Big Sync Music hit the headlines earlier this year when it was announced that it had been acquired by music licensing platform Songtradr in a multi-million dollar deal.
Several months on we chat to Dominic Caisley, CEO & Co-Founder of Synchtank client Big Sync (pictured), to discover what’s in store for this powerhouse licensing partnership.
How did the Big Sync/Songtradr partnership come about?
I was having meetings with the UK Songtradr team with a view to using their platform to find tracks for clients’ projects and was particularly impressed with the tech solution. There was a mutual respect for each other’s business and as the conversations continued we realised there was a lot of synergy between the two but also strengths and opportunities that one was missing and the other could provide.
How will Big Sync’s existing services change/expand?
Big Sync will still continue as it always has but now, powered by Songtradr, the largest music licensing platform globally, we are supercharged. We now have access to an additional 20 or more experienced music supervisors in several new territories. This means our network now includes London, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sweden and soon to be Paris and Sydney.
Paul Wiltshire, Founder and CEO of Songtradr
What role will data/analytics play under the new partnership in helping to guide the licensing decision-making process?
Data has always been important for us and we have constantly strived to improve and expand our data sources. Not only is brand communication heavily reliant on data but so too is music supervision which of course still has to be combined with human understanding of a brand’s music personality and creative brief. We now have access to streaming and listening data from Songtradr that can help us accurately profile our target audience and validate music recommendations. Songtradr has over a million tracks both on their platform including distributed tracks through streaming platforms such as Spotify, so the analytical listening data has been enormously helpful in establishing a brand’s music personality and audience profile.
Tapping into Songtradr’s community of artists gives Big Sync access to an enormous pool of music. How will this affect how you select music for a campaign?
We are always looking for great talent to work with and the Songtradr community offers unprecedented access to a huge and diverse pool of musicians. We now have access to over a million tracks and over 450,000 artists and bands in over 190 territories, however this is an additional resource and we remain completely unbiased when recommending music. We have great relationships with all major and indie labels and publishers as well as many production music libraries, composition houses and composers. It has always been and will remain to be all about the best piece of music for the job no matter where it comes from.
How has technology been a game changer in supporting what you do at Big Sync?
Tech has always been and continues to be vital to Big Sync – it helps us be more creative as well as do our work more efficiently. Our qualitative analysis and expert music curation provides a unique ability to define brand sonics and provide music recommendations. In addition, we use data-driven artist and audience insights, aligning listener and brand data to improve engagement and interest. Our partnership with Songtradr will enable a progressive approach to music analysis and brand alignment through the integration of artificial intelligence to inform customer behaviour, brand insights and music matching.
We also work with various tech companies, utilising a number of different tools to help us become more efficient. Everything from music search engines such as our internal and client-facing Music Hub powered by Synchtank, through to music delivery software and internal CRM systems powered by Songtradr. There is a continued emphasis on creating a global means of communication and asset sharing between our different offices and so we will continue to explore different tools and systems as our company and client base keeps growing.
