists in 40+ countries use That Pitch, and the same rule applies to all of them: register every song, and keep the details identical everywhere.

Signs you are ready to start

• You have finished, mixed tracks you fully control
• You can export an instrumental of each
• You know who wrote each song and the splits
• You are registered with a PRO as a writer

If any of these are missing, fix them first. They take a little time, and they decide whether a buyer can use your music.

Where That Pitch fits

That Pitch gets your music into 100+ sync libraries from one upload. It is non-exclusive, it matches tracks to library briefs automatically, and That Pitch keeps none of your sync-placement earnings, so you keep 100%. You can join free with unlimited uploads into one library and upgrade any time for 100+ libraries and briefs.

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FAQ

What is sync licensing in simple terms?

Sync licensing is permission to put a piece of music in a video, such as a TV show, film, ad, game, or online video. The video maker pays the people who own the song and the recording for that permission.

Is it sync licensing or sync licencing?

Both are correct. "Licensing" is the American spelling and "licencing" is the British spelling. They mean the same thing.

What rights are needed for a sync license?

Two: the sync right for the composition (the song) and the master use right for the recording. If you wrote and recorded the track and have no publisher or label, you control both.

How do artists get paid from sync licensing?

Through an upfront license fee paid by the buyer, and often through performance royalties paid by your PRO when the placement airs or streams and a cue sheet is filed.

Do I need a publisher to do sync licensing?

No. Many independent artists license music directly or through sync libraries without a publisher. What you need is clear ownership of your rights, clean files, and accurate metadata.

How long does sync licensing take?

From submission to first placement there is no typical timeline. Once a buyer chooses a track, a simple license can be agreed quickly, especially when the artist is one-stop. Payment then follows on the library or PRO schedule.