Sync & Media
Cue Sheets Explained: How a Sync Placement Turns Into Performance Royalties
By the Starchild Music team · October 17, 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
A cue sheet is a document listing every piece of music in a film or TV program, with titles, writers, publishers, timings and how each piece was used. Performing rights organizations use it to pay royalties when the program is broadcast, so a placement without one can mean no performance income. The production company usually files it, but songwriters should make sure their details are correct.
Landing a placement feels like the finish line. For a songwriter it is often only the halfway point. The second half of the money depends on a one-page document most writers never see: the cue sheet.
Here is what a cue sheet is, who is supposed to file it, and what you can do so your placement actually pays.
What a cue sheet is
A cue sheet lists all the music used in a film or TV production. SOCAN, Canada's performing rights organization, describes it as the document it uses to pay royalties to copyright owners when their music is performed in audiovisual productions.
Fox Music's guide to TV music rights describes cue sheets as the reporting documents that tell performing rights organizations which music was used in a broadcast. It quotes the standard line that they are the primary means by which these organizations track music in film and TV.
Without that report, the organizations have nothing to match to your name. The song aired, but nobody knows to pay you.
What goes on it
Fox Music's guide lists the typical contents. You will see the track title and version used, the timing and duration of each piece, writer and composer credits, publisher information and PRO affiliations.
Those details matter because they are the only record of what was actually heard. The sheet is what lets a rights organization match a cue to the right writers, publishers and shares.
Who files it
The production side does. Fox Music's guide says music supervisors or composers typically prepare final cue sheets for TV, with post-production teams exporting timings from their editing sessions.
This is worth knowing because the songwriter usually cannot file for themselves. Fox's guide also advises coordinating with broadcasters about their specific cue sheet requirements, and it notes that for streaming and on-demand platforms the rules vary by service.
In short, you rely on someone else to report your song correctly. That makes your own paperwork more important, not less.
How it becomes money
Here is the chain. Performing rights organizations such as ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN license broadcasters and collect fees. They then use the data from cue sheets to decide which members are owed what.
That payment is separate from the sync fee. The sync fee is what the production pays to use your song. The performance royalty is what you earn each time the program is broadcast, and it only reaches you if the cue sheet names you and your PRO.
That is why the sheet carries your share and your publisher's share, not just a title.
What a songwriter can do
You cannot control the filing, but you can make errors unlikely.
- Register your songs with your PRO before the placement, with exact titles and writer shares.
- Send the production a clean data sheet: title, writers, percentages, PRO, IPI numbers and publisher.
- Keep the same title everywhere. Fox Music's guide stresses that good metadata is how the right people get matched to the right cue.
- Ask the supervisor or production contact to confirm a cue sheet will be filed, and when the show airs.
- Check your PRO statements later and flag any missing placement.
Why this matters for adaptive and future placements
As music moves into games, interactive media and ads, the same principle holds: someone has to record what was used, where and for how long. The details of reporting vary by medium, so always ask what the production plans to report.
Starchild's license certificates name the writers with their PRO and IPI details, which gives any production a ready source for correct credits. Adaptive sync licensing for film, TV, games and ads is coming this fall. To get your registrations in order first, read the metadata that actually pays you and the pre-upload metadata checklist.
A worked example
Say a show uses your song for ninety seconds under a dinner scene. The editor logs the cue, and the music department notes the title, writers and shares. The production company then submits the sheet to the performing rights organizations.
When the episode airs, the organizations match your cue to your PRO account and add it to your royalty statement. If your name was misspelled or your share left off, the money can go astray or be delayed.
None of that is visible to you at the time. Often the only sign something went wrong is a statement that never shows the placement.
When something looks wrong
If a placement airs and you see nothing on your statement after a reasonable wait, start by asking the production contact or the supervisor whether the cue sheet was filed and where it went. SOCAN's page notes that submissions go to a specific address, which is a reminder that each organization has its own intake.
Then contact your own PRO with the show title, episode, air date and your song details. Having the cue data to hand makes that conversation much shorter.
Why metadata is the real hero
A cue sheet is only as good as the data behind it. Fox Music's guide puts it this way: metadata is how the right people get matched to the right cue.
That is a good reason to treat your song registrations as part of the creative work. A title spelled two ways or a writer share that does not add up can undo a placement that went well in every other respect.
Spend an hour now confirming that every song in your catalog is registered the same way everywhere. It is some of the best-paid administrative time you will ever spend.