Music
sync.

The term ‘synchronisation’ simply refers to the combination of moving images and sound. This can be used in films and advertising, in computer games, or on YouTube. A publisher will usually negotiate the fee with each respective client (such as a film producer) in the author’s name, and grant a licence accordingly, based upon the negotiated shares received by each party — also known as pay offs.

However, this licence only refers to the composition itself. If the user also wants access to a specific recording, they have to make a separate licencing agreement with the owner of that recording (usually a record label). This means that you usually need to secure two separate licences — one for the composition, and one for the recording — before a song can be used for an advert, for example. If agencies want to save money, they usually just obtain one licence for the composition, and make their own recording (a cover version) of a song, in order to evade the ‘master licence’.