Synchronization Rights: The Definitive Guide (2026)
In recent years, almost everything we consume is audiovisual: series, films, commercials, social videos, Twitch streams, online classes… and most of it has something in common: Music. Behind every song placed over an image there’s a small (and sometimes not so small) legal framework: synchronization rights.
The issue is that, even though sync is everywhere, there’s still plenty of confusion about which licenses you actually need, how today’s market and laws work, and how these rights apply to new formats (streaming, TikTok, etc...). In that context, one-stop music licensing, like the solution offered by our company Levantine Music, has become a practical way to simplify the maze.
In this article, we explain, clearly and with a global perspective, what synchronization rights are, what types of rights are involved, why the law hasn’t fully caught up, and how a one-stop approach can save you a lot of headaches.
What Are Synchronization Rights?
A synchronization right is the right to fix and creatively integrate a musical work within an audiovisual work so that there is an intentional timed relation between music and image. This can apply to very different cases, like music in ads, scenes in TV shows, or even a YouTube channel intro that’s used the same loop since 2017.
Behind that simple idea there are two layers of rights:
The composition: the musical work itself; melody, harmony, lyrics, etc.
The sound recording (the master): the specific performance you hear. That version on Spotify, on the radio, or in the film. Not just any version, that version.
In practice, using a commercial song in an audiovisual work usually requires two different licenses:
Publishing (synch) license: authorizes use of the composition.
Master license: authorizes use of the specific recording.
If you make your own cover of a song for your video, you might not need the master license, but you still need the publishing/sync license. To use the original master, you need both, and that’s where the administrative fun begins.
The Types of Rights Involved
While every country has its own legislation, most copyright systems share a similar structure. Synchronization is not a completely separate category; it’s a specific way of applying several familiar rights.
Moral Rights
These connect the author to the work as an extension of their creative personality. They often include:
The right to be credited as the author.
The right to the work’s integrity (not to have it distorted or degraded).
In some systems, the right to decide whether the work is disclosed at all.
In many countries these cannot be transferred as easily as economic rights and continue to protect the author even when exploitation has been licensed.
Economic/Property Rights
These allow exploitation and generate income. With local nuances, they usually include:
Reproduction: fixing the work in a physical or digital medium; e.g., embedding a song in a video file or uploading it to a server.
Distribution: making copies available to the public, like vinyls, CDs, downloads or digital files.
Public performance/communication: using the work before an audience without handing over copies; TV, radio, streaming, in-store music, concerts.
Adaptation/derivative works: creating new works based on the original, like versions, translations, arrangements, remixes, audiovisual adaptations…
In practice, sync often involves a combination of reproduction and derivative work: you fix the music into a video (reproduction) and, in many cases, you integrate it into a new audiovisual work that can be considered derivative. Downstream exploitation of that audiovisual work can also trigger public performance and/or distribution rights, handled separately.
Neighbouring/Related Rights
Beyond composers/authors, many legal systems recognize rights for other parties:
Performers (singers, musicians).
Phonogram producers (the master owner/label).
Broadcasting organizations.
These rights relate to the recorded performance, not the composition. In sync, that means you must consider not only who wrote the song but also who owns the master and performer rights, which often means more parties to negotiate with.
The Sync Problem in the Streaming Era
The real pain starts when we leave the classic film/TV/advertising model and step into today’s universe: streaming, VOD platforms, user-generated content, Twitch lives, reels, shorts, and 24-hour stories.
The awkward question is: when do these uses truly need a sync license, and when are reproduction and public-performance licenses enough? The law, in many cases, wasn’t written with these formats in mind. In 1976, nobody imagined a 15-second dance with a hit song in the background going viral worldwide.
Professor Michael P. Goodyear, from the University of Michigan Law School, points directly to this gap: especially in the U.S., but also elsewhere, the law doesn’t clearly define what counts as sync in the digital environment. He proposes two key elements:
The music is incorporated into an audiovisual work (not just sounding incidentally in a physical space, but actually fixed in a video).
There is an intentional timed relation between music and image: editing, choreography, or visual changes designed to fit the song, not by accident.
For example, an online fitness class where music plays in the background, without choreography to that specific song, is less clearly “sync” than a zumba-style class where every move is designed to the track.
Goodyear’s point is that, because the law does not clearly define these nuances, many situations remain open to interpretation, which translates into legal uncertainty and case-by-case negotiations that consume time and patience.
Where Sync Gets Stuck
Beyond theory, the real bottleneck is operational: slow approvals, multiple rightsholders who all need to say yes, and exploitation windows that change mid-process. The ambiguity Goodyear highlights adds uncertainty and forces us to negotiate as if each case were the first.
Where sync gets complicated:
Fragmentation of rightsholders: sometimes there are many owners for the same song; the composer(s), the recording that may belong to the record label… and pray there haven’t been changes over the years, heirs or catalog sales.
Where and in which countries you’ll use it: local TV is not the same as global streaming. A two-month flight isn’t the same as a year-long campaign.
Duration and media: every new format or channel (social, OTT, digital ads, etc.) may require updating or expanding the license.
Budget: the dream song doesn’t always fit. It’s smart to have a plan B, and even C.
One-Stop Sync Licensing: The Way to Speed Up Your Project
One-stop means a single party can grant both licenses: the publishing (composition) and the master (recording). Instead of negotiating separately with a music publisher and a label, you work with one counterpart empowered to authorize the full use.
Compared to the legal and operational landscape described above, Levantine Music’s one-stop approach offers several tangible advantages:
Less friction, more speed: one point of contact. Fewer endless email chains. Fewer criss-crossed contracts. The process simplifies dramatically.
Legal clarity: when publishing and master are handled under one roof, the key rights are aligned, especially valuable while sync rules for streaming remain ambiguous.
Time and budget efficiency: for music supervisors, producers, and creators, one-stop music often means realistic timelines and more predictable costs, without last-minute surprises because a rightsholder suddenly wants to renegotiate.
In most of Levantine Music’s catalog, you can do exactly that: obtain, in a single step, the publishing and master licenses needed to sync music into your audiovisual project—be it a series, a commercial, an indie film, a digital campaign, or platform content. While the legal framework keeps trying to catch up with new formats (and it likely will for years), the one-stop route delivers something concrete: clarity and operational simplicity.
Conclusions
Synchronization rights are the legal hinge between music and image. In an ecosystem dominated by streaming, user-generated content, live formats, and hybrids that pop up every few months, the boundaries aren’t always clear. That lack of clarity becomes operational complexity: multiple rightsholders to locate, windows to negotiate, territories to define, and production timelines that won’t wait.
In this scenario, partnering with a one-stop provider like Levantine Music makes a real difference: access to music ready for sync, key rights already aligned, and a licensing process that’s simpler, faster, and safer.
In a world where content never stops growing, that mix of legal clarity and practical agility is probably one of the most valuable things you can offer any audiovisual project.
