The power of sync: making an artist
Music plays a vital role in film, television, commercials, and even video games. Without the perfect song placement, an entire storyline or mood can be altered. Many artists have risen to stardom after getting a sync placement in a major television series or movie.
In recent years, the increase of streaming services has created a surge in music licensing, which has contributed to the discovery of new (and nearly forgotten) artists. Having a successful placement in media can result in an increase in Shazams, audio streams, and social media followers, bringing your music to the attention of a broader audience.
Michael Kiwanuka: Big Little Lies (case study)
It all started with a sync placement for artist, Michael Kiwanuka. By securing a song placement in the opening credits of the HBO miniseries, Big Little Lies, Kiwanuka reached mainstream success.
With the sync placement and the help of Shazam, Kiwanuka’s career took off. Before the series, Kiwanuka averaged 50 artists station adds on Pandora per day, and after the series, the average increased to over 55 per day, which landed the track on Shazam’s United States Top 100 chart every week during the release of the series.
Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” has nearly 300 million streams on Spotify. With Shazam, social media, and streaming, the power of sync can make an artist’s career.
Labrinth: Euphoria (case study)
Labrinth is a prime example of an artist that reached new heights in his career due to sync placements. Music supervisor, Jen Malone, worked with Labrinth for his career-altering soundtrack for the award-winning HBO series, Euphoria.
Before creating the soundtrack for Euphoria’s second season, Labrinth was an underrated artist. The soundtrack resulted in Labrinth rising to stardom as he is considered to have “Superstar” status and an engaged audience on DSPs, social media, and YouTube (Chartmetric).
With the series appealing to younger audiences, the popularity of the show and soundtrack led the audience straight to TikTok where they incorporated Labrinth’s music in their posts. During the release of Euphoria, Labrinth had multiple songs that exploded on the app.
On TikTok alone, Labrinth’s songs were used in millions of posts, with “Forever” being included in nearly 4 million posts (Chartmetric). Millions of people spread the word of Euphoria and Labrinth on social media, which simultaneously contributed to the undeniable success of the show and artist.
Kate Bush: Stranger Things (case study)
Sync placements have the ability to revive established artists that no longer release music. ‘80s artist, Kate Bush, was rediscovered and able to reach new audiences more recently with a sync placement that landed her at the top of the charts.
In 2022, an episode of Netflix’s Stranger Things (supervised by Nora Felder) included Kate Bush’s 1985 hit song, “Running Up That Hill.” With the show’s popularity, the song blew up and went viral on TikTok, which contributed to millions of posts that feature the track and resulted in the song accumulating nearly 1 billion streams on Spotify. Bush is considered to be at the “Legendary” level of her career stage, while having steady growth. (Chartmetric).
Radio stations began to pick up the song, and now, Kate Bush is receiving royalties nearly 40 years after the track was released. Bush continues to move up on the charts based on data from Chartmetric. The skyrocketed popularity of the sync placement also created a surge of sync placements of Kate Bush’s music.
The Role Technology Plays In Sync
Television and streaming services play an important role in the discovery of new artists. With a song placement in a major television series or movie, new artists can be exposed to an audience of millions of people. In a way, sync placements take on a form of marketing, by providing exposure to current, new, and even previously popular artists.
The advent of streaming services and social media platforms have further amplified the reach and impact of music in media, enabling viral trends and increasing an artist’s exposure and success. As storytelling becomes more complex, music is a way to tell the story, set the mood, and get the message across the audience.
Social Media and Sync
Additionally, the rising popularity of social media has affected the way music is selected. When discovering a new artist, there is potential that the song placement can go viral on various mediums, which may contribute to the number of viewers of the project. With technology advancing and social media growing, music consumption behaviors change depending on the latest platforms and trends.
The rise of social media has contributed to the way that songs go viral on social media platforms, which also boosts stream plays, word-of-mouth marketing, and revenue. Music supervisors are closely paying attention to upcoming trends to incorporate particular music in television series and movies.
the role of the music supervisor
From artist popularity to project budget, there are multiple factors that music supervisors consider before determining which music is chosen for synchronization. Music supervisors receive endless music submissions from independent artists, record labels, publishers, and music licensing companies on a daily basis.
Sometimes the perfect song for a placement falls on their laps, and other times, music supervisors have to use their extensive knowledge of music across genres, regions, and decades to find the perfect fit. A song could make or break a scene in a television series or film.
The goal of a music supervisor is to determine the best track that will elevate the scene, convey the message, and assist with storytelling, while staying within budget. In certain instances, directors and producers may be involved in the music selection process based on the script.
Licensing fees may be negotiated to fit the budget. If a project wants to feature a popular song that will consume over half of the budget, then music supervisors may learn towards using music from independent artists for the remainder of the project. Prices vary on the artist, label, and publishing company. Sync fees are usually between $15,000 and $60,000, but there are certain instances where a song placement can cost half a million dollars. AC/DCs “Thunderstruck” licensing fee costs $500,000, making it the most expensive sync placement.
Typically, licensing agreements include a fee as Most Favored Nations (MFN), which ensures that all rights holders (publishing and master) receive the same fee for the licensing of the song (Universal Music Publishing). The licensing fee also depends on the length of the use of the song. Licensing fees vary on the usage of the song and if it is used as background music, a montage scene, opening credits/theme song, or end credits.
Music supervisors are able to negotiate the fee with record labels and publishing companies, but even with the best negotiation skills, some songs are non-licensable. For example, Led Zeppelin refuse to license their hit song, “Stairway to Heaven,” while charging millions for other sync placements, making it nearly impossible to license a Zeppelin song.
Music supervision is a vital aspect of the entertainment industry. The proper placement of songs can significantly impact the storyline, mood, and overall success of a project. Sync placements have the power to launch the careers of artists, as seen with Michael Kiwanuka’s breakthrough with Big Little Lies and Labrinth’s rise to stardom with the Euphoria soundtrack.
Sync placements can revive the popularity of established artists, such as Kate Bush, by gaining immense streams and attention after being featured in Stranger Things. The role of music supervision continues to evolve and shape the way we discover, consume, and connect with music in the modern era of listening.
Resources
Chartmetric (2023). Michael Kiwanuka. Retrieved from https://app.chartmetric.com/artist?id=3965
Chartmetric (2023). Labrinth. Retrieved from https://app.chartmetric.com/artist?id=3696
Chartmetric (2023). Kate Bush. Retrieved from https://app.chartmetric.com/artist?id=105703#aboutArtist