Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

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Why Music Supervisors Are Not Listening To Your Music.

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Get a paper and pen. Just do it, it’ll totally be worth it. I’m about to blow your mind.

Mind Blown

Quick – tell me 3 people you want to listen to your music that you think will be able to put it in a commercial, film, or TV promo! Even if you’ve already contacted them, write down a name with a little space beneath to complete this exercise.

Done? Great! Now write down 3 things you said to persuade each person to listen to your music (they can all be similar or the same if you do a lot of copy/paste).

Easy, right?

Alright, now for each person list 3 things about them that have nothing to do with their job, or music.

Hmmm…alright, take some more time and think about it…times up!

Now, as fast as you can, write down 3 things you can do for that person based on their needs or wants!

If you can come up with 1 thing for that last one, I’ll give you props. But only if it isn’t ridiculous (like “give them a million dollars” or “cut them in on license fees they secure for me” – because that’s payola, and payola is illegal…unless you’re Clear Channel).

The above exercise should prove to you that your emails suck. “Me, me, me.” That’s what you write about. “Listen to this! Check that out! I’d LOVE for you to put my song in a commercial!”

It's All About Who Again?

Great. I’m sure there aren’t 100,000 other people out there sending the same thing.

However, if you’re far enough along to know who to contact and actually have gotten some contact info, you’re STILL ahead of the game, as sad as it is. But you need to know something and you need to PRACTICE and GET BETTER at it as soon as you can:

The music business, and life in general, doesn’t work the way you think it does.

You cannot just sell yourself cold. It’s a waste of time. If you don’t have a good relationship with someone, it’s really tough to break through and make a connection. Especially one strong enough where they have confidence and enough trust in you and your music that they’ll give it a real shot.

How many emails have you received from someone or some entity that you didn’t know or agree to take part in? How did it make you feel? Did you read it carefully and take action doing what they ask? No?! What a surprise!

Here’s a gigantic tip:

Find a genuine connection to EVERY person you want to listen to your music before you ask them to listen to it.

Connect

That is HUGE takeaway. Huge. You should read it again, think about it, write any immediate ideas that come to mind, and then read it again.

Is it coming full circle yet? Do you get it?

Music supervisors are inundated with requests from people they don’t know and therefore don’t care about every day. They are flooded with emails like the ones you’ll find here. What makes you different?

Do you think changing your wording or coming up with a better email subject line makes you better? Wrong.

What most music supervisors will tell you is that they want a ‘filter,’ someone or some entity that they know well who they can reach out to for their music needs. What you need is to either discover one of those filters and partner up with them, or look for pre-existing relationships that act as that filter for you.

Whatever you do, don’t write another crappy email.

No one cares about the 8-word catch-phrase that sums up your music perfectly. Your album art is NOT good enough to get someone’s attention. Your 15MB attachment consisting of your amateur band photo, 1 sheet, and latest ‘single’ from 2 years ago? You guessed it. It couldn’t penetrate chocolate pudding.

Don’t get mad or frustrated – get smart. CHANGE your approach. Make yourself relevant to the person you’re contacting. Emphasize key elements that will filter you out from the crowds of morons or partner up with someone who can. The intelligent independent musician can find ways to make themselves valuable IMMEDIATELY. Sure, it takes work. Yes, you have to do more than copy and paste the same form email to 200 people. You’re better of sending 10 effective emails in an hour than 200 bogus ones.

Shape up. Get relevant, get genuine, and start focusing on the right things. You’ll find it goes a lot further than the lame attempts made by most everyone trying to get their music licensed.

If you’re not sure where to start when reaching out to music supervisors, you should subscribe to my free newsletter where you’ll get an 8-part course to help you do just that.

6 Ways to Get Your Music on TV

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First, I’d like to thank everyone who has written in and asked me questions. Keep them coming! Please keep in mind if you’re just asking me stuff that you can easily find out by using Google, it is unlikely I’ll be very helpful in my answer (which might literally be “Google It”). Blow me away with your requests and I’ll blow you away with my answers!

That said, I did have a general question from Erin Hill and her Pyschadelic Harp (which is pretty cool I must say) that serves as a great jumping off point for some action on your part:

How do I even get my stuff considered for commercials?

The short answer to this question is “hit the pavement.” Luckily, I’m going to give you the long answer too!

There are several options when it comes to getting your music in front of people who consistently license music. Here are just a few ideas to help get you started:

1) Contact them directly – This is definitely the hardcore sales route. It is probably the most daunting and least appetizing approach, but it also allows you to play some solid odds. While there really aren’t that many people directly in charge of music specifically at agencies, there ARE a lot of people involved in the final decision. Use your current connections and see if you know someone who knows someone and reach out.

2) Non-Exclusive Companies – The last article I wrote was 2 parts and detailed some companies like Jingle Punks and Pump Audio who represent music for placement in film, TV, and advertising. This is probably the EASIEST thing you can do. However, you have zero control over price, exposure, there is a ton of competition, and so on. Read the full article for more. All that said, if you’re just cranking out music and your goal is side or passive income or hobby money, this can be a great option.

3) Synch Companies/Reps – These guys are basically are similar to non-exclusives; their goals are the same, but they work with “real” artists and take a fairly hefty percentage of fees. They can be individuals repping certain catalogs or artists, or companies looking to find the next big thing via synch opportunities. These people are really great at what they do and provide the same services as a major publisher or label might, but only to music supervisors and producers (generally speaking).

4) Majors/Major Indies – Everyone knows enough about these types of companies to know that some are definitely better than others. Do your research before picking which ones to shop your music to and be sure they have a pro-active approach to licensing music (most at least KNOW this is important at this point). The issue here is that you’re being VERY indirect about getting music placed since it takes lots of effort and time to land a deal. They also aren’t always the most organized entities and getting paid can be hairy and inaccurate. The benefit is that usually you get some sort of advance (which is recouped however) to float you for a bit. They also will go over more than just licensing opportunities for you and have a lot more resources and financial backing. Key skills: determination, live performances, people-skills, consistency

5) Music Libraries – Libraries are basically a combination of Majors + Non-Exclusive companies. These guys are great in the sense that they are hyper-active about getting their catalogs used. The bad news is the dollars are small and they keep most of them. You’ll want at least 5 albums of material to pitch to them as a “library” to make it worth your while, and then also be sure they know you’re available to write custom music for any projects that arise. Library music is great for the same people who can take advantage of non-exclusives. If you’re an artist, you could look at them as a way to exploit and side-project instrumentals you may want to work on, or as an outlet for custom scoring for ads, trailers, and TV promos. Usually you’re paid a flat fee for any track you write, plus you get your performance royalties. The other nice thing about libraries is they’re really aggressive about collecting/reporting their income.

6) Get Notorious – Obviously there are positive and negative ways to do this, but let’s keep it on the up-and-up! This essentially just busting your butt creating AMAZING music, playing live, and driving metrics that you can present. If you’ve got a million YouTube hits, someone should be taking notice of you. Thousands of Twitter followers? That’s a great start. Simply being a great music entrepreneur can drive you into some amazing opportunities all on it’s own. And while this may be obvious, it may NOT be what you’re currently focusing on. More on this in a later article. Suffice it to say, get great, and get great at touting your greatness.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas about where to start when it comes to getting your music licensed – keep the questions coming (the GOOD questions!) and don’t forget to follow me on twitter.

If you’re REALLY serious about getting your music licensed, subscribe to my newsletter for a free 8-part how-to course, music publishing 101 audio download, and more!

Should You Choose An Exclusive Contract To Get Your Music Licensed?

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Previously I discussed some of the pros and cons of signing a non-exclusive contract to get your music licensed. It’s definitely an interesting option and can provide a lot of opportunity. But before you go uploading your music to Pump Audio, why not consider all options?

Always consider all sides of the story...

Exclusive deals can be very rewarding experiences not just from a monetary stand point (though that’s certainly nice), but also from an artistic one. However, they’re definitely not as easy to come by and there can be other drawbacks to signing on with a major publisher or label.

Let’s check out a the pros

Pros:

  • Perceived Value is Higher
  • Retain Greater Performance Royalties
  • Better Synch Fees
  • Better Percentages
  • Creative Control

It all starts with perceived value

When I was pitching music for ads at a music library it was usually a struggle to get them to consider a library song versus a commercial track. In most cases I got the phone call only when the budget was low and not before.

Was the music quality THAT much different between the two tracks? Generally speaking, no. In many cases you could easily send a library track and commercial track and save for the name attached to it have no idea which was which. That’s the power of perceived value; big money opportunities are more available.

Performance royalties, sync fees, and percentages…

The number 1 fantastic thing about an exclusive deal is that all fees and percentages are negotiable. It doesn’t matter if you’re U2 or You Who?, you too (see what I did there?) CAN negotiate to some extent (and I’ll talk about how to do that as a little guy in a future article).

The bottom line is: any additional percentage you can get negotiate pays dividends.

Negotiate. Always.

Creative control

For the most part music doesn’t get pitched for political or religious advertisements just out of principle. However, how stoked would you be if your song got placed in an ad for a discount furniture store? If your answer is “ehhh,” that should be a clue about which contract to pursue.

Think of all the products you see at your local drug store and if any of those (like adult diapers or prescription drugs) are not something you’d want to attach your music to, then creative control is an important thing for you. You also get the opportunity to turn down jobs that don’t pay enough (you hoity-toity art-nerd).

Looking at the list initially it may seem like a no-brainer – hit the pavement and get after a major label or publisher. But hold on, there are some cons to consider before you go hucking your wares to Universal.

Cons:

  • Difficult to secure
  • Lost in the shuffle
  • Are they pro-active?
  • Organization

Don’t overlook how difficult it can be

It can take years. In fact they can just not happen at all. However they DO still happen and they are out there. If you decide to go for it, do it with all your heart and soul. Just know that like anything worth having, it is tough work!

Lost in the shuffle

Major labels and publishers have some pretty amazing music to tout when it comes to placing music in film, TV, and advertising. On top of that, they also have a ton of other music that is maybe not so amazing, but that they still need to make money on.

For that reason its possible you’ll get lost among the other artists in the catalog. You might make the same case for non-exclusive style companies, but keep reading as the next two items are what REALLY separates the wheat from the chaff.

Are they pro-active?

Many companies are changing but still far too many wait for the phone to ring or depend on clients to reach out to them. So sure, they may get a call when someone has $200K to spend on a Super Bowl spot, but guess which artists get first dibs on that kind of money? So if you’re not a superstar, you need to MAKE SURE the company you’re signing with is abreast of as many opportunities, large and small, as possible.

Don't let your publisher or label be lazy!

Organization

They’re not sure who wrote what, they don’t have useful systems in place to help them find the right music, and maybe they don’t even know who represents the other side of the sync placement. Yikes. This means you could miss an opportunity simply because the company doesn’t know some critical business facet. Some entities really have it together, and some can barely make it to work.

In the end, whichever route you decide to go just be aware of the potential caveats. Now there are more and more people offering services and opportunities to up-and-coming writers. If you do your homework, chances are you can land somewhere that will be a great fit!

As always please leave a comment with your own stories. I’m always looking to hear more about your experience and answer questions!