Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of the most commonly asked questions I receive on a daily and weekly basis. In order to help you achieve your goals as quickly as possible, please take a moment to review the answers to these questions.

I get this request a lot, but it's impossible for me to accommodate everyone who wants to hop on a call and talk about sync licensing.  That's precisely why I started Master Music Licensing.  To help you, I have two options.  The first one is free:

• My Blog.  There are over 100 sync-related blogs and videos Posted to This Site.  These were created for the sole purpose of giving you some action steps to immediately start licensing your songs.  There's a nifty search function on this blog page that will allow you to search through every blog/video based on the topic you have a question about.

• Master Music Licensing Course.  This program is the full music licensing framework from start to finish.  It's the exact process I've used to generate over 2500 placements myself, and it's the exact process my students are using to generate hundreds of placements for themselves.

The Master Music Licensing Course is the fastest, most thorough, and cost effective opportunity you have to work with me to learn everything about how to successfully license YOUR music to TV Shows, Films & Commercials.

Since I don’t know the first thing about your specific catalog of songs (style, genre, etc), it's impossible to recommend a particular supervisor or library that your music is best suited for.  I would actually be doing you a disservice by simply saying, 'send your music here.'

The whole purpose of Master Music Licensing is to show YOU how to find the ideal end users and outlets that will generate sync placements for your music.  This will allow you to retain control through the entire process of licensing your songs.

[LINK] What Every Musician Ought To Know About Music Supervisors & Music Libraries

If you want to earn a consistent income with your music, then licensing is the ideal path for you.  It's one of the very last outlets we, as independent musicians, have available to us to profit from our music, and the income it generates far outweighs that from streaming.

However, when you’re licensing your music, it’s essential to realize that you are NOT working in the Music Industry.  You’re working in the TV Industry, the Film Industry, the Commercial/Ads/Promo Industry, and the Video Game Industry. 

So, how do you avoid giving up the rights to your music?  By understanding how these other industries utilize your music.  You must know the difference between a Sync License, a Mechanical License, Songwriter, Publisher, and Master Rights, as well as what specific clauses are essential to include and avoid in every licensing contract.

I’ll shoot straight with you, there’s a lot to this.  I don’t want you to give up the rights to your music either.  That’s one of the reasons why I created the Master Music Licensing Course.  It’s the full music licensing framework from start to finish. 

If you want to start licensing your songs, but are afraid that you’ll make a mistake and give up the rights to your songs forever, then you need to enroll in the course so you can learn all the ins and outs of this highly profitable business, while at the same time protecting your rights to your music.

You can login to the course at any time at:  www.mastermusiclicensing.com/login

Make sure to use the e-mail address you signed up for the program with.  We've found that the #1 reason people have trouble logging in is because they initially subscribed to my e-mail list with one e-mail address, but then used a second e-mail address to sign up for the program.  

Here is a quick video that will show you where to find the login link and/or how to reset your password, so you can quickly login and access the program at any time.

[VIDEO] How to Reset Your Password

This is a fantastic question, and I totally get it.  It’s helpful to know exact amounts so you can plan accordingly, but the honest answer is it’s not that simple. 

Let me start by being 100% honest with you.  Even for me, it’s hard to predict how much each royalty check, or sync fee, will be.  There are just too many variables that enter into the equation.  But once you gain a full understanding of them, you will be better equipped to generate the highest rates possible.

Here are some links worth checking out for more on these variables:

[LINK] How Much Can You Expect To Earn From One Song Placement?

[VIDEO] 1 Song, 2 Chords, Over $20,000 in Royalties

[VIDEO] 5-Figure Placements in Less Than a Year

To give you an idea of what's truly possible, I know many musicians who make multiple six figures licensing their songs. 

I also know one writer in particular who will tell you if he makes less than seven figures, he’s had a bad year. 

However, I also know incredibly talented musicians who don’t make anything licensing their music, because they haven't taken the time to learn what goes into successfully licensing their music.  They approach the licensing industry in the same way they approach the music industry... They "blast" music supervisors with their music, and hope for the best. Unfortunately, this approach will never work in their favor.

Licensing your music isn’t a get rich quick scheme (although it's much better than a stay poor slowly scheme).  Sync licensing is a great way to methodically build a highly profitable, consistent and reliable income stream doing what you love - writing music!

Module 4 of the Master Music Licensing Course is the most extensive series of lessons on metadata that you will ever encounter - and it’s why I’ve had so many successful students!

There’s a lot to licensing your music, and Metadata is one key component where, without it, you’re dead in the water.  But remember, it’s just one component, and we spend a LOT of time on every aspect of metadata inside this course.

I know I sound like a broken record because I say this often, but when you’re licensing your music, you’re no longer working in the music industry.  You’re working in the TV Industry, the Film Industry, the Commercial / Promo / Ad Industry, and the Video Game Industry.  The end users of your music - music supervisors, music editors, re-recording mixers, etc. - NEED your music delivered to them in an entirely different way than what we have all become accustomed to within the traditional Music Industry, and Metadata is just one very important component of it.

I love that you're taking the initiative to contact supervisors!!  But first let me ask you this… If a music supervisor called you right now and wanted to license one of your songs, could you confidently read, understand and negotiate that contract yourself within the next 2 to 3 hours? 

The deadlines in the world of music licensing are very real.  You’re not going to have 3 or 4 days to meet with a lawyer, go over the contract, get back to the supervisor, etc… You likely have just a matter of hours to negotiate and secure the license.

If you’re just interested in finding music supervisors who are looking for music in the style that you write, that’s very easy, just read THIS BLOG.

But let me caution you...The reason why many musicians fail at licensing their music is because they don't fully understand, or have experience with, the entire licensing process.  For that reason alone, many music supervisors will not even work with them.  That's why you hear a lot of musicians complain that they sent their music to a music supervisor, but never heard back.  This is obvious to any music supervisor in just the first sentence or two of a cold e-mail.  Their job is to clear multiple rights, with the multiple rights holders, of a song, and if you don't understand all these rights, a music supervisor will quickly move on to someone who does - it's not their job to teach you.

If you’re serious about making a career out of representing your songs directly to music supervisors, then you NEED to learn the licensing business inside and out… That’s what the Master Music Licensing Course is for. 

Module 6 of the Master Music Licensing Course is a deep dive into sync contracts - what to always request, and what to always avoid.  I also include downloadable contracts in this module of the course, however I will not send a contract to anyone who has not gone through the course, as each specific licensing contract is different.  The reality is that if you're asking this question, you most likely don't know what to look for, and what to avoid, to start with.  The profitability (or non-profitability) of your specific licensing agreement comes down to the contracts you sign.  Learning the ins and outs of licensing contracts is just as important as learning the 4 step process - both of which are full covered, and available for you, in the Master Music Licensing Course.   

The core content of the Master Music Licensing Course is broken down into 41 Lessons spread over 7 Modules.  

In addition to the core course, there's Over 20 Hours of BONUS CONTENT that you'll get when you enroll in the course.  This Bonus Content is continually added to throughout the year as well.

The amount of lessons in this course is really secondary to the results you'll get FROM this course.  I've included everything I know about licensing into this course - it is my exact process.  I can confidently say with 100% assurance that the success I've had is a direct result of my process - the exact process I teach you in this course.

Unlike many other courses, there is no time limit on how long you have access to the Master Music Licensing Course

Once you enroll, you will have access to it, as well as all the bonus content, including the Private Music Licensing Mastermind Group, forever.

I'm happy to listen to your music, and give you feedback in the Private Music Licensing Mastermind Group that you get to be a part of when you enroll in the Master Music Licensing Course. However, this is no longer a service that I offer to anyone outside of the program... and I will tell you why:

There is no point taking the time to listen and discuss your songs when you still won't have a process to get your songs licensed after our meeting.  That's the entire purpose of the Master Music Licensing Course, and it's why I now only spend time listening to the songs from those who are in the program, are already committed to getting their music licensed, and have a process that will allow them to accomplish that goal.

I’m sorry, I don’t rep other people’s music. 

My entire reason for the Master Music Licensing Course, is to give independent musicians the knowledge and skillset to take back control over their career. 

What you're referring to here are mechanical rights vs. sync rights. 

This is a key difference between Sync Licensing and the Traditional Music Industry that we are all familiar with.

Dealing with Mechanicals are ultimately the role of a record label, and a music library is not taking on the role of a record label.  You're granting them the exclusive right to represent your music for sync placements.  

However, every single company's business model is different.  This is where it's essential that you read and understand what is outlined in each contract you sign. 

There is also an entire module in the Master Music Licensing Course where we dissect licensing and administrative contracts, and pull them apart paragraph by paragraph. 

After going through this module, you will know how to read, interpret, and negotiate every contract that you're offered, so there is never a concern regarding who controls the  rights to your music.

Yes, I do all the production and engineering on my tracks.  I’m a big advocate of musicians getting comfortable with the process of recording themselves.  Not only will it save you an exorbitant amount of money, but having the ability to produce professional sounding recordings from your own home is creatively rewarding beyond words.

When it comes to building a career licensing your songs, my philosophy is simple… Consistent Placements = Consistent Income.  There are a lot of videos and courses online that will teach you the process of recording, and with a little focused energy, you’ll be confidently up and running in just a matter of days.

 

Here is a video where I go through my entire recording rig and discuss the reasons WHY I use each specific piece of gear.

Take A Peek Inside My Home Studio

To clarify, the Master License has to be obtained through whoever owns the Master Recording.  If you’re signed to a record label, then chances are the masters are owned by the label.  However, if you’re a self-financed independent artist, then you most likely control your masters. 

If that’s the case, then you are responsible for negotiating and securing the master license.

The same is true with publishing.

As with anything in the licensing realm, there’s always just a little more to it - especially when high-dollar contracts come into play.  This is exactly what we cover in great detail in the Master Music Licensing Course.

Because of the success I've had licensing my own songs, musicians are always asking me to license their music for them.  Stopping my own songwriting / composing career to represent the music of other musicians is of zero interest to me, as I'm sure it would be to you. 

That's exactly why I created Master Music Licensing - to teach serious independent musicians how to consistently license their songs, and retain complete control of their music throughout the process (ie: not sign their life and music away to some unscrupulous company in perpetuity and earn no money in the process).

As they say, 'give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'

My mission here is to teach you how to license your music for a lifetime.

I've read literally hundreds of contracts, not only for myself, but also for my close friends... While I'm extremely confident in my abilities to read and interpret any legally-binding sync contract, I'm not a lawyer, and therefore cannot give legal advice to anyone who I don't know on a deep, personal basis.

But here's the good news - Sync contracts are not difficult to fully interpret and understand.  You don't need a high-priced lawyer to do this for you. 

For the same price (or even less) than you'd pay a lawyer to read through just 1 contract, you can enroll in the Master Music Licensing Course and learn exactly how to read and interpret every single licensing contract you get from this moment forward. 

Module 6 in the course is dedicated specifically to Contracts. 

After going through just this 1 module alone, you will have a thorough understanding of every possible clause and term that will ever be presented to you in a licensing contract.  This will allow you to save thousands upon thousands of dollars in lawyer fees throughout your entire sync licensing career.

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