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

January 18, 2012{ 70 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!

Chris Robley's Author Bio

http://www.jamesclark.com/ Jim Clark

How does this work with cover songs? For example, if I have an album that is mostly original tunes with one or two covers, and I opt in the whole album (which is my only option, apparently), how does the licensing/royalty situation work with the original copyright holder?

I licensed the covers through HFA, but I don’t know how that translates to this.
- http://members.cdbaby.com CD Baby Admin
  
  We will not be including any cover songs in the sync deal. Only originals. So if you sign up the whole album, we’ll go ahead and exclude those individual tracks for you.
  - http://www.jamesclark.com/ Jim Clark
    
    Well done. Thanks.
  - Michelle M.
    
    YAY!! My exact same question. Thanks.
Martin Kennedy

I am part of the Youtube Partner program and I am wondering how CD Baby sync will work with it. Youtube are very quick to disallow me to ‘monetize’ (allowing ads on my videos) a video if their robots perceive a possible copyright clash either with the music or visuals. It is always wrong, and I must go through a tiresome permission process to get it approved. I can imagine a situation where I am trying to monetize my videos and Youtube Partners throws up a flag saying the music is from CD Baby/Rumblefish and that I do not have permission to use it. I guess I’ll find out soon enough…
- http://members.cdbaby.com CD Baby Admin
  
  No conflict there. When YouTube IDs the music as yours, you’ll get the micro-sync fee from them for the usage (based on ad revenue), plus all your Partner Program revenue still goes directly to you.
  - http://www.allindiaradio.com.au/ Martin Kennedy
    
    Excellent! Great work CD Baby. This also might present an opportunity to upload to CD Baby a number of albums worth of material I have previously recorded for other sync projects which have not been used.
    - http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
      
      Sounds great! The thing I love about sync licensing is that it’s not about the latest release or who has the most commercial success. You never know what type of music will be needed in a production.
  - Ken Theriot
    
    I cannot monetize my own videos for AdSense. The problem is that YouTube isn’t identifying the music as mine. So I get the Copyright Notices of Third Party Content. Your FAQs said NOT to dispute this. But I don’t know how else to allow YouTube to DI the music as mine. Advice?
    - http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley
      
      Send us an email. cdbaby@cdbaby.com Give us the artist name, song name, etc. and we can have Rumblefish look into it.
http://www.eliapatrick.com/ Elias Patrikainen

Does this mean that if I opt in, the videos on YouTube that use my music (including the videos I upload) will start automatically show ads on them?
- http://members.cdbaby.com CD Baby Admin
  
  Yes. That is how YouTube will generate the money to pay you.
http://www.pablo-delgado.com/ Pablo Delgado

Fantastic! I’m always having the same problems as @Martin Kennedy so I’m greatful this will make it easier.
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  Pablo – Great to hear! And there cool thing about this deal is that there are some great things you can do to drive licensing revenue. We’ll be talking more about that in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
RSP

Does this service conflict with sound exchange?
- http://members.cdbaby.com CD Baby Admin
  
  Not at all.
Kicklighter

I’m interested but how does the money break down from the original buyer , I mean what % from the original buyer. For instance if a tv show wants a song or a company wants a song for a tv ad how much do we get and what does cd baby and Rumblefish get. I would like to understand and compare this deal to other online licensing company deals
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  It’s a straight 50/50 split. You get 50% of all licensing fees. It’s a pretty standard agreement in the licensing world.
http://www.pablo-delgado.com/ Pablo Delgado

How long does it take since you opt for this until the ads start appearing on the songs you (or others) have on Youtube with your music on them? Thanks!
Brian Kelly

Sounds like a great opportunity. However, I have questions that are not addressed in CdBaby’s FAQ, the Sync Distribution Addendum, or this podcast:

1. CREDIT: Are licensee customers obligated to display credit to the artist in their media production?

2. REPORTING: What level of detail do we (artists) receive from CdBaby regarding the use of our music? If our music is licensed for use in a movie, will we know it’s been used in a movie? the name of the production company? the name of the movie?

3. DESCRIPTIONS: Will Rumblefish do the arduous work listening to each song and assigning descriptions (tempo, mood, style, genre, instrumentation, lyric content, etc.)? Or will they only use descriptive information supplied by CdBaby, which only applies to entire albums, not to individual songs.
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  Brian,
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  1. No, productions are not required to give credit to the artist. However, it really depends on the form of media as to whether or not you get any sort of visible credit. Film always give credit, where sometime TV does, but most of the time they don’t. If a website uses your music, it’s pretty common that they will give credit. It just depends on the medium and what is customary for that format.
  
  2. In your account, you will see the amount of money you earned from each placement. You’ll also see what the placement was (YouTube, TV Production, DVD, Film, Video Game). Typically it’s specific enough that you can find it on line and check it out if you’re interested to see how the music was used.
  
  3. Yes/No – They are taking the meta data from CD Baby and adding it all to their search functionality (make sure all your album info is filled out 100% for best results). They have some great search tools that music supervisors and directors use daily to find music that matches what they need. They will also be doing a lot of listing as the music comes in and using new ID technology to help them match tracks with the licensing requests they get. New technology really makes this work so the entire catalog gets exposure. In the past, this would not have been as likely.
AMEET SHARMA

Hi. This is great. So how does this work with youtube exactly? If I go into my youtube account… should the songs I opted-in appear in the Video Editor?
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  You would just edit your videos like normal, pulling the audio into iMovie or Final Cut or whatever program you use. When you upload the video, YouTube will ID the music in its audio fingerprinting process.
  - AMEET SHARMA
    
    Thanks. Hmmm… I’m curious how this ID process would work. If someone bought my music from itunes… then converted it to mp3… and used it with their youtube video… would this process detect the music was mine?
    - http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
      
      Yes. It would. I don’t know HOW it works, but it works. Some kind of tech magic.
      - http://www.facebook.com/rickstonemusic Rick Stone
        
        Yeah, the digital fingerprinting technology has been around for quite awhile now and works great. Back in 2004 I signed up for a tracking service through Media Guide and they were reporting EVERY play my CDs got, down to the exact cut, the station, the exact time and date, and almost instantaneously.
        
        I was even more surprised when I started ripping my vinyl LPs to CD and putting them in iTunes and they were correctly identified (even with some editing, noise-removal, etc. being performed on them first).
        
        Also, we received substantial royalties through Sound Exchange (who use similar technology) for cable, internet, XM Sirius, etc.
        
        So there’s really NO excuse when ASCAP or BMI don’t pay indie artists for our airplay. As far as I know, they’re still use antiquated systems that rely on the DJs logging what they play, and base their artist payments on a sampling system and a multiplier.
      - http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
        
        It’s like the Middle Ages!
JS

Um, I keep hearing is that Rumblefish does not submit cue sheets for music it places in TV shows, and since the artist is not notified of placement until after the fact, it makes it very hard, if not impossible, to do it yourself. The end result is NO ROYALTIES FOR THE ARTIST for TV show placement. This is bad. Assuming this is true, I would hope that CD Baby, a company that was built on helping artists, rather than merely exploiting them, would either 1) step in to rectify this situation, or 2) discontinue it’s relationship with Rumblefish.
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  It’s not the job of the licensing company to submit cue sheets. There could be many different licensing companies involved in licensing the tracks for a TV show or film. The music supervisor working on the production is the one responsible for submitting cue sheets. But if you’re concerned about that, you could always just opt in for the micro-sync option.
Linda Vee Sado

Great to see I am already being set up on some songs. Wow That was fast too. This is too exciting.

BTW I released a public domain song I did my own arrangement and rewrote the lyrics.
Wondering if this be opted in? I do get some grief from sites removing it thinking it’s a cover of the Animals.
I am also going to release another track which I am using the music from a 19th century song in. But it will also have a different name.
- Anonymous
  
  If the song is your version of a public domain song, then YES, it can be opted in.
  - Linda Vee Sado
    
    thanks : )
Ink Eye Studios

How do we maximize ourselves for placement by opting in? The CDBaby catalog is huge. How do these places/businesses look for music within the Rumblefish/CDBaby catalog?
- Anonymous
  
  First off, Rumblefish has some really cool search tools that help content creators find music they are looking for. For the size of catalog, they will have a decent percentage of placements that happen.
  
  The other way is through the micro sync portion of the program. We’ll have some blog posts up shortly that will highlight how you can specifically take action to make money.
http://www.facebook.com/alainpernotprofile Alain Pernot

I wonder with the zillion artists on CdBaby… How will the selection process be made? How does an artist’s material stand the chance of being heard for those opportunities?
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  We provide other data (style/genre/album notes, etc.) to Rumblefish that helps those who are searching for the right music to find YOUR music.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

Hey S, sorry for the confusion. All you’ll need to do is go here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGVHNVNwWE9wa2VkQ0xCQy1ERGxpQ0E6MQ#gid=0

Fill out that form, and Rumblefish will rescind its “claim” to the music in the videos on your YouTube channel. But it will still be able to collect YouTube ad-revenue on your behalf if OTHER people use your music in their videos.

Hopefully that makes sense. Check out the form, and let us know if you have any further questions.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

Nope. YouTube will recognize the music through their content IDing process as a song in the Rumblefish catalog. You don’t have to re-upload anything.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

Which process? The delivery to Rumblefish? Where are you searching? Send an email to cdbaby@cdbaby.com and we can let you know the answers.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

It can sometimes take 2 or more weeks to get your albums delivered and properly cataloged in Rumblefish’s database. You should see it in there soon, though. Also, yes: YouTube (once they have fingerprinted your music through their content ID process) will recognize your music being used in other people’s videos and then place advertisements in them which you will earn revenue from.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

Cool. Thanks! We’ve been busy these past weeks! And your music sounds like it’d be perfect for the All Media option.
Nathanlienard

Do you have to have your tunes registered with ASCAP or something similar to opt in?
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  No, but it can’t hurt. Especially if you get a TV or film placement… a PRO will then be able to collect performance royalties for you in addition to the licensing fee you’ll receive through RUmblefish/CD Baby.
Pingback: Making Money from Your Music on YouTube: What You Need to Know! | DIY Musician
Aaron

Since this deal is brand new, what if my youtube videos have already generated millions of views from the past from myself and others? Could i still get paid for those views?
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  Sorry. The deal is not retro-active.
Mik Bachelier

My youtube adsense account was recently disabeled. Does this also keep me from using this service for youtube?
- http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby
  
  I’m confused. Did you disable it yourself? Or are you suspecting your adsense account was disabled because of CD Baby’s sync licensing program? Are you seeing any copyright claim notices in your YouTube account attributed to Rumblefish? Write to cdbaby@cdbaby.com with details and we can see if we can help.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

I’m not sure I understand. Do you own the copyright to those other artists’ sound recordings? If not, I’d say they should sign up for the program directly. if you are the owner of the sound recordings, then by all means sign them up under your own account. Also, if the remixes are different enough from the original recording, my assumption is that YouTube would ID it as a separate composition. Just a hunch though.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

As far as we’re aware, this should not be a result of CD Baby’s sync program. But can you send us a link to what you’re seeing?
Walter Earl

Hi Bridget it me Walter Earl you are right I’m friends with Derek when he was here he would show you how things are break down, like who get what before ect.
http://members.cdbaby.com/ CD Baby

We did a massive initial delivery of music, so I think there is so delay and catchup work from that. Should be soon!
Pingback: Top 3 Ways to Promote Your Music If You Don’t Perform Live | DIY Musician
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

That depends on the deal you’ve worked out with them in order to use your music. When they licensed the tune, what were the terms? If the song is being administered through our program with Rumblefish, then Rumblefish will claim monetization rights and get the whole amount for you.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Rumblefish is working through our catalog still, since we sent them a bazillion tracks overnight, so it’s possible that your 2nd song has simply not been ID’d yet. I’d give it another few weeks and then, if still nothing, you could contact Rumblefish to check on its status. Regarding ads not showing up yet, what did you do in terms of that copyright notification? Did you approve that the songs were rightfully administered by that third party?
- Har
  
  Yes, I clicked the “Acknowledge” button for the notification, being mindful that CDBaby did clearly point out to *not* challenge it. That was the only notification I received, though; technically I actually have 3 videos up for music I have opted-in, with the 3rd one having been uploaded before the Sync Licensing became available, so I’m hoping it’ll eventually get ID’d as well for views after the Delivery Date.
  
  If a video hasn’t been ID’d yet though the videos were uploaded well past the Rumblefish delivery dates, will the number of views be counted retroactive to the Delivery Date once they are ID’d? I know any views that occurred *before* the delivery date aren’t retro-ed, but I would think in this case they should be since they were uploaded *after* the delivery to Rumblefish? That’s the only date we as CDBaby Members really have to go by, as there’s not any “delivered to Rumblefish, plus have also been finally worked through by them” dates provided to us.
  
  Also: since this has all been set up through CDBaby itself – shouldn’t I try to contact them directly if the ads never do show up, rather than try to contact Rumblefish? I didn’t remember seeing any kind of contact information for such matters in the CDBaby Members section regarding that possibility.
  
  Thanks again for all your help, very much appreciated!
  - http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley
    
    You can contact us: cdbaby@cdbaby.com. We can’t see in our system when YouTube’s content ID process is enacted on each song though (since that is Rumblefish’s part of the deal), but we can check with them. Also, it is not retroactive. Once YouTube knows WHO is claiming ownership of the song, they can start paying out share for clicked ads.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

This is a bit of a gray area at the moment. I believe that YouTube prioritizes the music, but that they’re also working to create some sort of ad revenue share for both rights holders (music AND video).
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Our customer service department is already looking into your first concern about when content IDing occurs, but I can answer you on the second question. YouTube pays ad-share revenue per clicked ad.
- Har
  
  Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification on that Christopher!
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

You can opt out at any time. As for negative results, no– not in a long term sense. There have been some complications occasionally with YouTube’s content ID process where there’s some confusion over rights management for a particular track. But it gets sorted out quickly, and those are rare cases to begin with.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

No. The content ID only works to match something to a master recording. So… it’d have to be a live recording that you were selling through CD Baby in order to be matched. Someone else’s performance would not be matched.
Attila Kovacs

I am not part of the Youtube Partner program because Denmark is not included in the partner program. So I don’t even have Adsense membership. Am I still able to monetize my videos?
I cannot see any revenue in the CD Baby accounting page.
- http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley
  
  Yes. You can monetize your videos through our sync licensing program. If you’ve already done so, you might not see any revenues reported yet, as our first sync report only covered the first week or so of the program– which was back in the winter.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Hey Quinn, there is a way to request that Rumblefish drop their claim on those 3 videos in your channel. Then, they can still collect ad revenue from the usage of that song ELSEWHERE on YouTube (not in your Channel), but you can collect directly for anything you’ve uploaded. To do so, go here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGVHNVNwWE9wa2VkQ0xCQy1ERGxpQ0E6MQ
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Are you existing sync deals exclusive? If not, sign up with us too. More opportunities the better. If they are exclusive, then no—you have to sign up the whole album. You can’t opt in individual tracks from an album. Though you can opt in single song submissions.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Hey K, we get our sync payments from Rumblefish quarterly, and then we add them to your balance within a couple days. Sync payments show up in your digital accounting area in your members dashboard.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Here’s something I just wrote to another commenter with a similar question. This answer is regarding the ad-revenue generated from micro-sync on YouTube (since there is no real standard fee for usages in TV/film/games — besides saying that Rumblefish will negotiate the largest fee possible, since they only make money when you do, so obviously they want that fee to be substantial): Well, it’s tough to say how much an artist will make for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that YouTube ad-share payments vary depending upon a host of factors — but the payments are generally in the same range as on-demand streaming payments from Rhapsody or Spotify. Also, the more videos your music is used in, and the more those videos are played, the greater your chances for earning ad revenue — but that will be different for every artist. Lastly, the certain part: for all micro-sync revenue, there’s a 50/50 split. You earn 50 percent and Rumblefish/CD Baby keep 50 percent. Hope that helps give you enough information to figure out what sync solution is best for you, but please let me know if you have any other questions.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Well, it should — technically — work the same. Their content ID system should recognize the sonic fingerprint of a particular master recording, and pay the rights holder accordingly. However, if you know that they’ve mis-identified something, please notify us right away and we’ll make sure things get straightened out.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

Sync payments come in quarterly, so if you’re certain you’re owed sync fees, that money will be coming soon!

Music Promotion for Independent Musicians

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

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?