I just logged into my old ASCAP account (I'm currently with BMI), and something caught me off guard. I'm getting close to 10,000 placements.
Ten thousand. That number still feels surreal to type out.
I’m incredibly proud and deeply grateful. It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took 17 years.
17 years of pushing through rejection, missed opportunities, disappointing royalties, and more quiet moments of doubt than I can count.
When I started, my cue sheets were blank. I remember waiting years for that first placement. If you’re there now—at zero, or still chasing your first few—just know I’ve been exactly where you are.
And yet, as excited as I am to hit this milestone, there’s something else I keep thinking about.
If I had access to real data when I was getting started… if I had a tool that showed me what kind of music in my style was actually getting placed & which libraries were placing it, this number might not be 10,000. It might be 20,000. Or 50,000.
Because the truth is, I wasted a lot of time.
I made high-quality music, partnered with great libraries, but I was creating music that wasn’t feeding the needs of the market.
I was thinking about me. How to stand out, how to be different. Instead of thinking about what was actually in demand.
I poured years into genres that weren’t getting placed. Slow trip hop, downtempo electronic, multiple dubstep albums (1 is too many), odd metered Tool sound-alike tracks...and many more gems that have since sat on the shelf of various Libraries.
Not because they were bad. But because I had no way of knowing what the industry actually wanted.
That’s exactly why I built Sync Match.
I wanted to create the tool I wished existed in 2008. One that could show me, clearly and directly, what’s working in my genre right now.
Which tracks are actually getting placed. Which libraries are delivering. What sounds are flying off the shelves. And just as importantly, what isn’t.
It’s not about chasing trends. It’s about understanding where the buffet is—what’s being served, what’s being selected—and getting your best work onto that buffet so it can be chosen.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I’d say: stop guessing.
Stop trying to reverse-engineer the industry based on one show or one commercial. You’re not the star of this show. None of us are.
But if you understand what’s getting placed, and you make great music that fits into that landscape, you will be in the conversation. And that’s all you need to start getting real results.
I hope you don’t spend 5–7 years spinning your wheels like I did. That’s why I share this stuff. Not just to celebrate the wins, but to help you avoid the mistakes. 🙌
Sync My Music
This one's a little more personal.
I just logged into my old ASCAP account (I'm currently with BMI), and something caught me off guard. I'm getting close to 10,000 placements.
Ten thousand. That number still feels surreal to type out.
I’m incredibly proud and deeply grateful. It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took 17 years.
17 years of pushing through rejection, missed opportunities, disappointing royalties, and more quiet moments of doubt than I can count.
When I started, my cue sheets were blank. I remember waiting years for that first placement. If you’re there now—at zero, or still chasing your first few—just know I’ve been exactly where you are.
And yet, as excited as I am to hit this milestone, there’s something else I keep thinking about.
If I had access to real data when I was getting started… if I had a tool that showed me what kind of music in my style was actually getting placed & which libraries were placing it, this number might not be 10,000. It might be 20,000. Or 50,000.
Because the truth is, I wasted a lot of time.
I made high-quality music, partnered with great libraries, but I was creating music that wasn’t feeding the needs of the market.
I was thinking about me. How to stand out, how to be different. Instead of thinking about what was actually in demand.
I poured years into genres that weren’t getting placed. Slow trip hop, downtempo electronic, multiple dubstep albums (1 is too many), odd metered Tool sound-alike tracks...and many more gems that have since sat on the shelf of various Libraries.
Not because they were bad. But because I had no way of knowing what the industry actually wanted.
That’s exactly why I built Sync Match.
I wanted to create the tool I wished existed in 2008. One that could show me, clearly and directly, what’s working in my genre right now.
Which tracks are actually getting placed. Which libraries are delivering. What sounds are flying off the shelves. And just as importantly, what isn’t.
It’s not about chasing trends. It’s about understanding where the buffet is—what’s being served, what’s being selected—and getting your best work onto that buffet so it can be chosen.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I’d say: stop guessing.
Stop trying to reverse-engineer the industry based on one show or one commercial. You’re not the star of this show. None of us are.
But if you understand what’s getting placed, and you make great music that fits into that landscape, you will be in the conversation. And that’s all you need to start getting real results.
I hope you don’t spend 5–7 years spinning your wheels like I did. That’s why I share this stuff. Not just to celebrate the wins, but to help you avoid the mistakes. 🙌
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COU1...
1 month ago | [YT] | 6