Synchronization rights, or synch rights for short, pertain to use of your songs as an audio component in “timed synchronization” with a visual component, like a movie shown in a theater, a videotape or DVD movie for home use, or a TV show or commercial. A similar kind of rights, called “transcription rights,” covers radio jingles. Publishers collect for synch and transcription rights. If your contract doesn't give them away and you're recouped, your publisher should pay you.

Here's how the money part works: Your publisher grants a license to the movie, TV, or radio people that either lasts forever (usually for theater use) or for a set amount of time (a few years for most TV uses). In return, the publisher gets anywhere from absolutely nothing to millions of dollars. Why? Well, a publisher might agree to take absolutely nothing for an unknown song that will get exposure from the use (which can translate to increased performance and mechanical royalties). More often, though, the publisher gets some money for the license, usually between $1,000 and $5,000 for a TV show and from $10,000 to $100,000 for a theatrical release. Think that's a lot of money? Sit down and take a deep breath. If your song is used for a nationally released commercial, the synch license could generate anywhere from $25,000 to over half a million dollars in a single year. The reason that these price ranges are so wide is that the fee depends on how well the song is known, how much of the song is used, whether it's in the background or prominently featured, how good your negotiating team is, and how bad the other party wants it.

Internet Royalties

While a few agreements with some of the larger companies using music on the Internet have been reached, ASCAP and other PROs are just now starting to negotiate licenses for many Internet music users. The exciting thing about Internet royalties is that it's possible for computers to automatically count the number of times your song is used, which means very accurate royalty distributions.