Sync licensing and production music are distinct income categories, but they overlap in practice – particularly for media composers – and both involve licensing your music for use alongside visual content.
How sync licensing works
A sync licence grants permission to use your composition in combination with moving images – a film scene, a TV programme, an advert, a video game, a trailer. In the UK, some broadcaster uses of music are covered by PRS/MCPS blanket licences, meaning the broadcaster does not need to negotiate a separate sync licence for every track. For commercial sync – advertising, feature films, games – individual licences are required, negotiated directly between the production and your publisher (or you, if you control the sync rights).
Sync fees are entirely negotiable. There is no standard tariff. The fee depends on the production’s budget, the territory and duration of the licence, the media it covers, and how prominently the music features. A primetime TV ad will command a significantly higher fee than a corporate training video. In most cases, the sync fee is split between the publisher and the writer according to the publishing agreement. A separate master licence is needed from whoever owns the recording – usually a record label – but that is a recording right, not a publishing right.
After the sync, performance royalties flow from PRS every time the content is broadcast or streamed. These backend royalties are separate from the upfront sync fee and can continue for years.
Production music
Production music – tracks created specifically for licensing into TV, film, advertising and other media – operates through a different model. Composers typically assign their copyrights to a production music library, which handles all sync licensing, registration and pitching. The library offers pre-cleared music that productions can license immediately without individual negotiations.
The composer usually retains their writer’s share of PRS performance royalties, which is where most of the ongoing income comes from. Library deals typically split royalties 50/50 between composer and library. Some libraries pay upfront fees for tracks; others work purely on a royalty basis. The key income driver for production music is volume and broadcast frequency – a single library track used as background music across multiple TV programmes can earn steadily for years.
For media composers, production music libraries can provide a reliable baseline income alongside bespoke commissions. Many composers work with libraries and take direct commissions in parallel. If you are considering a library deal, check the terms carefully: what rights you are assigning, whether you retain your PRS writer’s share, and how international licensing and registration are handled.
