Submitting Music for Sync Licensing? Remember Instrumentals

Always remember instrumental when you submit music for sync licensing. Here’s why:

Let’s say you come across a licensing opportunity on our Wanted Listings asking for an Electro-Pop Anthemic Piece, à la M83 — Instrumental Only. Awesome! You happen to have the perfect track…only it contains vocals. The time it takes to retrieve instrumentals from your producer can be the difference between you landing that awesome Apple commercial or being passed up for another song, and not necessarily one they dig as much as yours. This is a disappointing and stressful scenario which we would like to help you avoid at all costs. It starts with never underplaying the importance of Instrumentals when submitting music for sync licensing.

Every Music Supervisor needs instrumentals at their disposal. The majority of licenses that occur in big premium spots (TV, advertisements, commercials, film, etc.) are instrumental tracks. This is due to the fact that Supervisors are often looking for tracks to create a vibe and energy without vocals competing with the message the actors or voiceover are trying to convey. This doesn’t mean you won’t have a chance for those awesome vocals to shine in the right opportunity, it just means having your instrumental mixes ready to go will increase your chances of a sync tenfold. Music licensing is all about giving yourself the best chance to succeed. So be prepared — let your music do the work for you and get those instrumentals uploaded!

A few thoughts on instrumentals from our experts:

Erin Dillon (Power, Siesta Key, Madea Family Funeral) Director of Creative Services

“It’s always important to upload instrumentals with your vocal tracks, because editors often need to navigate around dialogue in a scene. Your instrumental track is essential in getting your music licensed so that music supervisors can provide their editors with the best resources in cutting around a scene.”

Eric Medina (Fenty, Charly, Sundance Films, Goldie) Music Coordinator

“Look, Music Supervisors and Editors need instrumental versions, plain and simple. Sometimes due to editing around dialogue, other times they really only want the instrumental. This doubles your chances! And while on the subject — clean versions of songs are required for commercials and TV shows.”

Samie Schilling (Spider-Man: Homecoming, American Crime Story, Life in Pieces) Director of Creative and Business Development

“At Songtradr, we want the artist to succeed, and by submitting instrumentals, artists are giving us the most powerful tool — a chance to successfully pitch your content. Instrumentals are a pivotal part of pitching. More often than we can count, Music Supervisors from all audio visual ecosystems request instrumentals for sync (from major advertising campaigns to a background scene at a café in Paris). Making sure we have instrumentals available can be what locks a placement.”

How to Upload Instrumentals >