Are you doing everything you can to successfully license your music in TV and Films?  Are you achieving the sort of success you've always dreamed of or are you still struggling to get your music heard by the right people and ultimately sold to the right people?  Today let's look at three things you can focus on that, together, will exponentially increase your odds of licensing more of your music in more places.

Write And Produce More Music - It all starts with the music.  So, before you worry about anything else make sure that your music meets the sort of standards that are required to be successfully licensed in the first place.  Just what sort of standards must your music meet?  If you've been following me for long, you'll know that I've already written extensively about this topic.  But the short answer is that you need to write great, well produced songs.  

What constitutes a "great song" is somewhat subjective, but "well produced" is much more objective.  Compare your songs to other songs that have been successfully licensed.  How do your songs stand up?  Have a few different people listen.  Music publishers and supervisors listen to lots of music, every single day.  They can distinguish very quickly between great and mediocre production.  Make sure that you are able to as well so that you are only submitting music that is "broadcast quality" and ready to be used as is.

How Big Is Your Catalog?

The more tracks you have in your catalog, the more potential licensing opportunities you'll have tracks that are a good fit for.  Makes sense right?  Part of a long term strategy for making money via music licensing is to work towards growing a large catalog.  With a few exceptions, most writers I know and work with that make substantial money in music licensing have large catalogs, of hundreds or even thousands of tracks.  It takes time to get there, but part of the plan for becoming successful should involve regularly creating and recording new tracks that you can add to libraries that you work with and also pitch to new contacts.  You should ideally be making new music every week.  I know some writers who create a track a day.  Everyone is different and your schedule and overall goals will dictate how many tracks you're able to record.  I aim to record at least one new track a week.

Submit Your Music To A Lot Of Places - Success in the music business is a numbers game.  The more places and people you submit your music to the better the chances that you'll connect with someone who really appreciates your music and who will be eager to help you promote it.  We've all heard stories about famous musicians who were rejected repeatedly before they got their "big break". 

Rejection happens a lot in the music licensing business and much of it has nothing to do with the music you make.  Sometimes your music simply won't be a good fit for the person you are submitting to.  The needs of those you are pitching to are constantly changing so don't get discouraged if you're being turned down simply because your music isn't a good fit.  

On the other hand, if you’re getting feedback about things you need to do to improve about your music, take it for what it's worth.  Try not to take constructive criticism too personally.  In my experience people in this business tend to not be gentle with their critiques. They're not usually as bad as Simon Cowell, but it's hard to sugarcoat some criticism.  If something needs worked on, it needs worked on.  If you're getting the same sort of advice repeatedly it's probably worth investigating.

Research Projects -  In order to increase your chances of success even more, take the extra step of researching projects that need music so that you can more accurately pitch your music to the right people at the right time.  Call supervisors and publishers and ask them what they're working on currently.  Some will tell you and some won't.  Forget about the ones that won't and focus on the ones that will.

Demonstrate that you're sensitive to the needs of those you are working with and that you're not just out to further your own career.  Sometimes as musicians we can get very focused on our own goals and have a tendency to become overly self-absorbed.  The music business, like any business, is a vast network of people, who each have their own individual needs, desires and frustrations.  Try to help other people meet their needs and realize their goals and you'll find it becomes much easier to meet your own needs and realize your own goals.

One of the complaints I’ve heard over and over again from guests on my podcast is that musicians rarely take the time to research who they’re pitching music to. They just sort of randomly send their music to anyone who will listen.  This is a really inefficient approach to getting your music licensed.  Before you send your music to anyone, really think about why you’re pitching your music to any particular person.  Are the kind of projects they work on a good fit for you and your music?  Are you familiar with the types of projects they work on?  Is your music relevant?  Try to figure out the answers to these questions before just blindly pitching your tracks.

The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide
Want a detailed, step by step guide for licensing your music in tv and films? This week only, save half off my new four hour audio/video course, The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide:

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"The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide" is a four hour plus audio/video course that outlines, in a step by step fashion, how to write, produce and license music in tv shows, films and ads. The course is instantly accessible online and features 7 different modules as well as a resource section featuring sample contracts, samples of music Aaron and others have successfully licensed, The 2018 TV And Film Music Business Directory, an international PRO guide, bonus interviews and more!

Here's What's Covered Inside "The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide"

-Introduction To Course 

Module 1 - Mindset

-Music Licensing Is A Long Term Game 

-Staying Motivated

-Dealing With Rejection

Module 2 - How To Write Music For Licensing

Intro

-Three Elements 

-Arrangement

-Subject Matter

-Styles

-What Types Of Songs Work Best

Being Authentic VS Writing For Licensing

Module 3- Production 

-Production Quality

-How To Choose The Right Music Producer

-How To Finance Your Recordings

Module 4 – The Details – Things To Do Before You Start Pitching

-Types Of Files You Definitely Need

-Types Of Files You Might Need

- Copyrighting Your Music

-Metadata And Your Tracks

-Registering With PRO’s 

Module 5 - Networking And Marketing

- How To Research The Market

-Publishers And Libraries VS Supervisors

-How To Make Contact

-How To Submit Your Music

-Tracking & Following Up On Your Submissions 

-Submitting Directly To Music Supervisors

-Should You Pay To Submit To Music Briefs?

Module 6 - The Business Of Licensing

-How You Get Paid And How Much You Can Earn

-Non Exclusive Re-Titling Deals 

-The Pros And Cons Of Exclusivity

-How Cue Sheets Work

-Co Publishing Deals Explained

-Buy Out Deals 

-Types Of Deals To Avoid

-The problem with spreading yourself too thin 

-Negotiating Deals

Module 7 – Advanced Music Licensing Techniques

-How To Create An Effective Show-reel With Gary Gray

-Working With Interns And Assistants

-Professionalism And Music Licensing

Resource Section

Samples Of Songs Myself And Others Have Licensed

Submission Tracking Spreadsheet

Sample contracts

2018 Directory

International PRO Guide

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