The Double-Clearance Sync Boundary

Synchronization and Master Clearance

When a production team, film studio, or advertiser wants to pair a piece of music with visual media (films, TV shows, commercial ads, video games, YouTube videos), there is no statutory compulsory licensing system. It is a purely free-market, custom negotiation.

The Dual-Licensing Requirement To legally synchronize music to video, a licensee must secure two separate contracts from two separate rights holders:

1. The Synchronization (Sync) License: Obtained from the songwriter, publisher, or publishing administrator who controls the Musical Composition (lyrics and melodies).

2. The Master Use License: Obtained from the recording artist, record label, or master owner who controls the specific Sound Recording (Master).

Most Favored Nations (MFN) Clauses In almost all synchronization contracts, the parties include a Most Favored Nations (MFN) clause. This clause mandates that the Sync License fee and the Master Use License fee must be completely equal. If the music supervisor negotiates a $10,000 fee with the record label, they must pay the exact same $10,000 fee to the publisher. If they renegotiate one, the other must automatically be bumped up to match it.