Here is the list of known TV placements from composer Randy McGravey for November 2021. - 11/8 Music used on "Aprendemos En Clan" Channel: Clan TVE (Spain) Episode: #116 - 11/11 - 11/16 Music used on "Lokalzeit aus Aachen" and other "Lokalzeit" programs Channel: WDR FS [Koln] (Germany) - 11/12 Music used on The Season: Ole Miss Football Channel: ESPN U (USA) - 11/15 Music used on "Die Nordreportage" Channel: NDR Fernsehen [NDS] (Germany) Episode: Spionieren fur den Artenschut

TV commercials have the potential to be some of the highest paying placements you can get. Not only do TV commercials usually receive a nice upfront sync fee (rather than blanket payments), but they typically air many times and therefore can get you a lot of backend royalties. There is a service called Numerator (formerly Competitrack) that is responsible for dealing with commercials and advertising codes. The American PROs use Numerator to determine the necessary information

One aspect of this business that not many seem to know about, is direct licensing. Have you ever wondered why music libraries and supervisors work with TV channels that don't pay backend royalties? In most cases, they are direct licensing the music to these stations. Direct licensing is the act of receiving upfront fees for the usage of music in lieu of backend payments (from PROs). Basically these channels are somehow avoiding paying fees to performing rights organizations.

Today I'm going to address the different kinds of music libraries. The differences are mostly in the types of deals that they have with their composers. Non-Exclusive Libraries Non-exclusive libraries always seem to be the best option for newcomers since some are weary of being exclusive. NE libraries allow you to put the same music tracks on other non-exclusive libraries. In most cases you will maintain the publishing rights when working with these libraries, and they will m

The other day I sent one of my newest albums to an exclusive library and they requested the full tracks, stems, and cutdowns (15 second edit, 30 second edit, 60 second edit). These kinds of edits are quite common and it is useful to have a method for creating them. Although it can take a bit of time, the process is fairly simple. Here is the process I use to create cutdowns. Bounce your full tracks with a small amount of silence at the beginning of the track (attach to the gr

Here is a list of known TV placements for composer Randy McGravey from October 2021. This was one of the best months so far! - 10/1 Music used on "Today with Hoda & Jenna" Channel: NBC (USA) - 10/2 Music used on "Wooninspiraties" Channel: RTL 4 (Netherlands) - 10/4 Music used on "Kærlighed på hjernen" Channel: TV2 [Lorry] (DK) (Denmark) - 10/4 Music used on TV3 (Sweden) Program Unknown - 10/7 Music used on "KiKa LIVE" Channel: KI.KA (Germany) - 10/11 Music used on "Beestenbri

The other day I created a template for an upcoming country music album and I figured I'd share it with you guys! This will give you an idea of my process, and how much time is saved by making templates for tracks. The goal with templates is to give the most routing, organization, and rudimentary mixing possible so that you can focus on the music. Here you can see what it looks like when I open the program with the country template. I have almost all of the potential instrumen

Today I'd like to share the process that occurs when you have tracks accepted to an exclusive library. The timeline can vary greatly depending on the library and their backlog. Timeline 1. Submit tracks - Submit the tracks (or album) to different libraries until one of them accepts the material. This is usually done by sending a streaming link (Soundcloud, Disco) and writing a personalized email to the appropriate library contact. 2. Discuss Contract Details - Find out the le

Hey guys, I just wanted to share a success story to hopefully give some inspiration for newcomers to the sync world. I've been at it for about 3 and a half years, and my highest earning track was actually created in the first year. It was also a non-exclusive placement on a Royalty Free site (see they do pay royalties)! The benefit of such a placement was that I got to keep the writer's share and the publisher's share. Here's what I know about the placement(s). - It was for a

For those of you who are new to the world of production music and music licensing, I have prepared a list of some basic terms and definitions. Most of these terms are necessary for your understanding of the industry, and will help you to be knowledgeable about the field. Please let me know if you come across any more terms that you are unsure of, and I will gladly add them to this post! Performing Rights Organizations (PRO's) - These are organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, SESA

Here is a list of known TV placements from composer Randy McGravey from July 2021. July was a light month to say the least! Summer can be a bit light with fewer shows and major sporting events happening. Here's to hoping that the Fall will be a nice bounce back! - 7/1 Music used on "Pawn Stars" Channel: History Channel (USA) Episode: Silver, Slots and Robots #tvplacements #productionmusic #musiccomposer #composerfortv #productionmusiccomposer #bespokemusic #synclicensing #mus

I don't know who needs to hear this, but there are some hard-to-swallow truths about the sync licensing world and current state of music licensing. This isn't meant to be negative, or to steer you away from the sync world, because there are plenty of opportunities out there for all of us. Once you understand some of these things, you can do your best to avoid getting into bad situations, wasting time and effort or getting involved with shady players. Enjoy! No one is going to

If you've jumped into the field of production music, you likely will eventually be asked to write music for briefs. Briefs are specific types of tracks that you are asked to write, also known as bespoke music. Usually they will give you details about what they want, and also example tracks. If you write music for briefs pay attention to the following aspects of each track. Tempo (aim for a similar speed) Time signature Instrumentation (try to be close to their instrumentation

If you are just starting out as a production music composer, you'll want to familiarize yourself with alternate edits. Aside from the full track that you create, you should learn to create shorter versions of the track, less intrusive versions, instrumental version, stems, etc. Below is a list of the different edits you can make, and an explanation of what they are and how to create them. Full Length Edits When creating these, don't change the starting point of the song, mere

Here is a list of known TV placements from composer Randy McGravey from June 2021. - 6/2 Music used on "Beliggenhed, Beliggenhed, Beliggenhed - Sommerhuse" Channel: TV2 [Lorry] [DK] (Denmark) - 6/4 Music used on "SAT.1-Frühstücksfernsehen" Channel: SAT.1, SAT.1 [CH] (Germany) - 6/9 Music used on "Hei verden" Channel: TV2 (Norway) - 6/10 Music used on "Sommerhytta" Channel: TV2 (Norway) - 6/17 - 6/24 QVC Promo Channel: QVC (USA) 6/28 Music used on "NASCAR Race Hub" Channel: Fo

I see a lot of questions from new composers asking things like "What is the best library for hip hop music"? Hopefully this post will clear things up a bit. While some libraries have a specific niche, most of them deal with all types of music. Clients come to a library looking for a variety of music, and most libraries will have something to show them in every style. If they can sell music to them, they will. Think of it like a grocery store, you would hope they have everythi

I'd like to share some experiences I've had and strategies I've used shopping sync albums to exclusive libraries. First off, here is some progress I've made this year! I've completed roughly 12 albums so far this year, 9 of which have been accepted into libraries. The rest I am still trying to find homes for. Out of those 9, I've done: - 2 to one of my go-to libraries (major label) - 2 to another go-to library (major label) - 2 to a library that I haven't worked with yet (maj

Here is a list of known TV placements from composer Randy McGravey from May 2021. - 5/3, 5/20 Various tracks used on "Sommerhytta" Channel: TV2 (Norway) - 5/4 Music used on "18.30-Nyhetene" Channel: TV2 (Norway) Episode: "Siste nytt fra TV2s nyhetsredaksjon" - 5/5 Music used on "Landesschau Baden-Württemberg" Channel: SWR FS (Germany) - 5/8 Music used on "Les Animaux de la 8" Channel: C8 (France) Episode: "La bergerie nationale de Rambouillet : une journée à la ferme !" - 5/8

Are you new to sync licensing/composing production music? Follow these 10 tips to help you get started! Start recording! You can read all you want in forums, but the actual first step you need to take is to record your music. Pick a style of music that you can do easily and record a track (or several). If you don't have decent recording equipment, you will need to invest in it. Beef up your mixing skills. Learn common tricks, typical EQ's, find your favorite reverbs, etc. Qua

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) is a great tool and resource for production music composers. If you compose music for TV and movies, you can create a profile on IMDB and add yourself as a composer for each show/movie that you have music on. Having an official IMDB page helps make you look legitimate and is sort of like an online resume. Every couple months I like to go through my list of TV placements and add them to IMDB. Not every program is on there, and not every show