# Synchronization license Also known as: Sync license, Sync, Synchronization rights > A synchronization license, or sync license, is permission from a composition's copyright owners to use the song in timed relation to moving images, such as a film, TV show, advertisement, video game or online video. Using an existing recording also requires a separate master use license from the recording's owner. Sync fees are negotiated; there is no statutory rate. Source: https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/synchronization-license · Category: Rights and licensing · Last reviewed: 2026-10-02 · License: CC BY 4.0 ## Key facts - **Granted by:** [Composition owners (publishers and writers)](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-publishing) - **Usually paired with:** [Master use license](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/master-recording) - **Price:** Negotiated; no statutory rate - **Typical uses:** Film, TV, advertising, trailers, games, online video ## Two licenses for one placement Placing a commercially released song in a video normally takes two permissions. The **sync license** covers the composition and comes from its [publishers](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-publishing), each of whom must agree if the song has several. The **master use license** covers the specific recording and comes from its owner — usually the label, or the artist if they own their [master](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/master-recording). A production that re-records the song itself needs only the sync license. Both rest on the copyright owner's exclusive rights to reproduce the work and to prepare derivative works from it.[1] ## What a sync license specifies A sync license defines the **media** (for example broadcast, online or all media), the **territory**, the **term**, the **length and placement** of the use (background, featured, opening titles), whether the use is **exclusive**, and the **fee**. Because every one of those variables changes the price, there is no standard rate: a few seconds of background music in a student film and a worldwide television campaign for the same song can differ in price by several orders of magnitude. ## One-stop licensing A **one-stop** track is one where a single party controls both the composition and the master and can therefore grant both licenses in one agreement. Music supervisors working to deadlines favor one-stop catalogs because there is only one approval to obtain. ## Performance royalties after a placement The sync fee is paid up front. When the production is later broadcast or publicly performed, the composition also earns performance royalties, collected by the writers' [performing rights organizations](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/performing-rights-organization) from broadcasters on the basis of cue sheets filed by the production. ## In practice at SNVRKOTICS SNVRKOTICS Sync, the company's licensing storefront at sync.snvrkotics.com, sells one-stop licenses for its catalog and issues the license document automatically when a purchase completes. ## Questions ### Do I need a sync license to use music in a YouTube video? Yes, to use copyrighted music in a video you need permission from the song's owners, and from the recording's owner if you use an existing recording, unless the music is licensed for that use some other way — for example through a production music library. ### How much does a sync license cost? There is no fixed price. Fees are negotiated and depend on the media, territory, term, prominence of the use and the song's profile. ### What is the difference between a sync license and a master use license? A sync license covers the composition and comes from the publishers; a master use license covers a specific recording and comes from its owner. Using an existing recording requires both. ## References 1. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. "17 U.S. Code § 106 — Exclusive rights in copyrighted works." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106 ## Related - [Master recording](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/master-recording): A master recording is the original fixed recording of a performance, and the separate copyright that protects that recording. - [Music publishing](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-publishing): Music publishing is the business of owning or administering song copyrights: registering works, licensing them and collecting songwriters' royalties. - [Performing rights organization](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/performing-rights-organization): A performing rights organization licenses the public performance of songs and pays the royalties to their songwriters and publishers. - [Music royalties](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-royalties): Music royalties are payments to rights holders each time a song or recording is sold, streamed, performed, licensed or broadcast. --- Cite as: "Synchronization license." SNVRKOTICS Wiki, 2026-10-02. https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/synchronization-license