For decades, the value of a music catalog was determined by its release date. Older tracks generated steady, but declining, passive revenue, while marketing budgets focused on the frontline. Looking at the industry today, the importance of older catalogs has become a significant driver in revenue, shifting significantly from when a sync placement was just a one-off licensing fee.
Today, placing a track in a film, commercial, or TV series is the single most powerful tool for rights holders to execute a complete catalog resurgence. We’re not just talking about an upfront check, we’re talking about an injection of life that can transform a back catalog into a global streaming hit, reaching millions of new, younger fans overnight.
The Resurgence Mechanism
In a world where music consumption is driven by streaming platforms, standing out and getting plays is an increasingly difficult feat. The introduction of streaming has made music more accessible, and this works both ways, whether you’re an artist who has the opportunity for a larger reach, or a music consumer who has access to all the music with little to no barrier, no matter language, geographical location or physical availability.
And while this is generally a positive thing, streaming has also created two new obstacles in the music world.
- Lack of visibility due to increased competition
- Low revenue from streams
The increase in music availability has meant an increase in competition. While top charts are still a big influence of music consumption, streaming platforms give a stage to smaller artists, but with this newfound even playing-field, competition is up as well, meaning that at times, good music can get lost within the sea of new releases.
Add to that the decrease in revenue from streaming; long gone are the days of buying full albums for a fixed price, the variability of streaming per song has meant a radical change to income through music alone.
And that’s where sync comes in.
How Sync Placements Drive Discovery
A well placed, emotive piece of music that’s been perfectly paired with its video twin flame, is not only chefs kiss, but it provides the perfect opportunity to stand out from the crowd, giving it a unique platform, with a targeted audience that can align not only by genre, but also target demographic such as age, gender, geographical location depending on the sync.
In fact, studies show that music as part of a story is more memorable, giving the audience a tangible storyline attached to emotions means that your tune sticks in their minds long after the video portion is over.
And once that door is open, a single sync can lead to an increase in streams of the track, coupled with the track placing on several playlists, which gives it a snowball effect of more exposure.
There’s tried and tested examples of this, both old and recent.
1. Running Up That Hill – Kate Bush
You’ve probably heard, seen, or read (or all three) about this one too many times now, but how could we not mention it? The comeback of the century, when it came out originally in 1985 it was well received, placing No. 3 on the top charts for a week, however, who would have thought that almost forty years later it would place at number 1 for three weeks (and stay on the top charts for far longer than that?) Today ask any millennial, and you hear Running Up That Hill, you think Stranger Things. Such a banger. The recent placement was the perfect and albeit unexpected resurgence that the song deserved, using a classic 80’s track on a series set in the 80’s brought the series authenticity, and let’s be honest, brought the 80’s back in style.
2. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
One of the most identifiable rock songs of the early 2000’s got its start from a commercial! Today, it’s an anthem. Back then? It was the theme song to Apple’s iPod in 2003. The catchy song featured a mix of people rocking out while listening on the iPod, but since then, it’s taken on a life of its own. This initial sync placement made this such an iconic song that it lives on through other films, TV placements and more.
3. Hold My Hand – Jess Glynne
The song of the summer in 2025 was… a song released in 2015? TikTok actually crowned the 2015 number one hit, the song of the summer this year following the Jet2Holiday campaign which went viral on the platform. What must have been a standard sync deal with the travel company went so viral on TikTok that it amassed 4.5 million videos and garnered 80 billion views this year.
The Back Catalog: From Archive to Accelerator
The examples of Kate Bush, Jet, and Jess Glynne clearly demonstrate the profound, transformative power of sync placements. The value of music is not determined by its release date, it can also rest on its ability to connect emotionally within a visual narrative. A well-placed track in film, TV, or a viral ad is the ultimate resurrection tool to cut through the noise, solves the visibility problem, and in turn generates high-value, sustained streaming revenue.
It’s time to evaluate your current catalog management strategy and ensure every single track is sync-ready, your metadata is immaculate, rights are clear, and assets are instantly accessible. At the end of the day, your ability to monetize music effectively depends on the efficiency of your operations and the software that you use, because when your workflow is managed in one slick, sophisticated system like Synchtank, you eliminate costly delays, minimize errors, and maximize your team’s productivity.
Are you ready to explore some of the specific Synchtank features that can help an organization get their catalog sync-ready? Get in touch!
