What’s the Difference Between a Master License, Mechanical & Sync?
The world of music licensing can be daunting. We’re here to clear up any confusion and explain the difference between a master license, mechanical & sync!
Knowing what licenses you might need is essential for musicians, producers, filmmakers and content creators.
You may have recently heard about Taylor Swift’s mission to rerecord her first six albums. This is an endeavour based around a frustrating battle regarding the master rights to her work.
Master License
The master license handles the copyright of the audio recording. This is generally used by producers making remixes or mash-ups of tracks.
Master licenses are quite hard to source for popular tracks – If you want to obtain a master license, it’s usually a case of contacting the rights holder, which could be the artist if they’re independent, but more likely the record label or publisher.
Mechanical License
The mechanical license handles the reproduction of a song, specifically the composition itself. This is needed for artists who want to do a cover version of a track.
The cover version cannot use any of the original audio – a master license would be needed to use elements of the original recording. The audio of the cover would have to be a new recording.
Once a mechanical license has been obtained, you can release your cover version to stores like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and even more with distributors like RouteNote.
Sync License
The sync license is needed to use music with moving image – to synchronize the music with the video – whether that’s YouTube content, a wedding video, or an original soundtrack to a film or game.
If you have a particular song in mind that you want to use with your content, much like a master license, it’s usually a case of contacting the rights holder for the sync rights and licensing. This is often a negotiated deal where many factors come into play like, is the music in the background or the foreground? How much of the music do you want to use? What kind of project are you going to use it in?
With Synchedin, we offer a range of tracks for a small monthly or annual subscription ($4.99 per month/$49.99 per year). There’s no negotiating, you can use whatever track you like from the Synchedin catalogue in whatever project you’re creating.
If you’re looking for music to use with your YouTube videos or Twitch streams, sign up today! Download the perfect track for your project, and it’s yours to use forever.