26 MusicWeek 02.08.13 PUBLISHING SPECIAL SYNC
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of Globe now gets worked into an artist’s marketing campaign immediately.” A good sync can also re- ignite a song and catalogue like nothing else,” he says. BMG Chrysalis UK sync execs play a key part of the signing conversation for both front-line and catalogue, according to the publisher’s VP of Marketing and Sync Gareth Smith, who says they were certainly an important part of the puzzle for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, when the Rolling Stones signed with the publisher last month. “Sync is more important than it’s ever been both
creatively and commercially,” says Smith. “Managers expect to meet a sync team and want to know how it operates not only in the signing territory but also worldwide. Since BMG structured sync as a single international team from the off, that’s clearly a big advantage for us.” As sought after as great sync placements are, for a whole host of reasons, actually snaring the perfect opportunity can be tough. With every prime time ad, TV finale, movie trailer or video game sequence bringing a different set of requirements to the table, getting there first with the perfect pitch is often a case of right time, right place and the right people. Speaking to UK music supervisors across a number of media sectors, however, there are some key song characteristics that will increase the chances of grabbing a great placement. “Whilst any song has the potential to be synced depending on the brief, a happy track with a big build and vague lyrics would probably be the most likely song to be placed,” suggests Alex Hancock, a music supervisor who has done a lot of work in TV for shows like Skins. Kle Savidge, who has placed music most
recently for the film industry, echoes Hancock, suggesting “a catchy, anthemic phrase, a track that builds to an explosive crescendo and a varied backing track [are all good characteristics for sync]. But sometimes the perfect track is something that will sit well in the background.”
ABOVE Olympic syncs | London 2012 provided some huge sync opportunities last year with Sony/ATV managing to place Noel Gallagher’s Everybody’s On The Run in a TV ad for the Games (left), while Warner/ Chappell was behind Elbow’s call-up to compose an original track to be used as the official London 2012 anthem for BBC coverage
Of course, music executives are finely tuned to
identifying a song’s key qualities and promoting them for the right situations. Pushing a particular track for a certain area of sync is much like spotting the difference between a summer hit for the masses or an underground slow-burner for a passionate niche. It’s about understanding the current market and following the trends.
“Sync can contribute anywhere between 5-15% of a publisher’s total net publisher’s share. Most syncs then also create a bump in related income” NATASHA BALDWIN, IMAGEM
Music supervisor Will Quiney, who has recently
finished work on the soundtrack for Hollywood’s Kick-Ass 2 says that sync should be approached just like talent-spotting in the traditional music business. “It’s just a matter of listening out for those gems,
the ones that get your hair on end,” he says. “I saw a guy called Hanni El Khatib play to 20 people at SXSW a couple of years ago and immediately thought he had something special that made him instantly syncable. “Since then I’ve managed to place his music on both a feature and a couple of trailers. “Execs should listen carefully to what’s already
getting synced and find better tracks than those, or tracks that do the same job for less cash,” he advises. With that example in mind, is there worth in a label or publisher making a signing decision based on an act’s synchronisation potential? Yes and no, argues Believe Digital’s head of Sync Dave Philpot. “I’m not sure that we would ever sign an artist just for sync, but if we felt it has sync potential then that would be a major plus. At [label client] Skint we signed a few acts that we felt had sync potential and were mainly successful in that field.” There’s strong agreement between music
supervisors and rights-holders alike that every sync deal should include an upfront fee. However, there are no delusions about the fact that direct revenue from sync won’t always pay the bills. But the value of a great placement on the TV or in a film has the potential to go well beyond the figure on a cheque. If labels and publishers are on the ball, they can work together with music supervisors, ad agencies and production companies to make sure that their artists’ campaign is boosted by sync, leading to greater public awareness and even direct album and single sales. Sergio Pimentel, a music supervisor specialising in video games, explains that a sync placement should be thought of as another piece of the artist’s overall campaign, and it’s worth engaging with the video game publisher, TV studio or ad agency’s product strategy after the sync deal has been signed – two campaigns are better that one, after all. “Music execs should explore how they can work
closely with the games developer and publisher to make the most of the sync,” says Pimentel. “There may be a number of cross-promotional opportunities which can be exploited. “There may be opportunities for the band/artist to play at the games launch event,” he offers as an example. “On Lyroke, a Facebook game we are working on, the games developer released a number of [hits from The Saturdays] to play in-game. This was around the time their TV show was launching in the US and, with the game doing very well Stateside, this added to the promotional push. The Saturdays also communicated their song additions to the games library on their website and other channels.” This kind of approach is something that
companies who have seen success with sync already have at the core of their strategy: “We work to, where possible, get a credit for the client [on a sync] and ensure the song is available for sale, as well as look for further collaborations with the artist including branding, events and the like,” says Michelle
ADDING UP THE NUMBERS:THE SYNCHRONISATION TRENDS ACROSS TV ADVERTISING Spotting the perfect sync track is not a science, but the stats suggest the world of TV advertising certainly leans towards a few desirable genres and points in musical history. We spoke to
AdBreakAnthems.com editor-in-chief Chas de Whalley to map the trends. “There can be no doubt that advertisers are most
interested in licensing back catalogue titles because they hope they will be instantly recognisable to viewers and so
make it easier to get brand messages across,” he says. “Unsurprisingly then, our most recent research reveals that music over five years old accounted for 40% of the ads tracked by AdBreakAnthems during the first six months of 2013. Nevertheless, we still found demand for contemporary material by artists like Olly Murs, Two Door Cinema Club and the hotly tipped Django Django registered just over 29%. Not to mention the No.1 hits by
Robin Thicke and Icona Pop which, respectively, featured in spots for Beats By Dre and Samsung. “Stylewise, pop’s 27% also made it the advertisers’
favourite genre. But, while some 30% of ads from the predominant food sector contributed to that overall score, pop was challenged by easy listening/MOR and alternative styles in other leading sectors; motoring, holidays & travel and telecoms.”
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