Sync Music for a Change:
Activism + Music Licensing Listening Session
Make a donation, share a song
Thurs March 5th Listening Session, 6-7pm PST
with Daciay Quenah
Submissions open:
Feb 17 - 25th
Daciay Quenah – Associate Producer, Good Ear Music Supervision
Daciay is a proud 2011 Hokie with over 14 years of advertising and creative strategy experience at companies including Belk, MetLife, Ally, and Credit Karma. She’s always had a deep admiration for the magic created when visuals meet the perfect song which inspired her to pursue music supervision as a career. She’s sharpened her musical chops through vocal performance and the obsessive consumption of all genres of music. Currently at Good Ear Music Supervision, her love of the craft has grown while working on ads for brands such as Pinterest, Google, Amazon, Genesis, and Expedia.​
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WHAT TO SUBMIT: Daciay is consistently looking for fresh, gen-z friendly pop/electro/hip-hop with textures, dynamics and builds. World influences are good too.
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SUBMISSION NOTES:
* Please read the ENTIRE WEBSITE for full instructions
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1. ONLY SUBMIT ONE SONG - If you submit multiple songs I will only listen to the first one.
2. Minimum donation is $20. If you are struggling and can't donate this, pay what you can and we'll still listen and consider your song.
3. Do not send music outside of the submission window.
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How it works (read all the way through before you submit)
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1. Make a (minimum $20) donation related to this month's issue. Take a screenshot/photo of your donation.
2. Upload the screenshot and the song (ONE SONG ONLY) you want to share here. Please label it 'March SM4C [your name]' or something similar and be sure to include your name and email address! Feel free to comment on the FB announcement post (with the name of your song) to let me know you've submitted, and I'll like your comment within a couple of days to let you know I've received it!
3. Join our FB group for the zoom link (posted the day of the session) and to keep up-to-date on upcoming listening sessions & announcements.
4. We will email you if your song is going to be played. If you don't get an email you are still welcome to join the listening session and your song will still be sent to the music supervisor. Also, not getting an email does not mean that I think your song is bad; it often just means that I have too many submissions to be able to play everything.
5. Do not email to check that your submission was received or to follow up. You can include the receipt in the upload form on or DISCO (or if you have Disco you can add it to your playlist in your account - yes, DISCO accepts all kinds of files, not just music files). Use your laptop to submit rather than your phone, for this to work smoothly!
By submitting your song and/or joining the zoom call, you consent to allowing us to play your song during the listening session, and to have it included in the replay (and show whatever is on your video on zoom during the replay) which will be posted in the FB group.
We will play 15 or so songs during the listening session, time dependant. Elaine will review all of the songs submitted before the deadline and the 15 songs that are of the highest quality and/or are the best fit for the supervisor's needs will be played. ALL of the songs will be forwarded to the supervisor in a playlist, regardless of whether or not they get played in the listening session.
DEADLINE for submission is Wed Feb 25th AT 8PM PDT.
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* for more info on knowing about who owns the rights to your song and to learn about the terms 'one-stop' and 'easy-clear', click here.
** to know if your song quality is good enough go to Spotify and look up the soundtrack to a show you like. Ask yourself if your song's sound quality is at the same level as the rest of the songs.
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Current Focus:
Equity & Justice for Immigrants
THE ISSUE:
Immigrants and their rights are under attack.
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CHIRLA’s mission is to achieve a just society, fully inclusive of immigrants.
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CHIRLA was founded in 1986 to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees. CHIRLA became a place for organizations and people who support human rights to work together for policies that advance justice and full inclusion for all immigrants.
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CHIRLA has since become one of the largest and most effective advocates for immigrant rights, organizing, educating and defending immigrants and refugees in the streets, in the courts, and in the halls of power.
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At CHIRLA, civic-minded immigrant families work for a world where they are free to move, participate in democracy, and enjoy human rights. CHIRLA relies on the love and vision of our community to organize and build power among people, institutions, and organizations to change public opinion and craft progressive policies that promote human, civil and labor rights for everyone.
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ACTION: Make a donation (minimum $20) to CHIRLA
REMEMBER that you need to take a screenshot of your donation receipt and upload that with your song. If you have a DISCO account you can upload the receipt to your playlist on DISCO (please read that last sentence again! DISCO, when used on a desktop computer, accepts ALL file types).
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If you don’t live in the United States, you can still make a donation to the organization.
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Submission Notes:
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1. We are not looking for songs about the issue we're raising money for/supporting. This is an opportunity to share your music while supporting a good cause but the two are not otherwise connected. You may only submit ONE SONG. If you submit multiple songs I'll listen to the first and ignore/delete the rest.
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2. If the music supervisor wants to contact you they will need your name and contact info, so it is essential to include your name and email in your metadata. Look up how to add metadata to a song (more info here: https://youtu.be/gnt-UzfTXUA?t=892) if you don't know how to do this. Wav files do not store metadata. AIF files and MP3s do. This is easy to do if you have a disco.ac account, but can be done even if you don't - you just have to figure it out - it's important!!
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3. Please share how much you donated (please donate a minimum of $20 if possible), either in the screenshot or in the submission message box when you upload. How much you donate has nothing to do with whether or not your song will be played in the listening session and while of course generosity is encouraged, I understand that as a musician/human in this economy, you may be tight on cash. You will not be penalized for donating a smaller amount, even if it's not $20. At the same time, this is a fundraiser and it's nice to be able to tell the music supervisor how much we all raised and for that to be a healthy amount!
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4. If you have a DISCO account, you can upload your screenshot into the playlist you make on DISCO (DISCO, when used on desktop,, accepts all file types, not just music files). Otherwise just upload your song and screenshot to the upload box.
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5. I won't be responding to emailed questions, FB messages or comments if the answer to the question is already available on this webpage or on the FB page. Other members of the FB group are a good resource if you have questions. This is a volunteer initiative; thanks for being considerate!
FAQ
1.. Will my song get played in the session for sure?
- We will have the music supervisor listen to as many songs as possible but not every song will get played. However the music supervisor will be sent a playlist of all the submissions.
2. Can I send a demo or worktape?
- No. Please only send songs that a music supervisor would be able to use immediately. Songs should be mastered and radio-ready. Send your best song!
3. Can I submit multiple songs?
- No. ONLY ONE SONG per submission, meaning only one song per listening session. Multiple submissions not allowed.
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.”
Rebecca Solnit
Respecting the Music Supervisors
I'm not cool, but I try to be.
Music supervisors are regular people with jobs to do who get flooded with email submissions on a regular basis. Of course it's cool to follow them on social media but please be discerning about reaching out directly. It's a great idea to research the projects they work on before contacting them. IMDB.com, Tunefind.com and ispot.tv are great resources. They may not respond to messages or emails and that's nothing personal. Consider looking into getting a sync agent to represent your music. If you're looking for more information on sync licensing, sync agents etc. I wrote a book about it called Living a Music-Centered Life. Click below to check that out!
Who runs this thing?
I'm Elaine Ryan, an activist, musician, and former sync agent. During the pandemic I noticed that some of the most progressive people I saw on social media were music supervisors and figured why not harness that for good? I decided to see if music supervisors would share their time and expertise around music licensing in exchange for musicians helping moving progressive causes forward. It's been an incredible couple of years of activism, fundraising and connecting! I care deeply about helping musicians navigate their lives and wrote a book called Living a Music-Centered Life: A Guide to Balance, Fulfillment and Paying the Bills
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Contact Sync Music for a Change
You can reach me at mselaineryan@gmail.com
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I do this strictly in an unpaid, volunteer capacity, as a service to the community. I no longer represent or pitch music professionally so I do not accept submissions of any kind outside of the listening sessions.
Sign up as a Music Supervisor
If you're a music supervisor, music coordinator or sync agent who'd like to support this initiative, let's connect! Send up an email at mselaineryan@gmail.com if you're interested in being the featured guest on a future listening session.