Music industry veteran Tom Stingemore, formerly of Hipgnosis, has unveiled ALLOY Sync Distro, a new platform that aims to change the music industry’s sync licensing process.
Built in collaboration with industry players, ALLOY seeks to unify industry parameters into a single standard format, aiming to streamline, simplify and modernize the worldwide process for both rights holders and brands.
Sync licensing in the music industry refers to the legal process of obtaining permission to use a piece of copyrighted music in a visual media project. This could include anything from movies and TV shows to commercials, video games, and even YouTube videos.
ALLOY says it aims to address the long-standing issue of manual workload and lost revenue in sync deals. The company says it tackles these issues by offering a centralized platform with a standardized format.
Stingemore, former Global President of Sync & Creative at Hipgnosis, who previously held senior sync roles at Universal Music Group and BMG, sees ALLOY as a game-changer for the industry. “Sync is arguably the last area of the music industry to be modernized,” he said.
“with ALLOY, I wanted to build something that can not only enhance [artists’ and songwriters’] collective outlook but also improve the service that we can provide to our commercial partners across the wider entertainment industry.”
Tom Stingemore, Alloy
“I’ve spent my career to date working to further the interests of the world’s greatest artists & songwriters and with ALLOY I wanted to build something that can not only enhance their collective outlook but also improve the service that we can provide to our commercial partners across the wider entertainment industry.”
ALLOY’s standardized approach to licensing and approvals aims to create a larger and more accessible global sync marketplace, which benefits artists, songwriters, record labels and publishers, the company said.
“For too long the process for licensing our artists’ & songwriters’ music has been arduous, disjointed and fractured. Without a robust and coherent way for our potential commercial partners to license our music in a timely, effective and scalable way we are leaving far too much revenue on the table while at the same time imposing a wholly unnecessary workload upon ourselves,” said Stingemore.
“It’s now time to modernize this sector of the music industry; we urgently need it and we owe it to our artists & songwriters.”
Tom Stingemore, Alloy
“By collaborating directly with the industry and building a platform that caters for both its needs and the needs of its customers ALLOY represents a game-changing commercial solution for the entire music business. It’s now time to modernize this sector of the music industry; we urgently need it and we owe it to our artists & songwriters.”
Sync licensing can be a lucrative income stream for musicians and songwriters. A well-placed sync can also help to boost an artist’s profile and reach a wider audience. The recent success of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill highlights the power of sync licensing. While the song already achieved success when it was released in 1985, it reached a whole new level of global recognition after being featured in the fourth season of Netflix‘s hit series Stranger Things in 2022.
“A key sync can help break a song or an artist. When there’s new music on the way, writers, artists – and management – make sure they get it to us early so that we can start thinking about opportunities; they’re really switched on to that these days,” Sony Music Publishing’s Chris Jones said in May 2023.
The big TV streaming platforms “are dedicated to finding the perfect soundtracks and finding the next great sync like ‘the Kate Bush moment’, because they all want the next Kate Bush moment,” said Sony Music Publishing’s Sarah Pickering.
Last week, social music creation platform BandLab, owned by Singapore-based BandLab Technologies, launched a sync licensing program called BandLab Licensing to help its user base of over 60 million music creators make their songs eligible to be used in TV, films, games and advertising.
Music Business Worldwide
