Music Promotion for Independent Musicians

Make Money on YouTube, Film, TV and more with CD Baby Sync Licensing

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 18, 2012{ 32 Comments }

CD Baby Launches new sync licensing service for independent artists.

CD Baby has partnered with music licensing firm Rumblefish to help CD Baby artists generate new revenue by licensing their music for movies, TV shows, ads, video games, apps, and YouTube. Joining CD Baby’s sync licensing program is included in your one-time submission fee (so it’s FREE for existing CD Baby artists)!

Over the past decade, independent artists have begun to earn significant money from traditional licensing opportunities in TV and film; but with YouTube quickly becoming the most popular online music-discovery platform, there are countless “micro-sync” opportunities out there too, and you should be getting paid for all of it!

How does CD Baby sync licensing work?

First, log into your CD Baby members account to opt-in.

Next, decide which of two sync-licensing options is right for you. Choose between:

1) ALL sync opportunities (we call this option “All Media“), including placements in movies, TV shows, ads, and video games,– as well as the YouTube “Micro-Sync” program which allows you to be paid every time your music is used on YouTube.

2) ”Micro Sync” only. This would enable your music to be used with any type of project or production that makes use of multimedia or new media platforms. Examples include website-music, online video sharing (e.g., videos on YouTube), presentations, and apps (including app-games).

CD Baby’s sync licensing program is non-exclusive, so you can always pursue your own music placements in addition, or even work with other music licensing firms.

How do I get paid for my music being used on YouTube?

CD Baby and Rumblefish are working directly with YouTube to include your music in YouTube’s content-ID database. Basically, if anyone in the whole wide world uploads a video with your music as the soundtrack, YouTube will “fingerprint” ID the music as YOURS. Then you’ll be paid based on YouTube ad-revenue for every time someone watches that video. The more people out there using your music, and the more people watching those videos, the more money you make! YouTube pays us, and we pay you (quarterly!)

In addition to this content-ID process, your music will also be added to the Friendly Music catalog, a collection of pre-approved songs for which content producers can purchase an upfront license.

What if I upload my own videos to YouTube?

Great! You’ll be paid for those too. There is no charge for the video uploader, so you can encourage your fans and friends to post YouTube videos using your music; It’s free for them, and you get paid!

We’re really excited about this new sync licensing partnership as it opens up new revenue streams for independent artists. Millions of people are listening to and watching music videos (and videos that feature music) on YouTube. Now you’ll get paid for it!

Check out this article if you’re curious what sync licensing even is.

Also, for more details about this program, see our sync-licensing FAQ.

-Chris R. at CD Baby

Get paid when your music is played on YouTube!

Copyright Basics: Exclusive Rights, Licensing Lingo, and More

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 27, 2012{ No Comments }

(Since CD Baby recently launched our music licensing program, we figured it’d be a good time to review with our artists some of the basic copyright and sync licensing terms. This article, written by Keith Hatscheck, originally appeared on the Echoes Blog.)

So you’ve written a new song. It may have the potential to be a hit, but one thing is certain: it makes sense to properly protect your song if you hope to profit from its recording and public performance. How do music copyrights work? What is required to have ownership of your song’s copyright? Why should you register it with the Library of Congress? What are some of the common music licenses that generate income for songwriters? Read more »

Make ALL Your Music Work For You

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 26, 2012{ 1 Comment }

Why your musical back catalog is worth more than you think

The album sales cycle has changed. Once upon a time, you could spend a year or two (or more) recording an album, 6 months building up the buzz, then release it to the world and go on the road to promote it for 2 years. Rinse/repeat.

And since space on record store shelves was limited, the object was to sell through as many copies of your current record as possible, and to focus all efforts on that recent release. Next time around you focus on the next release, and so forth.

But things have changed. You no longer need to worry about how many units of your back catalog a distributor or store can warehouse or sell alongside your newest album. Digital shelf space is limitless. This means, more than ever, that the real product you are selling is YOU, and ALL of the music you’ve ever made. To a new fan, all of that music is brand new.

For music licensing opportunities, view your music as a catalog

The idea is obsolete that just because an album or song is old means it’s not licensable. The breadth of your musical output is a huge asset that you should be leveraging whenever you seek out new opportunities to license your music. The more songs in your catalog, the better your chances to make money. Read more »

How to License Music for TV, Film, Video, and Beyond: an interview with Paul Anthony of Rumblefish

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 25, 2012{ No Comments }

Over the past ten years, indie musicians have begun to earn significant income from traditional licensing opportunities in film and TV; but with YouTube quickly becoming the most popular online music-discovery platform, there are countless new opportunities out there too, and CD Baby is helping artists get paid for it!

In episode #117 of CD Baby’s DIY Musician Podcast, we interviewed Paul Anthony of Rumblish about the who, why, what, where, when, and how of sync licensing.

CD Baby has partnered with music licensing firm Rumblefish to help CD Baby artists generate new revenue by licensing their music for movies, TV shows, commercials, video games, apps, and YouTube. In this episode you’ll learn what is sync licensing andMicro-Sync are and how you can take advantage of these new revenue streams. Check it out HERE! Read more »

Copyright for Songwriting Collaborators: HelpfuLaw for the Indie Artist, Pt. 1

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 24, 2012{ 2 Comments }

[HELPFULAW FOR THE INDIE ARTIST is a new advice column on legal matters pertaining to the music industry. If you have a question for our columnist, attorney and indie artist Christiane Cargill Kinney, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below or visit the website of her firm LeClairRyan.]

Q: I wrote a song with a friend of mine a few years ago. I wrote all of the music, and she wrote all of the lyrics. We released the song on an independent album, but nothing ever happened with it. Recently, I was approached by a producer interested in licensing an instrumental version of the song for a film. Since I wrote all of the music, do I need to include her in negotiations, and will I owe her any money if the song gets licensed?

A: Ah, the grand world of songwriting collaborations. So many famous pairs come to mind: Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, the list seems almost infinite. Unfortunately, good songwriting collaborations can fall apart almost as easily as Read more »

10 Incredible Musicians with Physical Disabilities

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 23, 2012{ 3 Comments }

jeff healey 239x300 10 Incredible Musicians with Physical Disabilities

Jeff Healey (who was somehow NOT on this list!)

This article (ignore, for a moment, the random fact that it is posted on an insurance quote website) features a list of 10 incredible musicians with physical disabilities, along with a little blurb about the career and influence of each one.

Reading through this list made me curious what it’s been like for any CD Baby artists out there who have disabilities. How has that experience shaped or informed your music-making? What have been the biggest challenges and triumphs?

Tell us in the comments section below. Read more »

How to Cross-Promote Your Music Using Social Media Widgets

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 23, 2012{ 1 Comment }

(This post was written by guest contributor Brian Botkiller)

When it’s ok to cross the streams!

There are a billion different places to promote your music on the web these days. With Facebook, Twitter, and the many other music websites currently available to musicians, it can be quite daunting to know exactly where to put your attention, and how to make them all work for you.

I’m going to go over some basics of using cross promotion on the web in this article, so that you can use all of these networks efficiently. I’m going to focus on Facebook and Twitter, but you can apply these ideas to all of the possible social networks out there. Read more »

What Kind of Music are Film and TV Shows Looking to License?

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 20, 2012{ 3 Comments }

Independent musicians are now earning serious money from licensing their music for movies, TV shows, games, apps, corporate presentations, slideshows, and YouTube videos. But WHICH independent artists are earning money? And for what types of tunes?

The answer might seem obvious: artists who create music that fits the specific needs of a particular production.

Yeah, duh! But it’s a surprising answer when you look at it from another angle– Song placement has nothing to do with what is popular at the time, what is “cool,” what is a top seller, or which artist is a household name.

The only criteria that matters is that the mood or content of your music meets the needs of some music director out there in the mysterious world of popular entertainment.

It is exactly for this reason that you should sign up every single bit of recorded music you’ve ever made for CD Baby’s sync licensing program– you never know what someone might be looking for. Read more »

Why Pre-Cleared Sync Deals Are Good For Indie Musicians.

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 19, 2012{ 4 Comments }

Since launching our new sync licensing program a few days ago, we’ve had many thousands of artists sign up. But one of the most frequent questions we’ve been hearing is “Will I be able to decide who licenses my music?”

The simple answer is no, but here’s why–

Firstly, it’s standard in sync licensing at the indie level to have what is called a “pre-cleared” deal, meaning the licensing company won’t have to hunt down the artist every time someone wants to use their music. (Insert joke about musicians and timely responses HERE). Read more »

Licensing Your Music Ain’t Easy – Be Cool

By Chris R. at CD Baby

January 17, 2012{ 10 Comments }

This guest post by Scott James (from Independent Rockstar) originally appeared on Echoes in January, 2011.

I recently had lunch with the founder and CEO of a popular website for independent artists. It was great to catch up and hear about all the exciting things going on with the site. On the other hand it was a bit of a concern hearing about some of what he and his staff have had to put up with recently in dealing with some of the more, shall we say, frustrated and/or unstable musicians that use his services. Read more »

The DIY Musician Blog

CD Baby Launches new sync licensing service for independent artists.

How does CD Baby sync licensing work?

How do I get paid for my music being used on YouTube?

What if I upload my own videos to YouTube?

Why your musical back catalog is worth more than you think

For music licensing opportunities, view your music as a catalog

When it’s ok to cross the streams!