In today's newsletter I'll be discussing the two areas you need to work on in order to improve your chances of getting your music licensed.  The more you understand these two areas, as they relate to the music licensing industry, the easier licensing your music will become.

 

The two areas you need to be aware of can broadly be defined as:

 

1) Your Music

2) Marketing

 

Your Music
"Your Music" includes everything from the way your songs are arranged, the lyrics of your songs, the production of your music and so on.  Essenitally everything about your music. If you're just getting started in the music licensing business you probably aren't writing music for very specific projects, so it's impossible to anticipate exactly how and where your music will be used. However, by understanding some generalities about how and why music is licensed, you can greatly increase the chances of the music you write being licensed.

Why Music Is Licensed
Music that is licensed from independent artists is generally used in lieu of more well known songs that would be more expensive to license.  This is really the reason licensing is such a great opportunity for unknown artists.  Since licensing well known songs can be quite expensive, many music supervisors turn to indie music as a cost effective alternative to licensing well know songs.  What this means is that often times supervisors will have a well known song or artist in mind for a scene but then look for music that has a similiar "vibe" to replace it. I'm not suggesting that you go out and try to write music that intentionally soounds like somebody else, but be aware of who and what you sound like so that you can accurately represent yourself.  A lot of musicians seem to have a really hard time defining what kind of music they make.  Make sure you can accurately describe your music, what genre you fit into, who you sound like, who your influences are, etc.   I often get pitched music for projects from artists who think they sound like somebody who in fact they don't sound anything at all like.  Ask your friends who your music reminds them of, if you have a hard time being objective on your own.

Subject Matter
In terms of your music's subject matter, generally speaking the subject matter of your music needs to enhance the storyline of the project in which your music is being licensed for.  Again, it's impossible to know where your music will be used in advance, but certain subjects tend to work well in a broad variety of situations.  Themes like relationships, love, heartbreak, making up, overcoming adversity, etc.   tend to be repeated in a lot of different stories.  The more universal the better.  The more obscure the subject matter, the fewer scenarios in which your song will work and make sense.  I'm not suggesting you water down your music, but be aware of this reality of music licensing when you're writing songs with the hopes of potentially licensing them.  

 

Music Production
I have written at length about production previously and will continue to explore this topic mainly becasue it's such an important topic.  Your production needs to sound great!  The simplest way to know whether or not your production is where it needs to be is to listen to other artists that are being licensed and compare your production with theirs.  

 

I often use the term "broadcast quality" to describe the level your music production needs to be at.  Broadcast quality simply means your music needs to be ready to be used, as is, without any editing.  Music licensing is a fast paced business and there is no time to re-record tracks or improve mixes, etc.  Music supervisors are looking for songs that sound great, right out of the box.  I'll be exploring music production in more detail in future newsletters and in future interviews I do, but the bottom line is your music production needs to sound great.

 

The second area you need to focus on in order to license your music is "your marketing".  This simply refers to everything you do to market yourself and get your music in front of the right people in the industry.  The Music Licensing mastermind will be a valuable resource in this regard, because I'll be providing lots of industry contact information, via the directory that is included in the program and I'll also be listing specific places looking for music in the "Monthly Leads" section.

 

The most important thing is that you're connecting with people in the industry on a regular basis. No one cares more about your music career than you do, so you need to be on the front lines letting people know about you and your music every day.  If you connect with a licensing agent or a good music publisher, they will of course help you in getting your music to the right people and places.  But generally you are going to be one of many artists that publishers and agents are working with, so I think it's always a good idea to be your own best advocate.  If you want to keep moving forward you need to keep knocking on doors.  I reccomend that artists are very methodical about this and even have a structured program that I teach called "The 90 Day Challenge" where I encourage artists to contact one new company every day for 90 days in order to jump start their licensing careers.  Once you find a few key people that you're working with you can slow down a bit, but there's nothing like just taking massive, consistent action to get things going. 

 

So make it a point to submit your music to new places on a regular basis.  By doing this you will greatly increase your chances of being successful.  Music licensing is a little bit of a numbers game and the more you are submitting your music and putting yourself out there, the more likely it becomes that your music finds the right project that it's a good fit for.

 

For more information on this subject, check out the video I posted on my website called "How To License More Of Your Songs And Make More Money": 

 

 

The 90 Day Challenge Master Class With Coaching Slots Sold Out:)
The upcoming 90 Day Challenge Master Class with coaching is sold out.  However, there are still slots available without coaching. Visit 

http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/90daychallenge1 

for details.

 

That's all for today.  Until next time... Happy Songwriting!

Aaron Davison