Syncing to Sell!
As an artist in the business, you need to think about how to monetize your music over various platforms.
Syncing and placement opportunities within film, television, commercials – or any media platform can not only help launch your career and evolve you to a more known artist … but can also be very beneficial financially!
I have a saying that I like to use… “If your song gets played at a wedding…chances are it is a hit and chances are people know who you are.”
Songs like these are typically written with intention for the masses, and will have that instant attraction when heard for the first time.
Majority of these types of hit songs are well structured with a pop derivative and have incredibly memorable hooks – both lyrically and in their arrangements.
They are simple yet clever. Overall – they’re really catchy, connective and/ or very emotional.
Chances are that if you’ve had, or had, a universal hit… your song was used or will be used within a commercial, film, television, social media effort, or any other media outlet – in order to promote a product or endorse a scripted moment.
Think of these examples from 80s break-through bands like Simple Minds; Depeche Mode in the Brat Pack ; John Hughes’ films.
That led to rising artist Kenny Loggins in Top Gun and Footloose.
Then, The Goo Goo Dolls with Iris.. followed by indie “virtually unknowns’ like The Lumineers in “The Silver Linings Playbook” or Snow Patrol in “Grey’s Anatomy.”
These are some of the very few examples of artists, where their careers were launched to another level from syncing!
Oh…and let’s not forget what happened to Journey’s Top 80’s Hit “Don’t Stop Believing” when used in the series finale episode of The Sopranos… it became the most bought and/or downloaded song in the 20th century!
Many artists got their initial boost, or were at least shot higher up the flagpole, by having a song that was synced and connected with the masses.
The point is – Don’t be afraid to write or edit a song that might give you this mass opportunity. It’s not selling out, it’s selling more… to more!
Cheers,
Cheryl Benson-Guanci