{"id":8381,"date":"2015-10-16T02:08:54","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T02:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/syncsummit.com\/?page_id=8381"},"modified":"2017-05-28T11:56:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-28T16:56:38","slug":"rep","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/syncsummit.com\/rep\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you need a sync agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

At our SyncSummits, o<\/span>ne of the main issues speakers discussed and attendees asked about was how participants at the event can best get their music into the ears of a music supervisor, ad agency producer or brand manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer? Get a sync agent\u00a0And I agree.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

I say this for several reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, for most artists, the logistical and marketing details of pitching are time-consuming and overly complicated.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Proper pitching \u2013 and preparing for it, takes a lot of time and effort as well as a completely different skillset outside music that, let\u2019s face it, a lot of artists don\u2019t possess.\u00a0 For the ones that do, great.\u00a0 But for most, you\u2019re better off sticking to your musical day job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second<\/strong>, and this is probably even more important, every hour you spend trying to figure out metadata, cue sheets, clearance splits and the like, let alone trying to get into the mindset and the needs of every music supervisor is an hour you\u2019re taking away from composing, making and perfecting your art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, and this is most important<\/strong> \u2013 the people you want to use your music just don\u2019t have the time, as much as they want to, to listen to and evaluate the ownership and clearability of every track provided to them by people they don\u2019t know and haven\u2019t worked with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Music Supervisors and ad producers want to go to the people they know \u2013 people who make their jobs easier \u2013 people who have made it their main job to make sure when a brief is sent out will present them with the right music, fully cleared and with the proper metadata.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what you\u2019re up against when you\u2019re a musician pitching your own music \u2013 a complicated submission process that takes time away from your art only to present to people who for the most part are reluctant to or simply cannot spend the time and effort needed to take on and evaluate music from the 500 or so artists who submit music to them on a daily basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what are you to do?\u00a0 Get an agent\u00a0\u2013 someone or a company to represent you to the music buying community.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Simple as that.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you choose to promote your music yourself to music buyers, I urge you to look for a company or person that can help you get your music placed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s four important reasons why.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Music supervisors and ad producers prefer working with dedicated sync agents.<\/strong><\/span>
    \n This is by far the most important reason. Over and over and over again, for years, in private and in public, this is all I hear from the people you want to buy and use your music.<\/span><\/span>In fact, many of them just won\u2019t even consider submissions from individual musicians or people they don\u2019t know.<\/span>Why?\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of time and reliability.\u00a0 These are people with serious time, budget and legal constraints. They just don\u2019t have the time to listen to every track submitted to them.<\/span><\/span>And, even if they do listen to unsolicited submissions (many do), they often don\u2019t want to go through the time and trouble of making sure the music is properly cleared from a legal point of view.<\/span><\/p>\n

    But there\u2019s more to it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Buyers know dedicated sync agents know the buyer\u2019s projects and needs and will submit music for a brief that\u2019s on point for a project.\u00a0 And, buyers know good sync agents will make sure the rights are properly cleared, that the music will be delivered on time and on budget. The business of the sync agent depends on it, and the buyers know that.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/li>\n

  2. Good sync agents can make sure your music is properly labeled and cleared.
    \n<\/strong>This takes a lot of pressure off of you to make sure all the various elements of your music\u2019s labelling \u2013 from the assurance that all the rights are properly cleared (sync and publishing) to the metadata to the types of licenses are actually doable. It\u2019s part of their job, and because they do it day-in, day out, they know what to do to prepare music for the needs of a buyer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. They are your knowledgeable, objective advocate to the buyer community.
      \n<\/strong>This is crucial. They will look at your music from an objective point of view \u2013 and pitch it accordingly. A good agent\u00a0will make sure your music is presented not only the right way to the right people, but at the right time for the right project.<\/span><\/span>For example, if you\u2019re a hip-hop artist, they won\u2019t send blind submissions to a show like Nashville.\u00a0 I see artists make bad submissions like this all the time.<\/span><\/span>I mean seriously, if you see a show like Empire where they use urban music, ask yourself, as good as your \u00a0hard rock song is, what do you honestly think the chances are it will actually be listened to or used for a show like that?<\/span><\/p>\n

      I can tell you.\u00a0 Slim to none.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

      But still artists make these bad submission choices because they are looking at their music as the amazing music it may be in a general sense when it\u2019s completely wrong for a project they\u2019ve submitted it to.<\/span><\/p>\n

      A good agent will never do that.\u00a0 They know that the objective in pitching a piece of music is to help a music buyer, and that mean\u2019s they\u2019ll follow a brief and submit or pitch music that fills a need the music buyer has.<\/span>And having this kind of knowledge and expertise on your side will not only make sure your music is presented when it\u2019s right for a project, but if it is placed in a project, they\u2019ll do so in a way that gets you the best possible deal.<\/span><\/li>\n

    2. A percentage of something is a hell of a lot better than all of nothing.
      \n<\/strong>What I mean by this is that you may have to give up part of your sync fees, but with a decent agent, you\u2019re a lot more likely to get them, and if you\u2019re already getting them, you\u2019ll get more of them than you do on your own. A good agent is totally worth your money.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      So if you\u2019re following me so far, then the next question is, if you don\u2019t already have a agent, how do you go about getting one?<\/span><\/p>\n

      Getting a Good\u00a0Agent<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

      I\u2019ll give you a list of some companies you can start looking into to help you at the end of the article, but before that, I\u2019d like to give you a few pointers of what you should do before you engage with a sync agent.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \u00a0Research
        \n<\/strong>That\u2019s the biggest point. Go on the Internet, ask around, see who your peers have repping them and who is repping the kind of music you create in general.\u00a0 Then contact the company directly, ask them what kind of music they represent, what their revenue splits are, who they work with, submit some music to them and see if there\u2019s a potential to work together, then if it\u2019s right, engage with them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Choose Wisely.
        \n<\/strong>I mean this in two ways \u2013 once you have done your research, make your decision to work with someone who could be a real advocate for your music and has access to the buyer community.<\/span><\/span>And, don\u2019t spread your music all over the place \u2013 you don\u2019t need to sign up with every single service or agent out there \u2013 pick 1-2 max that you think can work with \u2013 and give them time to try to find you some projects.\u00a0 Music buyers don\u2019t like it when they have music pitched from too many sources \u2013 it\u2019s time consuming and annoying.\u00a0 Sort of defeats the point of having a agent in the first place.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Exclusive or Non-Exclusive? You Decide.
        \n<\/strong>There\u2019s some debate to this \u2013 some agents will tell you you need to go exclusive with them, that it insures that they will be better advocates and that you\u2019ll be seen in a better light by buyers.<\/span><\/span>And, while I can see their point to some degree, I\u2019m not an advocate of going exclusive in this world, unless someone\u2019s investing in you with their money.<\/span><\/span>In my opinion,\u00a0going non-exclusive is more in your interest \u2013 for example, what if one agent is really connected at ad agencies and one is deep in film and TV \u2013 how much sense does it make for you to be tied to a agent that can do a good job in one area and not another?<\/span><\/p>\n

        To me, not much.<\/h3>\n

        That said, it does make sense to not compete against yourself \u2013 if someone is repping you in film and TV, let them have a chance to do their job.\u00a0 Same if you have someone repping you for ads, don\u2019t sign up with four companies because you heard each one has a brand or an agency they are close to.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        So my personal opinion is, exclusivity in one area \u2013 perhaps an agent\u00a0heavy in film\/TV, one in ads\/brands and one that\u2019s more international.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        And now some recommendations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

        There are a lot of companies out there I think are fantastic and can really help you connect your music to projects, music supervisors, ad producers and brands.\u00a0 I do a little repping myself now and then, so you can always contact me directly and we can talk, but this article isn\u2019t about me, it\u2019s about you and giving you a range of resources to choose from.<\/span><\/p>\n

        So in no particular order, and with only some basic information (really, you need to do the research yourself on whether these companies are right for you), here\u2019s a few companies that can rep your music and do it well, whether it\u2019s custom or tracks you want to license.<\/span><\/p>\n

        They are no means the only people out there, and there\u2019s a lot of really decent reps and services to get your music out there I didn’t add here<\/span>, but these should get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n