What is Sync Licensing?
A sync (synchronization) license is a legal agreement that grants permission to synchronize a musical composition with visual media, videos, films, TV shows, advertisements, and video games. The term comes from the act of synchronizing audio with picture. Sync licenses are typically obtained from the music publisher who controls the composition rights, and they are separate from master recording licenses.
The Two Licenses You Need
When licensing commercial music for video, you typically need two things: a sync license (from the publisher, for the composition, the notes and lyrics) and a master license (from the record label, for the specific recording). Both must be cleared for the use to be legal.
This is why licensing popular songs is expensive and complex: you are negotiating with two different entities, neither of which is incentivized to give you a good deal as an independent creator.
Sync Licensing for Creators
Most independent creators do not need traditional sync licensing because they use royalty free or AI generated music that comes with pre cleared licenses. Tonr's license covers sync use on Pro and Business plans: you can synchronize any Tonr track with your video content for commercial purposes without additional sync fees.
sync license / music licensing / commercial music / publishing rights