Amid fragmenting fandom and the attention recession, sync is more important than ever as a tool for both revenue generation and marketing. There are also dozens of emerging use cases for sync, from creator content to fitness platforms and virtual spaces in the evolving metaverse. However, the music industry’s complex, and largely analogue, licensing frameworks risk obstructing this potential. As a result, major rights holders are competing with a strongly growing sector of next-gen production music companies, which also benefit from the growth of the creator sector, increased accessibility of tools for making high-quality music, and artists seeking revenue beyond streaming.

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Adobe, Artlist, BeatStars, Bopper, Canva, Dua Lipa, Epidemic Sound, Euphoria, Facebook, Freshsound, Getty, Glass Animals, Instagram, LANDR, Lickd, Lightricks, Lofi Records, Meta, Monstercat, Myspace, Netflix, Peloton, Pretzel, Snapchat, Sony Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, SoundCloud, Splice, SyncFloor, Thematic, TikTok, Track Club, Twitch, Universal Music Group, Universal Production Music, Warner Chappell, YouTube