When I was new to music licensing and trying to get started, I can remember the distinct feeling that the whole endeavor of licensing music seemed like one giant roulette wheel. The whole thing just seemed like a giant crapshoot. I would submit my music constantly and get very few responses. I would send
dozens and dozens of emails out to licensing companies, introducing myself. I would wait and wait. And it just seemed like nothing was happening. It was frustrating to say the least.
Does this sound familiar? The whole business of music licensing can seem like a giant numbers game at times. And in many ways it is. But, to continue the metaphor of gambling, it's a bit like blackjack in the sense that you can tilt the odds in your favor, if you know what you're doing and know how to approach the business.
It's true that the more swings you take at licensing, the greater your odds of success. But it's much more than just blindly pitching your music to anyone and everyone who will listen.
If you're determined to make it in the music licensing industry, here are a few things you must do if you want to succeed:
1) Keep Taking Swings - Again, there's more to this than just trying. But first and foremost you have to have the attitude that you're going to keep going and not give up. If I gave up before I eventually started finding success at music licensing I would have never gone on to secure all the placements I've had over the years. When you're first starting out, persistence is key to building momentum and breaking through the initial
barrier to entry.
2) Find Your Niche - If you stick with this long enough, you'll start to figure out the kinds of songs and the style of music that work best for you. There are different niches within the niche of music licensing and depending on your skills and the kind of music you actually enjoy writing, you might be more suited for one vs another. There's vocal music, production music, trailer music, music for ads and so on. These are all different
styles and require a different approach and different mindset. The only way to find out what your best at is to jump in and start trying different things.
3) Do Your Due Diligence - Once you figure out what kind of music you're going to license and the areas you want to focus on, you need to do a little research. Take the time to really study what kind of music works in different situations and why. Figure out who works on the types of projects you want to pitch your music to. You'll have more success the more you can hone in on specific needs within the licensing industry. Licensing
music is more about servicing the needs of clients and supplying the kind of music THEY need, as opposed to simply writing whatever you feel inspired to write. Of course, you want to write music that you're into, so find the areas where an actual need overlaps with the kind of music you enjoy writing.
4) Take Massive Action - So, with all this said, even though music licensing isn't just a numbers game, it still is in the sense that the more you network, pitch your music, write new music and so on, the more your chances of success will increase. If you're ever confused about what to do to move forward, you can always focus on simply creating more music, and pitching it to more people. Once you figure out what kind of music you want to
focus on licensing, it really boils down to these two steps. The more music you create, the more licensing opportunities you'll be able to pitch to. The more music you pitch, the more music you'll end up licensing.
