Music for Azerbaijani TV, ads and series

Sync means placing a song in a picture: a scene in a series, the background of an ad, the theme of a TV show. In Azerbaijan this market is small and runs largely on direct contacts, and nobody can promise you a placement. What you can do is be easy to work with, have your music ready to hand over and understand what you are agreeing to. This article describes how it generally works.

Two rights, two permissions

When your song is used in a video, two separate things are being licensed:

• the composition, meaning the words and the music, which needs a sync licence from whoever owns the writing
• the recording, meaning the actual audio file, which needs a master licence from whoever owns the recording

If you wrote and recorded the song yourself, and no one else owns a share, you can often grant both. Problems start with shared ownership. If a co-writer, a producer with ownership or a label has a share, you need their agreement too. A song with an uncleared sample or a beat you only have a lease for can't be licensed to a series or a brand at all. If you belong to a collective rights organisation, check what you have already transferred to it before you sign anything direct. Rules differ, so ask in writing if you are unsure.

Who to contact

Music usually reaches a screen through a person, not a form. The people to look for are:

• production companies that make series, shows and films
• the director, producer or music supervisor of a project, whoever decides on the music
• advertising agencies, in particular the creative and production teams
• TV channels' production and programming departments
• marketing teams of brands that already use local music

Write a short, specific message. Say who you are, which one or two tracks fit the project, and give a streaming link or a private link. Add one line saying that instrumentals and stems are ready. "Calm instrumental for a drama scene" or "upbeat Azerbaijani pop for a summer ad" is far better than "I make all kinds of music". Follow up once after a week or two, then leave it.

Personal introductions help most. A director or cinematographer you once worked with on a clip can tell the right person about you.

Licences and fees

There is no standard price, and it is not useful to quote numbers here. The fee depends on:

• the type of use: background, featured scene, opening or closing titles, advertising
• the length of the use
• the territory, for example Azerbaijan only or wider
• the term, such as one year or unlimited
• the media: TV only, or also online and social
• exclusivity, and the size of the budget

Prefer a non-exclusive licence, so that you can still use and license the song elsewhere. Be careful with a full buy-out, where you give away all rights, unless the price truly reflects it. Before you hand over any file, get the basics in writing: song title, what part is used, length, where it will appear, for how long, in which territory, the fee, the payment date and the credit you will receive. Ask for a cue sheet, a list of the music used in the programme with durations, because it is the document that lets rights organisations and royalty systems know your song was broadcast.

Be wary of requests to use your music free for "exposure". If you say yes to a small project, still sign a short agreement.

Prepare your music

Keep a ready folder for each song that editors can use without writing to you again:

• the full mix and a clean version without explicit words
• an instrumental version with no lead vocal, because editors need room for dialogue
• stems, such as drums, bass, harmony, melody and effects
• short edits of 15, 30 and 60 seconds, with proper endings
• a text file with the title, writers, ownership shares, contact details, tempo, key and mood in a few words
• WAV files in the original quality, with clear file names

A track that is calm underneath dialogue and has a clear build is more useful for a scene than a very busy one. If your lyrics are in Azerbaijani, include a short summary of the meaning in English or Russian, so a non-Azerbaijani-speaking supervisor can judge fit.

Think about YouTube

If your song is in YouTube Content ID, a TV channel or a brand that posts its programme on YouTube can get an automatic claim on its own video. Ask the production company for the exact channels where the work will appear, and tell your distributor in advance. CULT sends whitelist requests for your own channel and for channels you work with after rights are checked, so the list of channels is the first thing it needs from you. Approval is not automatic, so do this before the broadcast, not after.

Start small and keep records

Your first placement is likely to be a short film, a student project, a local brand or a regional ad. These build a list of credits, a showreel and contacts, which matter more than the fee on the first jobs. Keep a simple sheet of who you wrote to, what you sent and what you agreed.

1. Clear the rights on your tracks first.
2. Build the ready folder with instrumentals, stems and short edits.
3. Write short messages to specific people.
4. Agree the terms in writing before you send files.
5. Ask for a cue sheet and a credit.

Progress here is slow, but every well-handled project makes the next call easier.