How Do You Get a Sync License for a Song? The Steps, in Order

You have found the song. It fits the scene, the editor loves it, and now someone has to say yes. A sync license is that yes: permission to pair a song with moving pictures, whether those pictures are a film, a web series, an ad or a brand video.

For a song that already exists, getting that permission is a short chain of steps. None is hard, but the order matters: skipping one is how projects end up with a finished cut and no permission. This is general information, not legal advice, so for a bigger project ask a music lawyer or a clearance specialist to read your paperwork.

First, know what you are asking for

A recorded song holds two separate copyrights, so there are usually two permissions to get. As ASCAP's checklist for film and video makers puts it, the synchronization license for the song itself "must be obtained from the copyright owner of the musical work, which is usually the music publisher," and the master use license for the specific recording is cleared with "the entity (usually the record label) that owns the specific recording."

If you record your own version instead, you need only the first, as Universal Music Canada's licensing page notes. We cover that route in cover songs in film and ads.

Step 1: Write down the use

Owners cannot quote what they cannot picture, so write the use down before you contact anyone. ASCAP's checklist and a major label's request form ask for much the same things.

• The song and the recording: title, writers, and the artist if you want an existing recording.
• How it plays: in the opening or closing titles, as a featured moment where the song holds the viewer's attention, or in the background of a scene. ASCAP also asks how many times it plays and for how long.
• Where it will be seen: a festival, a website, broadcast, an ad or social clips (Berklee notes that supervisors usually negotiate social media rights separately). If there will be paid promotion, say so. The label's form asks what type, such as paid boosts, where and for how long.
• Territory and term: which countries, and for how long.
• A short synopsis of the project and its budget.

Step 2: Find who owns the song

Start with the publisher. BMI says the four major U.S. performing rights organizations (BMI, ASCAP, GMR and SESAC) share ownership data through a system called Songview, which feeds the public search tools at BMI and ASCAP. You can search by title, performer, writer or publisher. Many songs share a title, so check the writers before you trust a match. Our guide to finding out who owns a song goes deeper on the databases.

Treat the database as a starting point. Berklee says supervisors more often have to "play sleuth," moving from databases such as ASCAP or BMI to internet searches and phone calls to track down owners. If a song has several publishers, plan to ask each one: Berklee describes a supervisor who negotiated separately with each rights holder on a song with 11 writers and seven publishers.

Step 3: Find who owns the recording

The recording belongs to whoever holds the rights in it, usually a record label. Many releases carry a ℗ line. The U.S. Copyright Office describes that kind of notice as a symbol, the year of first publication and the owner's name. Notices have been optional since 1989, so a missing line settles nothing. ASCAP adds that companies such as SoundExchange can provide recording ownership information online.

Step 4: Send each owner a written request

Use the owner's own form if there is one. If not, send a short email that covers the points from Step 1. Universal Music Canada's form is a good model. It requires your contact details, the project type, a brief synopsis, and the recording title and artist, and it invites the media, territory, term, a description of the use, its length and the budgets. The U.S. Copyright Office's guide to getting permission gives a similar list: the exact material, how you will use it, the audience, whether it will be sold, and who you are.

A request can be this short: "We are making an eight-minute documentary for festivals and our own website. We would like to use about 40 seconds of the song as background music in one dinner scene. We need worldwide rights for three years, with no paid promotion. Could you send a quote and your terms?" Add a line asking how the fee would change if the film later appears in other media. ASCAP suggests asking exactly that, and it is easier to settle before a distributor is waiting.

Step 5: Wait, then follow up

Do not expect an instant answer. The same label page asks requesters to "allow up to two weeks for an initial response" and to follow up after that. A university library's FAQ on copyright permissions says the wait can run from 24 hours to eight weeks and is "in the hands of the publisher." The Copyright Office advises asking as far in advance as possible, since the first person you reach may only refer you to the right owner. If your video has a fixed date, such as a December holiday launch, count back from it.

Silence is not a yes. ASCAP warns that using a song without a proper license may be treated as infringement, which can bring statutory damages.

Step 6: Read the quote before you sign

Sync fees do not come off a price list. Universal Music Canada says they depend on the media, territory, term and recording, and that every request is quoted individually. ASCAP calls them "often negotiable and not standard." The Arts Law Centre of Australia's guide to sync licenses lists the terms a license should spell out. It is Australian, but ASCAP and the label ask about the same things.

• Exactly which music, and how much of it you may use.
• Territory: which countries. A feature film usually needs the world, while an ad campaign may need only certain markets.
• Term: how long the license lasts. A campaign license usually matches the planned run, sometimes with options to extend. A film is often licensed in perpetuity, because the music cannot easily be removed once the film is out.
• Media: for example TV and radio only, internet only, or all formats.
• Exclusivity: film and series licenses are generally non-exclusive, while an ad campaign may ask for exclusivity during its term and territory.
• A promise from the rights holder that they are able to grant the rights. That promise is what makes the paper worth having later.

Step 7: Sign, then keep the paperwork

Do not publish until you hold a signed license from every owner you needed: each publisher with a share of the song, and the recording owner if you use an existing recording. Keep the licenses with the project files. ASCAP notes that clearing rights at the start matters if you want a distributor to take your work. The license is your proof.

One more permission can come into play. Streaming the finished video from your own website or app can add a public performance license, which is a separate right. We explain the difference in sync license vs performance license.

If you hit a wall

Sometimes the owner cannot be found, the answer is no, or the quote does not fit. You still have options.

• Choose music that is already cleared. A one-stop song takes one conversation instead of several.
• Record your own version. That removes the recording owner from the picture, but not the publisher.
• Commission new music. ASCAP notes that when you hire your own songwriter to create original music and record it yourself, you can negotiate all the rights directly with the person you hire.
• Test a close alternative against the picture early, before you fall for a song you cannot have. That trap is called temp love.

Where Starchild fits

Every Starchild license comes with a certificate naming the writers, and starchild.music/verify checks it. That is the kind of record the steps above are meant to build. For a film, series or ad, the sync licensing page is the place to start, and the film and TV page is where to browse. Adaptive sync licensing for film, TV, games and ads launches in fall 2026.

Sources

• ASCAP: A Checklist for Using Music in Film or Other Audio-Video Content
• Universal Music Canada: Sync & Licensing
• BMI: Songview and BMI Repertoire search
• Berklee: Music Supervisors Are Essential to Syching Music to Visual Media, and Demand is Rising
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 3, Copyright Notice
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 16A, How to Obtain Permission
• Western Washington University Libraries: How long will it take to obtain copyright permissions?
• Arts Law Centre of Australia: Music Synchronisation Licence Fact Sheet