When I started working seriously on production music, I was looking for opportunities to get tracks placed. Fair enough. But some of the changes that helped the most were actually in how I prepared the music before sending it to anyone.
You can spend weeks on a composition and then make things unnecessarily difficult for whoever is reviewing it. Missing instrumentals, unclear ownership, samples you can't clear, track names that mean something to you but nothing to a music supervisor. All these little things add friction.
First, work out exactly who controls the music.
For most sync uses, there's a composition side and a master recording side. Those are different rights. If a supervisor wants to use a recording in a television programme, the necessary permissions generally need to cover both. If you're collaborating with artists, producers or songwriters, this matters long before somebody says they're interested in the track.
Then make the files easy to work with.
I like having the full mix, instrumental and useful alternate versions where they make sense, plus metadata that isn't a puzzle. I'm also careful about titles and versions because it's surprisingly easy to lose track when you've made hundreds of pieces of music.
It isn't about making everything sound safe or identical. I still want to experiment. The idea is to remove the administrative obstacles so the actual music gets a fair listen.
And be honest about what you're submitting.
If the brief is asking for something soulful and understated, sending the loudest, hardest composition you made that morning probably isn't helping. You want to understand how the music is going to sit against dialogue and picture. A good track can still be the wrong track for a particular brief.
It also takes time to see what is working. I'm constantly reviewing my catalogue, noticing which tracks find uses and which never really get going. Some of the most useful lessons have come from comparing those outcomes instead of assuming all music has the same chance.
Need help figuring out your next move?
I do one-on-one conversations about catalogues, pitching and how to prepare music for sync. Bring a few tracks, questions or an existing submission plan and we can work through it.
General music-industry guidance, not a legal opinion or a guarantee of placement. This article is a companion to the video, not a claim to reproduce its exact transcript.