One of the only good things (assuming you’re OK with it) a major label record deal would provide you is the chance to get your songs used on adverts and films – syncing, as it’s known in the industry. It’s hard to get your music noticed by the kind of people who license songs in this way, but it’s getting much easier thanks to companies like PumpAudio and now YouLicense.

YouLicense calls itself an ‘online music licensing marketplace’ and is currently in invite-only beta; but we’ve managed to get a look inside, and it’s a fairly impressive service. It’s free for the time being, although they will charge in the future depending on how many tracks you want to upload. They also take a 9% commission which will be “charged directly from the artist, once a deal has been agreed upon by both sides.”

Sounds interesting, but there’s no mention of any partnerships in place with ad companies or labels, so we’ll reserve judgement on just how useful and financially rewarding this could be as a licensing platform. Remember also, that it can take a long time, sometimes years, for your music to get picked up for syncs if you haven’t got the backing of a label or publishing house behind you (and even then it can still take a long time).

It’s increasingly hard to make a living from music without at some point considering licensing your music to ads, movies or TV shows. A Boards of Canada track has just recently shown up on a TV ad in the UK, suggesting that even the most seemingly credible artists have a breaking point. Sigh.

Peter Bjorn and John – It Beats Me Every Time

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