Tuesday, February 4

Day 1

9:30 AM – 10:00 Online Only

Opening Keynote

10:00 AM – 10:45 AM – Online Only

Workshop: The Importance of Preparing Your Music for Presentation – A How-To Guide.

To start the Sync Summit, we’re doing a workshop on best practices in preparing and presenting your music to decision makers in person and online.  It’s a fact that when your music is prepared with good metadata, confirmation ownership information and mdescriptive tagging, decision makers will see you in a more positive, professional light.

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM Online only

Workshop: The Importance of Building Your Network: A How-To Guide on Making Connections and Outreach

Understanding how to research and then network with decision makers is key to success for anyone working in making and licensing music for every type of media. This workshop is a step-by step guide featuring links, spreadsheets, resources, best practices and email templates to get you started, as well as tips on how to network impactfully in person. 

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Online Only

Workshop: The Importance Of Good Producting, Mixing and Mastering

Presenting music that is well-produced, mixed and mastered is essential for your success. Generally, if the music isn’t ready for release on a streaming network, it’s not ready for presenting to a project or a deicion maker.  This workshop features a how-to guide on the principals of good mastering, mixing and productioh – for sync and beyond, including online and in-person resources and best practices. 

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM Break

12:15 PM – 1:00PM Online Only

Workshop: If the Song doesn’t Fit, then don’t Submit:  Responding Effectively to Briefs and Requests

Knowing how to respond to a brief, what to present if you have music that honestly fits the need of the brief, and knowing what to do next if you don’t have music that fits the needs of the particular request is crucial to network-building and success in general.  In this conversation, we’ll discuss what the best practices are in responding to music requests every time, and doing it in a way that helps you to productively build your network and reputation. 

1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Online Only

Brief Fest 2025:  Live Briefs from Our Speakers for You To Submit Your Music

This is going to be fun.  Now that we’ve spent the last few workshops talking about best practices in preparation and presenting for lciesning opportunities, so now, we’re going to dive right in and submit some music for live, active briefs looking for music for projects. This panel features speakers who are looking for music for their projects right now.  You’ll get the brief, and then you’ll be able to submit music to an upload link for each speaker’s brief. 

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM – Online Only

PANEL: How Did You do it? Becoming A Successful Music Supervisor or Coordinator

If you are an aspiring music supervisor or coordinator, this is a must-see panel featuring music supervisor and coordinators who will share how they reached their current position in the industry, and what you can do on a practical level, if you are an aspiring music supervisor or coordinator, to employ best practices in networking and working in the industry successfully. 

2:45 PM – 3:30 PM – Online Only

PANEL: How Did You Do It? Sucessful Sync Agents, Music Libraries and Custom Music Houses

There’s a lot of moving parts to building a sync agency, a music library or a custom music house. You have to build a roster, a network and then a process to start servicing the industry.  It takes time, effort and a lot of trial and error to be successful.  On this panel, we’ll chat with sync agent, custom music houses and music libraries on how they built their companies, and what they do to successfully engage with decision makers in media to present their client’s music.

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM – Online Only

How Did You Do It?: Independent Artists and Producers Working In Sync and Custom Music

We round out our series of How Did You Do It panels with a discussion with aritsts and producers who are succesfully working in music creation and licensing for all forms of media.  They’ll share how they built their businesses, their networks and answer your questions on how you can apply hpw they met challenges and opportunities to your work and your business. 

4:15PM – 5:00PM – Online Only

The Straight Dope: Myths and Realities in Music In Sync and Music For Media – A Crowdsourced QA

 We’re ending the first day of the Sync Summit with a panel that is based around your questions on how the industry really works.  We’ll answer quesitons like “what’s a good sync deal?”, “why do I have to give a sync agent or music libraary my publishing share”, “is retitling bad or good?”, “what about exclusivity versus non-exclusivity?”, “can I push back on a deal for more money?” and any other question you want to ask – we’ll answer it.

6:30 PM –  8:30PM – In Person

Opening Night Networking, Drinks and Showcases

Wednesday, February 5

Day 2

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM online and in person

Doors Open – Coffee And Badge Pickup

10:00 AM – 10:45 AM online and in person

Keynote Conversation: Creating Amazing Experiences in Streaming, TV and Film with Music

To kick off the in-person portion of the Sync Summit, we’re going to have a one-on-one conversation about all the points of the music supervision process from the perspective of a leading TV/Film mysic supervisor.  They’ll speak about the work of music supervision, from music selection, licensing, music creation, working with producers, showrunners, directors, actors, prodicers and of course musicians. And, we’ll talk candidly about how the industry works today, and how you can employ best practices to connect music to projects and decision makers.

10:45 AM -11:15 AM online and in person

Roundtable: The impact of industry evolution on music for streaming, TV and Film

 Over the past five years, the way the streaming networks, TV and film work with music has undergone multiple sea changes, and these changes have created a number of unique challenges and opportunities for everone making and working with music.  Specifically, challenges like the after-effects of the recent writer and actor union strikes have caused a realignment of budgets and priorities on the studio level (and this incldues music) and the advent of AI and other technologies have significantly evolved the way music is curated, found and paid for.  On the positive side, the exponential expansion of streaming network production – both in North American and worldwide, has opened up more opportunities for music to be made and licensed for new series and films than ever before. We’ll compare and contrast the good and the bad in the current market, and discuss ways of overcoming industry challenges and how to take advantage of new opportunities in the year ahead and beyond.

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The importance and role of the music supervisor

This discussion will focus on the role of the music supervisor – what is a music supervisor’s responsibilities on a project?  Who do they work with – who are their collabrators and untilate superiors – and how do they work with everyone from actors to showrunners, directors, producers and editors to realise an artistic vision, ensuring the clearance of rights and royalities for every song while insuring the project is on time and on budget.  After this panel, you’ll have a clear idea of how a music supervisor works, and how rights holders and creators can employ best practices to help music supervisors as a trusted partner, providing great music and helping solve problems.

12:00 PM – 12:45 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The importance and role of Music Coordinators

We always say the the music coordinators of today are the music supervisors of tomorrow, and we say this because it is accurate.  Many of today’s top music supervisors started off working with a music supervisor, honing their skills before branching out on their own.  But what is the job of a music coordinator, really?  And what do they do?  From clearance to curation to working with musicians and rights holders to help ensure the work of the music department runs in an organized and professional manner, documents get finalized, people get paid, and cue sheets are finalized – the job of the music coordinator is multi-faceted. And on this panel, music coordinators will share their roles, how they work and how you can build lifelong relationships with them as they move forward in their careers. 

12:45 PM –  1:15 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The Importance and role of Sync Agents, Label/Publisher Sync Departments and Music Libraries

Sync Agents, Sync departmerns at labels and publishers and music libraries are the among the most important resources for music supervisors, coordinators and everyone who works with music in visual and interactive media, at brands and ad agencies.  They are the people who have built the networks of decision that use music for their projects, and they are they people that can help music makers and owners to connect their music to opportunity.  These trusted sources as an essential part of the music for media business, and on this panel, they will discuss how they service their music and musican clients, and how they help studios, agencies, music supervisors, coordinators, game companies and interactive companies find the music they need.  And, if you are interested in being a sync agent or starting a music library, they’ll give you insight on what it takes to be a successful agent, sync exec or music library.

1:15 pm – 2:15 PM online and in person

Lunch Break

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM online and in person

Afternoon Keynote

This keynote features a music supervisor who will discuss their process in working with their projects, with musicians and music in general with a focus on their projects in general and what best practices music makers and the people who work with musicians can employ to successfully work in music and media. 

3:00 PM – 3:45 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The importance of A&R In Sync

A&R (Artist and Repertoire), or the finding, managing and curating music has traditionally been one of the most important roles in the music industry. And, for sync houses, labels, publishers, sync agents and music libraries, the quality of their A&R is one of the key factors in their success or failure in servicing the music for media industry.  At the end of the day, it’s all about the quality and uniqueness of the music they present for sync. This panel will explore the process of A&R for sync, why it’s essential, and how good A&R leads to success in sync. 

3:45 PM – 4:15 PM online and in person

Roundtable: Onestop, Easy Clear and more – the importance of clearability and best practices in music rights

Many people on the music side obsess on stating their music is onestop, but how important is it really?  While having 100% control over both the publishing and master rights makes the clearance process simple for the licensee, many tracks that are licensed are either easy clear (permissions have to be confirmed from multiple partners but can happen quickly) or require more research and negotiation to clear.  The reality of the business is that onestop clearance, while important, is only one aspect of why music is used and why it is attractive to music supervisors and everyone that licenses music. On this panel, we’ll discuss the importance of the ease of clearance in music and media, and what you can do to ensure – whether your music is onestop, easy to clear or, like in the case of a cover, requires more work to clear. 

4:15 PM – 5:00 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The importance of custom music and custom music houses

A lot of the time, you just need to create a piece of music from scratch for a project – licensing a piece of music just won’t do.  From Ad Agencies to brands to film, streaming, TV, games and other platforms, music of the music isn’t going to be licensed or created by an in-house composer.  And that’s where custom music houses come into play.  These companies gather a roster of talented musicians to create music based on the needs of their clients, and they work with amazing musicians under tight deadlines to provide projects and decision makers with the right music for their projects.  This panel features peoducers from custom music houses who will talk about the work they do, who they serve and how they work with musicians and producers to service their clients with great music – and how musicians and producers can collaborate and work with music houses. 

5:00 PM – 5:45 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The importance of Editors

Along with music supervisors, coordinators and people like creative directors in the ad industry who make direct music decisions for projects, music editors, and post-production editors of visual media projects are some of the most important people music makers, managers and owners can connect with to get their music into projects. Editors regularly seek and use music to directly edit into their projects – regardless of the form of media, and often their choices become the music that is used in projects. This panel features a conversation with music and post-production editors and how they find and use music, and how they work with music supervisors and others in a production.  

5:45 PM – 6:15 PM online and in person

Evening Keynote

This keynote will round out the day with a candid conversation with a music supervisor who will discuss their projects from their creative aspects, and how they work with showrunners, producers, directors, creative directors and other stakeholders to create amazing experiences through music. 

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM online and in person

Networking and Showcases

And now we network and listen to some great music from artsits doing incredible work. 

Thursday, February 6

Day 3

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM online and in person

Doors Open – Coffee And Badge Pickup

10:00 AM – 10:45 AM online and in  person

Keynote: How Brands and Ad Agencies Work With Music

We start off today’s agenda with a conversation with a brand executive on how music impacts the way brands and products connect with their customers. How does the ad industry work with music?  And how do brands use music to connect their brand’s image, its messaging and sound to use music, the most effective emotional conduit to the mind of the consumer, to effectively capture the attention of people in a competitive market? These are some of the questions we’ll answer in this keynote conversation. 

10:45 am – 11:15 AM online and in person

Roundtable: From Selling Out To Selling in:  The Evolution of music for ads and brands

It wasn’t so long ago when most bands and artists would refuse to have their music used for an ad, but for the most part, those days are long gone. Music that’s used in an ad or by a brand not only pays more, but it also gives the artist who’s song is used in an ad or a brand’s campaign helps the artist to reach new audiences through the power, reach and budget of the brand or agency’s campaign, leveraging the full force of the exposure a broad-based ad campaign provides.  This panel’s speakers from agencies and brands will highlight how the ad industry and brands work with music and how when music, brands and ads come together, everyone benefits. 

11:15 am – 12:00 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The Importance and Evolution of Music for Trailers and Promos

Trailers and promos for TV and streaming are how film, streaming shows and TV shows are promoted, and they use a lot of music because music is central to their impact and success. Music is one of the key elements of a successful trailer or promo, and on this panel, our speakers will discuss the importance of music in trailers and promos, what’s the differences and similarities of promos and trailers, how music for music and trailers is made, how this sector of the industry works and how you can work with and engage trailer hourse and promo departments at networks and studios.

12:00 pm – 12:45 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The Importance of music in games and interactive platforms

Music powers gameplay.  Simple as that. The combination of music with the excitement of playing a game heightens emotion, exciement and fun.  This panel will feature a discusson with music supervisors and game developers on the importance of music in games, how music is used and what game developers and companies look for when they are developing games with music at the center of the gaming experience in all its forms. 

12:45 pm – 1:15 PM online and in  person

Afternoon Keynote

This keynote will feature a discussion on how music is used to help create amazing experiences around sports and games, with insights, highlights and practical information on how music can make sport and games exciting, fun and what kinds of music are used to power experience and gameplay. 

1:15 pm – 2:15 PM online and in person

Lunch Break

2:15 pm – 2:45 online and in  person

Roundtable: The impact and importance of music for sports content

How does music work for sports?  Whether it’s live action, documentary, series, leagues, players, networks or vignettes, music can excite audiences and enhance the experience of fans.  This panel will feature speakers who work in sports music, and how music is found and used, what they use and look for, and how the sports sector works with musicians and music.

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM – online and in person

ROUNDTABLE: SyncTech – the importance technology in today’s music for media industry

Over the last decade, the sync industry has become digitiged and automated – and this digitisation has lead to changes positive and negative in our industry – and that’s what this panel is about: how tech has changed the industry – for good and bad – who are the people behind these changes and how you, whoever you are working in this industry can harness the potential of technology to be more effective in your work while navgating the challenges and opportunities of AI, cloud-based platforms to organize, to find and to present music for media. 

3:15 pm – 4:00 PM online and in person

Roundtable: The impact, opportunity and challenges in working successfully with the international market

Over the past five years, the usage of music in every point of media – from TV to streaming, from brands and ads to games and social media has become more international. Original production of streaming and film content has exploded, and all of their projects need music. This panel will discuss the state of the market for music in international productions, how interational projects and how your music can connect with projects beyond the USA.

4:00 pm – 4:30 PM online and in person

A Spotlight On The Canadian Sync Market and Industry

Canada has always been a major production for international streaming shows, films, games, and ads, as well as possessing a very robust domestic market. This discuss features a discussion with Canadian music supervisors and other stakeholders on how their market works, what projects they are working on and how you can work with and connect to opportunities in the Canadian market

4:30 pm – 5:00 PM online and in person

Spotlight on the Latin Sync Market and Industry

The Latin market – in the USA and internationally, has exploded.  Between film, streaming, TV and other platforms, in the past five years, Mexico and other Latin countries have become a hub for content creation in all its forms – and all of their projects need authentic and high-quality music from Latin markets and from everywhere in the world.  This panel will feature a discussion on the Latin market opportunity, how the market differs from the rest of the world, and how music makers and executives can harness the opportunities in this market.  

5:00 pm – 5:45 PM online and in person

Concluding keynote

In this keynote we’ll bring everything together with a keynote featuring a converation on the outlook for the market in 2025, the projects of our keynote and how you, no matter why you attended Sync Summit, can move forward to navigate the challanges and opportunities of the music for media market.

7:00 pm – ??? – online and in person

The Official Sync Summit Afterparty