Opening the Door to Sync Licensing ft. Marmoset
Marmoset’s Music Licensing Creative, Michelle Goldstein, explains why sync licensing is beneficial to a musician’s career and income.
The life of an artist can feel like a beautiful yet vicious cycle of intensive creating, recording, and touring. It requires an ambitiously determined spirit; the artists who reach a comfortable coasting status through their work’s recognition can finally breathe a little easier. But what if the road to “success” wasn’t such a straight line? It’s not, especially for artists capitalizing on sync licensing.
What is Sync Licensing?
A music synchronization license means an artist can “sell” the usage of their music to be used in media, like TV shows, films, movie trailers, video games, and more. Musicians like Lelia Broussard (SKLLY, Amico Mio) have tapped sync opportunities along the route of becoming an established, touring artist. A collaborator of Marmoset’soriginal music team, while also being featured on their roster of artists, Broussard is no novice to music licensing.
“I first became aware of licensing a long time ago, when the Grey’s Anatomy thing was happening,” says Broussard of the hit show’s reputation for using indie music throughout its episodes. “It gave a voice or platform to a lot of artists and singer-songwriters, and a lot of people were discovering music that way. And to get your song on a show could kind of change your career.”
Broussard has worked with many different licensing and publishing companies throughout the years, creating original songs or curating music to picture. Utilizing sync opportunities not only meant getting paid for her musical work, but being a proactive, working musician who had a higher potential of being heard and, most importantly, discovered.
Taking Ownership of Your Music
Sync licensing is an evolving territory within the music industry that has made huge strides in past decades; the lingering dark cloud of ‘selling out’ has pretty much dissipated. For a lot of earlier iconic artists, licensing wasn’t even a permissible thought, but today artists have figuratively stormed the gates, claiming sync licensing as their own. It’s become an empowering tool; a means of taking more ownership of one’s work, and getting paid for the fruit of their labor.
“Bands used to be super hesitant to license their music,” says Broussard. “Obviously this has changed so much now. A big part of this is because our revenue streams are going down, there are not as many places to make money, and this is one of those few places that you can actually make money as a musician these days.”
In the era of online streaming platforms and declining physical music sales, sync paves the way for musicians and bands to earn a livelihood in music; it’s also a field where artists are changing their approach toward making music. When CD and record sales were once a prominent focus, musicians set their sights on creating an entire album of hits, whereas now syncing a single song under the right distribution terms could guarantee a hefty payout.
But taking this leap toward capitalizing licensing opportunities requires staying sharp and diligent, as any artist should be when stepping into the business side of a competitive industry.
“There are a lot of people and companies out there looking to take advantage of young artists,” says Broussard. “It’s important to be careful entering into any kind of agreement because this can be a lucrative income stream and a passive income stream. You can also make money owning your own publishing and working with companies like Marmoset. Just be wary of what kind of publishing you’re getting into and have a good lawyer because you can always get out of it.”
Know Who and What You’re Working With
Once identifying which publishing or music licensing agency to work with, get to know the team who’s pitching the music. Places like Marmoset have an onsite A&R (artists and repertoire) team who will answer any questions during the on-boarding to roster process. This team also works alongside music licensing coordinators who are doing the actual pitching to clients; they’re on the front lines of music trends and what clients seek in relation to music needs. Essentially, music licensing agencies and music supervisors exist to pitch an artist’s music to big brand campaigns, TV shows, and even film soundtracks; they’re in the trenches of music licensing catalogs, Soundcloud, Spotify, and other corners of the internet to find that perfect song their client is requesting.
For other artists like Sarah DiMuzio (Allebasi, Whim) who divides her time between creating music for herself/fans while fostering her expanding roster of licensable music, she acknowledges there’s a harmony she strives to maintain between the two.
“It can be pretty stressful. Sometimes everything will kind of converge in one week but then things will straighten out,” says DiMuzio. “Getting that balance is key for me, to keep going but stay present so you’re not signing onto too many projects at once.”
Apart from the music she has on Marmoset’s music catalog, DiMuzio often receives creative briefs from music producers and publishers. While it might take hours or days to perfect a song and album under standard recording studio settings, collaborators like DiMuzio endure a quick two day deadline once equipped with the project’s brief. If the first round is well received, it’s common for another round of edits or fine-tuning. And so the cycle repeats.
“Everytime I get a brief, I have to wait and read it at the right time because as soon as I read it, my brain explodes with hundreds of ideas,” says DiMuzio. “If I have two days to write and produce, I love it. It’s almost like a creative high.”
Stay Authentic and Creative
Acknowledging that there’s an undeniable creative side to the sync process, DiMuzio notes her analytical side is what guides her along scoring to picture. “My dad calls me a hybrid because while I’m totally an artist, I’m also really punctual and super organized. I try to pull the best from both and just keep going.”
If artists are up for the enduring, fast-paced nature of the sync beast, they should also keep in mind that it’s important to create authentic content. Creative agencies are often on the hunt for music that carries high production value that still sustains artistic integrity. When submitting music to licensing platforms like Marmoset, providing a lyrical version and strictly instrumental version of a song can hold great benefit—instrumental versions are frequently requested over lyrical due to union laws, or in some cases instrumental is easier to cut to picture in terms of shorter ad placements.
While sync licensing is one way to generate a steady stream of revenue, musicians should approach opportunities as they would any business venture by understanding there will be successes and failures along the way.
“You just have to keep writing. You never know what a song will do, you can’t be attached to the outcome because it’s really not up to the artist,” says Broussard. “Look at Lizzo’s ‘Truth Hurts’—it’s a great example of a song that came out and went to radio like two years ago but didn’t do anything. Now it’s incredible with what’s happened to that song. So learn to let things go, keep writing, don’t stay attached to previous things you’ve written. Even if it feels like no one’s paying attention, keep creating and find the right business people or a good licensing company that believes in what you do.”
A Few Tips to Successfully License Your Music from Marmoset’s Music Licensing Creative, Marissa Hernandez :
Don’t try to create music that other artists already do better. Instead, create something that is a unique expression of you. So many musicians try to write based on what’s trendy, and you can feel that their heart just isn’t in it. Music that has a fresh, interesting perspective is ultimately what does best—because at the end of the day, synching music is about melding two forms of art together in order to tell a story.
You should have hi-res files (WAVs or AIFFs) and instrumental versions for all of your songs. Keeping session files on hand is also extremely helpful.
This is a business, which means networking and behaving professionally are important. The music industry is definitely on the casual side, but if you’re difficult to work with or get a hold of, other people aren’t going to go the extra mile to help your career.
OYSTER FARMERS ALICE & VAN HELKER WITH THE BONA FIDE
Off the beaten path, nestled between the Olympic National Forest and the sweeping shorelines of Hood Canal we find Set & Drift’s basecamp. Apart from the softly glowing string lights resting peacefully in the canopy of 200 year old trees, the early morning light serves as our trusty guide for our descent to the shoreline below.
Once on the sandy shore, Alice and Van Helker, co-owners of Set & Drift wave us over. If it was an early dawn morning, you wouldn't know it the way the two fjord oyster farmers climb aboard their oyster skiff, wading yards away as they begin strategically unclipping oyster bags. To an outsider the scene might appear like any ordinary day of harvesting, but there’s something special to be said about the blood, sweat, and tears they’ve shed to arrive at this place of routine.
Hard Work Below the Calm Current
Years ago, Alice and Van joined the same uniform service aboard NOAA scientific research vessels, channeling their pursuit for biology and natural science out in the wide open sea. While the immersive experience brought them up close to unparalleled oceanic wonders, it proved equally strenuous, demanding they be stationed separately for long periods of time.
“We knew we wanted to build a life together,” Alice says. “A drive to build something of our own began to creep up, so we started pursuing the idea of oyster farming.”
Drawn to the sustainability of oyster cultivation, Alice and Van began a new leg in their scientific (and personal) journey in 2013 after finally hunting down the perfect tideland along the Toandos peninsula on Hood Canal. This is where Set & Drift shellfish farm would form its legacy.
Boots, Gloves, and the Do-It-All Knife
When asked what everyday tools can make or break a day of labor, there’s no hesitation in the response we hear. Boots, gloves, and a knife.
Having the grit, know-how, and discipline to navigate oyster farming’s demanding ways, it makes sense that Alice and Van are selective with the tools they carry. Power and versatility are essential, but so is size—hauling bulky or heavy equipment up and down the steep hillside to the tidelands is simply not an option.
Handing over the Bona FideTM to the two oyster farmers, it’s not long before we see the knife brandished across rope and netting throughout the day. Made of sturdy 3” blade steel, it’s just the right size for withstanding the hard maintenance of oyster farm life. It’s also a huge plus that the Bona FideTM features award-winning Field Strip Gen II, which allows for on-the-spot, quick disassembly, requiring no extra tools for maintenance.
As the blade deploys smoothly with the IKBSTM ball bearing pivot system, there’s a collective wave of appreciation for its sheer speed. A powerful tool that moves as fast as the tides —there’s no question the Bona FideTM was made for this trade.
At the Mercy of the Mother Nature
Alice lugs several bags of oysters over to their boat in preparation for the morning delivery. “When it’s time to harvest, we pull them straight out of the water and load them up the same day. This keeps the oysters fresher and tastier.”
When they’re not making their weekly delivery rounds to surrounding markets, there’s constant maintenance to be done back at the farm. Because in this line of work, only those willing to keep up with Mother Nature’s slew of unpredictable ways will thrive.
“There’s no typical year. There’s always something different going on in nature,” Van says. “It really comes down to perseverance and adaptability in figuring out how to farm your beach. There are a lot of different environmental conditions you can be subjected to, like tides or logs coming through farms during storms.”
As Alice and Van show us the ropes along the shoreline, we notice there’s already a drastic difference in how far the tide has receded. It becomes clear just how much of a race against the clock they constantly face—how every day is an ongoing commitment to the farm’s success.
“It’s a hard thing to explain to people how timing is so important to our work. Where we are, the tidal change can be up to 17 feet,” Alice says as she grabs a heavy duty crate to begin sorting their oyster haul. “And on top of that, they change throughout the year.”
The Perfect Shuck
After clearing a couple solid hours of sorting, Alice and Van round up some oysters for everyone to snack on. We prep the surface of a massive beach log to create a makeshift picnic table, as Alice tends to the fire pit a few feet away. Slipping on gloves, Alice lays down a handkerchief with a beautiful Fjordlux oyster in tow.
“How we grow our oysters is we tumble them, which forces them to grow more of a cup shape rather than just long and flat,” Alice says, motioning the knife’s tip around the oyster's silhouette. “There’s the hinge shuck method, which is more appropriate to open the size of the oyster we grow. So you insert your knife at about a forty-five degree angle here at the top, then carefully work it into the hinge to the point where the oyster can hang out on the knife on its own. Then just turn the knife about 90 degrees.”
POP. The oyster’s top shell neatly rises up, resting on the surface of Alice’s stainless steel blade.
“See this in the upper right? That’s the adductor muscle,” Alice points it out to us. “Really the only point of a perfect shuck is to nab the adductor muscle so that you get this really clean, beautiful shuck.”
Alice tosses it on the grill, then shucks more for us to consume raw. This time she uses the knife to neatly slice off the oyster off the bottom shell, making it easy to slurp straight from the shell. One by one we relish in the crisp salty goodness of the Fjordlux oysters, marveling at its intricate journey from the water to our tastebuds.
The Give and Take
Taking in everything the two oyster farmers have endured to build their business, there’s immeasurable respect for Alice and Van’s everyday commitment. Not only in their cultivation of appetizing oysters, but in their strides toward sustainability.
“Oysters are filter feeders, which means that they eat the phytoplankton that passes by,” Alice says. “Without filter feeders, algae blooms spike and use up all the oxygen in the area, which then leads to areas where nothing can live. Essentially, oysters keep nutrients in the waters balanced. Among other things, farming oysters brings this ecosystem service back, while not reducing wild populations.”
As the day winds down, Alice and Van’s three-year-old son Wayne joins us on the beach. Fearlessly exploring the sandy terrain, it’s clear just how much this environment has made an imprint on his adventurous spirit. There's a dawning realization how everything Alice and Van has thus poured into Set & Drift is finally moving full circle—how this special place offers a priceless return to the two farmers who continue to tenderly care for it.
“Day after day, just being around natural processes that are so much older and bigger puts much of life into perspective,” Alice says. “Life can be hectic. At times full of worry. But the natural world on the macro scale just isn’t in comparison. Things happen slowly on this immense scale. And that’s calming to be around.”