Sync Writing Basics
Not every songwriter needs to pen songs for pop stars in order to have a successful and fulfilling career. Many professional songwriters exclusively write songs for advertisement and televison. Rather than earn money from high streaming numbers, these writers obtain “synchronization licenses,” which is essentially a fee for the use of a song in a piece of media. This style of writing is called sync and those who pen this type of music are called sync writers. This genre of music has its own set of guiding principles that should inform how a writer goes about their business. Let’s review a few today.
Avoid certain words or ideas. Unlike an artist’s music - which is a rule free space guided by artistic intention - sync music has an objective: obtain sync licenses. In order to do so, writers need to avoid certain words and ideas. Words like “baby” or “darling” are automatic no’s generally. Hard specifics like location (New York City, Wyoming) or timestamps (autumn, 2014) should be substituted for generalities (anywhere, everywhere, all the time). Names (Michael, Julie) need not appear when you can substitute them for pronouns (her, her, they, you, we, etc).
Include multiple musical sections. Sync music is fun to write because it demands that you include very different sections in your songs. A rapped verse, a gospel-ish pre-chorus, a chanted chorus, a musical into and outro motif, and a drum + bass post-chorus can all be fit into a sync song. Music supervisors are looking for options when they hear a song. So, give them what they want.
Thematically, sync songs deal in different topics than artist songs. When penning songs for an artist project, you can write autobiographical material about whatever you want! When penning a sync song, you need to start from a place of addressing a theme you might hear in an advertisement. Easy sync themes include togetherness, community, winning, family, travel, self-love, empowerment, power, and happiness. If you build a catalogue that addresses themes like this, you’ll be more likely to secure a sync.
Ultimately, these guiding principles are not hard and fast rules. You’ll hear songs in advertisements and television that break these rules. That said, these are a good place to start when penning a sync song. If you’d like to go the extra mile, pull up some of your favorite advertisements on YouTube and dissect the way that music is working in these pieces of media. Then, take what you’ve learned and apply is back into your own songs.
Happy sync writing everybody!
