I was hanging out with another composer friend of mine recently and the topic of sync licensing came up. My friend suggested that with as many licensing credits as I have (close to 1,000) that I should set up an IMDB page where I list all my credits. He suggested this would lend even more credibility to my role within the sync licensing space and potentially help me get more placements. I’m now in the process of listing myself on IMDB and I thought I would share with you all what I’ve learned about the process of listing yourself on IMDB. Here are the steps involved in listing yourself on IMDB: To list yourself on IMDb as a musician with music licensing credits, you'll need to follow the platform's guidelines for creating a new page or adding credits to an existing page. IMDb is a comprehensive database for movies, TV shows, and the professionals who work on them, including musicians. Here's a general guide on how to get listed: Create an IMDb Account: If you don't already have one, you'll need to create an IMDb account. Go to the IMDb website and sign up. Search for Existing Credits: Before adding new information, search IMDb to see if any of your work or your name is already listed. Sometimes, credits are added by other members of the production team or fans. Contribute New Information:
Select the Correct Category: When adding your credits, make sure to select the category that best represents your contribution. For music licensing, this could be under "Music Department" or "Soundtrack" depending on how your music was used. Provide Verification: IMDb may require verification for the credits you're adding. This could include links to official sources like cue sheets, production notes, or other forms of proof that confirm your involvement in the project. Submit and Wait for Approval: Once you've submitted your credits, there will be a review process. IMDb's data editors will review your submission to ensure it meets their guidelines. This process can take some time, depending on the volume of submissions they're handling. Update Your Profile: After your credits are approved and you have a page, you can further enhance your IMDb presence by adding a biography, photos, and other relevant information to make your profile more comprehensive and appealing. IMDbPro: For more visibility and control over your IMDb page, consider subscribing to IMDbPro. This service offers additional features such as the ability to upload photos, update your contact information, and more detailed control over your profile. IMDb values accuracy and completeness, so it's important to submit detailed and verifiable information about your credits. If you encounter any difficulties, IMDb provides help resources and support to guide you through the process. If you have a significant amount of licensing credits, consider creating an IMDB page that you can send to prospective clients, supervisors, etc. To be honest, in all my years licensing my music I’ve never once been asked for this, so it’s not exactly a pre-requisite to getting your music licensed. But anything that helps you appear more credible and established is a good thing, which is why I’ve decided to add myself to IMDB. Are you looking for more in-depth information about how to make money licensing your music in tv and films? Go premium and take advantage of all of our in-depth courses, monthly webinars with music licensing experts, daily music licensing leads, in depth directories and much, much more. We have over 200 hours of the most in-depth, cutting-edge information on how to make money licensing your music in tv, films, ads and more you’ll find anywhere. GO PREMIUM HERE.
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I recently found out that one of my songs was used in a made for tv movie called “English Estate”, not once, but twice. Once in its entirety and once for 31 seconds. I’ve now had songs in dozens of tv shows, video games, commercials and now a film. I’ve had the goal of placing music in films for a long time, but for some reason this goal has eluded me until now.
I’ve recently been back in the studio working on a new EP, after a bit of a hiatus from writing and recording last year, and my creative juices are flowing again. Now that I’m back in songwriting mode, I’ve been reflecting on what a long and winding road pursuing songwriting and music licensing has been. As others and I have said, “sync licensing is a marathon and not a sprint”. I think the same can be said for pursuing music in general. It takes time to get good at an instrument. It takes time to learn how to write songs well. It takes time learn how to produce music well. It takes time to create a catalog of marketable music. It takes time to build connections. It takes time to get things placed. And so on. At this point, I don’t really worry that much about any specific song, or specific music library, or specific placement. My main focus is to continue to get better at songwriting and continuing to create the best music I’m capable of and let the chips fall where they may. When I finish a batch of new tunes, I shop them to the different libraries and publishers I work with and then I sort of forget about them, until they end up getting used, which can take anywhere from a few months to several years, or even more. I’ve had songs get placed as many as ten years after I signed them! Like I said, it’s a marathon. The funny thing about the song I placed in the film, is that I wrote that particular song, “You’ll Be On My Mind”, over five years ago and when I listen to it now, I cringe a little. I feel like I’ve become a much better songwriter since then and I’m not chasing placements the way I was back then. As a result, my music, at least to me, sounds a lot better. It’s more authentic at least. I’m creating the kind of music I want to create, as opposed to creating music specifically with the goal of licensing my tracks. Focus on what you can control: Creating Music If your goal is to create a catalog of music that will ultimately create a full-time revenue stream, or even a solid part time income stream, the most important thing you can do is simply continue writing and composing new music. Since the sync licensing business is such an unpredictable business, and since you ultimately don’t really have control over how or when your music is used, it makes the most sense to just keep creating tracks. Let’s imagine two scenarios: Scenario 1) You write a catalog of 15 tracks, and you sign them to two different music libraries. A year goes by and nothing at all has happened, you start to get discouraged and decide to take a break from songwriting for a year and then the following year, all of a sudden you get three tracks placed. This motivates you and you decide to return to songwriting and write another ten tracks, that you then have to shop around and wait to get placed, which could take another year, or more. Scenario 2) Now imagine the exact same scenario as above, but instead of getting discouraged and taking a break, you had kept going the whole time and during the year it took to get your initial songs placed, you had another 20 tracks you were able to sign to your existing libraries. Maybe you also made a few new connections during that time as well and signed to a few other places. Obviously, this is the best-case scenario of the two scenarios, which is why I don’t really even worry about placements anymore. It’s out of my hands. If you’re getting discouraged about pursuing licensing but not getting placements, or as many as you’d like, the only thing you can really do is to simply keep going. Keep improving as a songwriter/composer. Keep refining your craft. Keep creating new music. Conversely, if you are getting placements and want to continue getting more, the only thing you can really do is focus on continuing to create more tracks. No matter the circumstances, the only thing you can really do is continue to improve your craft. If you make that your focus, eventually doors will start to open and things will start to happen. Check out my track, You’ll Be On My Mind, as featured in the movie English Estate and heard on The Young & The Restless.
And, if you want to check out some of my newer material, here are two new tracks that will be included on my self produced, upcoming EP I'll be releasing later this year.
Stranger In This Place
Dreaming Of A Fantasy
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