No. 24Rights & Licenses
Synchronization Rights
Also called sync rights, synch rights, visual media licence
The right to pair your music with visual content, film, TV, ads, games, and online video.
Watch closely
Without approval rights, sync decisions are entirely the label's to make.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, Publishing Deal, Licensing Agreement
- Topic
- Licensing
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- July 2026
In plain English
Synchronization rights (sync rights) cover the use of a composition alongside moving images. A sync placement requires two separate licences: one from the master recording owner (usually the label) and one from the composition publisher. Both must agree for the placement to proceed.
Why it matters
Sync is one of the highest-value licensing categories in music. Labels that control sync without seeking artist input can place recordings in contexts that damage brand or artistic reputation, or hold out and block placements that would benefit the artist.
Where it can land
The same clause is drafted three ways. These are the positions we see, worst first, so you can tell at a glance which one is in front of you.
- Label has sole discretion over all sync placements with no approval requirement
- No blacklist of restricted uses (political, weapons, controversial brands)
- Artist receives no share of sync fees
- Approval only for 'derogatory' uses, no approval for premium placements
- Sync fee split below 50/50
- Artist approval required for all major sync placements
- 50/50 or better fee split on master sync income
- Defined blacklist of prohibited sync uses
The language
The drafting language and the negotiation moves for this clause are part of the workspace.
You have read what the clause means and where the risk sits. The rest is the side-by-side of how it reads when it is against you and when it is not, plus the specific moves that get it there.