There's a version of sync licensing advice that gets passed around a lot. It's well-intentioned, generally accurate, and built almost entirely around studying the placements of artists who will never be in your situation. Sia. M83. The Black Keys. The Cinematic Orchestra. These are instructive examples if you're trying to understand why a piece of music works in a scene. They're not particularly useful if you're trying to build a production music catalog as a long-term business.

The NYT Magazine just ran a major piece on production music and sync licensing. Here's the perspective they couldn't get from the outside—from someone who sold a catalog to Extreme Music.

A tribute to Jean Kacanek and Stephanie Edwards — a piano teacher who held me when the world knocked me down, and a gifted educator who lit a fire that's never gone out.

I’m starting a YouTube channel. Here’s “The Why” and a bit about what to expect.

I took a look back on my 2020 picks, and my closing words there are just supremely frustrating to read a whole year later :

“… or maybe buy some merch since no one could tour this year.”

Yowza. We’re still in it. All the more reason to put some (hopefully) new artists in front of the few of you who care that I do this each year. I really, really, really love these songs, so please enjoy and, again, go to the artist’s sites and buy something directly if you are able to support these writers, musicians, and performers.

Here’s an embedded playlist from the Stratospheric Royalty Payment System known as Spotify, and keep on reading for some top of mind thoughts from my brain on why each song is included here.

WordLess. A podcast in which we simply let the music do the talking…. which is what we’ve always tried to do at The License Lab historically anyway.

Well, I made a piano sample… er, a sample instrument. I made a sampled piano instrument with a lot of help.