Here at Bodega Sync, we are very fortunate to have so many incredibly talented artists interested in working with us. However, sync representation can be a bit of a mystery for those not in the industry. Because of this, we’re here to provide some useful information to consider before you apply to give you the best chance of success. Here’s everything you need to know…
What To Know Before Applying to Bodega Sync
What Are We Looking For?
There’s really no simple answer. There’s no one genre we’re looking for and we don’t care if you’re famous. However, the music supervisors we pitch to are very picky and have a lot to choose from, so we need to be selective about who we sign.
We’d ideally like for you to have some kind of following, have at least an album’s worth of material and release new music on a regular basis. There’s definitely a subjective aspect as to whether we feel your music would work for the creative briefs we receive or if you’re a complement to our existing roster. In general, we’re looking for authentic artists rather than production or “made for sync” music, and we prefer songs with vocals over anything purely instrumental.
At the end of the day, we’re just looking for stuff we think we can sell. If that’s not you, it absolutely doesn’t mean we think your music isn’t good! There are many legitimate reasons we may choose to pass, so please don’t take it personally.
How Many Stops?
Who controls the publishing and master rights to your music is one of the most important aspects we consider when deciding whether you’re a right fit for us. Our ideal situation is “one-stop”, which means that you control 100% of both the publishing and master rights to your music. If you’re an unsigned independent artist or band who writes and records all your own music, then congratulations! You’re one-stop.
If you co-write your music with outside songwriters or producers, then these collaborators most likely co-own the rights to your music. So long as there aren’t too many contributors involved and nobody is signed to a publishing deal, we can help aggregate your rights and get it to be one-stop. If you or your collaborators are signed to a publishing deal, that’s ok too. Just be sure to let us know these details so that we’re aware while evaluating your application.
Last but not least, we can’t accept anything containing copyrighted samples, licensed beats from a marketplace like BeatStars, or generative AI. So please don’t send us any of that.
What’s The Deal?
Our full agreement is not publicly available, but it’s very understandable to want to know what these terms are before you apply. Our standard deal is a two year exclusive contract with a 30% commission rate on sync licensing fees. We don’t commission performance royalties, nor do we register your songs with ASCAP or BMI. Our terms only apply to the songs itemized in the agreement and there’s no requirement to have us represent any other songs outside the deal or any future works you may write.
That said, the more music you give us, the more we have to pitch and the higher our chances of success. We ask for a minimum of ten songs to start with, so if you only have one or two songs your application is not likely to be approved. There’s also no requirement that any of the songs we represent be distributed through our parent company Symphonic, though it’s certainly a major plus.
Tell Us About You!
At the end of the application, there’s a section where we invite you to tell us anything else you want us to know. Letting us know something interesting or unique about you, whether your music is one-stop, or even just a polite hello can increase your chances of being approved. So don’t leave it blank!
In Conclusion…
We hope this has shed some light on the sync process and provides some insight into why we do what we do. In the meantime, check out the other articles we have on sync licensing below…
- Music Industry Biz 101: How to Prepare Your Music for Sync Licensing
- How to Optimize your Songwriting for Sync
- What is Micro-Sync Licensing?
Good luck!
