Have you ever had the experience of watching a new Netflix series or tv show for the first time and from the first few seconds of the opening song you’re already completely immersed in the world you are entering?! It’s like the song completely captures the mood and feel of the visual journey you’re about to go on? I remember the first time I watched the series “Big Little Lies” and immediately upon watching the first few seconds of the opening song I said to myself “this…is…a…VIBE.” A few days later I went out and bought Michael Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” on vinyl and played it incessantly for weeks straight. Every time I watched an episode of the series I would be equally as excited to hear the song. It so perfectly embodied the feeling of the series and the song itself really resonated with me. 

Thats the magic of sync licensing at its best. 

It can be challenging to find ways to make money to support your artistry when starting out as a singer-songwriter…tours are hard to plan, gigs competitive to land and sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged. But this is an option that may provide hope. You may not land the the jackpot right away like Michael Kiwanuka…but you’ll still get a decent cheque in the mailbox. 

Sync licensing is one of the better ways for local artists to make money these days. Many BC singer-songwriters, myself included, will even target a specific genre or style of music when writing because it may end up being a good choice to send to a sync licensing company for review (and there’s nothing wrong with that!)

Sending songs out is the easy part, getting them chosen is the hard one. With the environment so competitive in BC with tons of film and tv production around the city, it’s more WHO you know than where you send your music.

However there are some ways for new local artists to get started on their own without needing the help of label, management or connections and that mainly consists of submitting your music to an online music library.

Here’s how you can get started: