Are you struggling to get a lot of music licensed? Are you struggling to even get your music licensed at all? If you answered yes to either of these questions you’re not alone. I’ve been there and everyone I know who is doing well in sync licensing has been there at one point. We’ve all been there!
No one who is successful now has always been successful. None of us started out that way right out of the gate. We all had to take action and break through the resistance and obstacles in front of us to reach our goals. I meandered a lot in the beginning and went down a lot of dead end roads before I found a few key people who helped me turn things around and get on the right track. Once I got my first couple
syncs under my belt each subsequent placement came easier and easier.
In the licensing industry, people are drawn to people who have experience and credits under their belt. It’s a classic catch 22. How do you get experience if you need experience to get experience? This is a frustrating conundrum for many industries. On the surface, it almost seems impossible. Of course, it isn’t, because there are lots of ways to get experience apart from getting the exact position of
experience you’re after. When it comes to jobs you can intern to get experience. You could get to know someone within the organization you want to work for who could introduce you to people you need to know. There’s always a way, you just have to be creative and resourceful.
When it comes to music licensing, there’s no prerequisite per se that says you are required to have licensed your music somewhere to get started. But it’s of course easier if you have. It’s just human nature. People are drawn to people they deem credible and trustworthy. When you start licensing your music in projects you build a certain amount of “social proof”. When others in the industry see you’re having success it’s an
indication that your music is marketable and high enough quality to be licensed. Doors that previously were hard to open start opening more easily.
So how do you break through and get started if you don’t have any experience at all, or very little? Well, in the beginning it takes good old fashioned hard work and tenacity. Again, there’s no hard and fast rule that says you have to have already licensed your music to get started. We all start at zero. So in the beginning it’s about building up contacts and relationships and convincing people to give you a
shot.
How much networking and relationship building should you do? Simple. As much as it takes. You’ll know when to stop when you’ve reached your goals. If you haven’t, then you’re not done. A lot of musicians want to have definitive answers to questions like “how many people should I contact?”, or “how long does it take to get started?”. There are no definitive, set in stone answers. Every situation is unique.
Everyone's circumstances are different. It would be like breaking up with your girlfriend or boyfriend and asking how long it’s going to take until you find love again. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen a year from now. It depends on you, your actions, intentions and let’s face it, an element of luck and timing. Music licensing is a bit like that.
Here’s the thing though. Instead of worrying about specific questions like that you can just get to work, setting things in motion. You can start reaching out to the right people. You can start getting your tracks and business in order. You can greatly expedite the speed of your success by taking action. I can’t tell anyone exactly how long it will take to become successful, but what I can say with certainty is
that you’ll never reach your goals if you don’t get started.
Everyone I know, myself included, who has done well in licensing puts in considerable work in building up our contacts and developing relationships with people in the industry. Nothing is going to just fall in your lap.
