Music synchronization licenses, or ‘syncs’ for short, have been around for decades. Since the late 80s, placements within advertising campaigns have both propelled artists’ careers and made household names out of then-new brands. In 1989, Madonna landed a five-million-dollar deal for her song "Like a Prayer" to premiere in a Pepsi advert which, according to Vanity Fair, rewired pop capitalism. Six years later, The Rolling Stones’ 1981 hit "Start Me Up" helped to launch Microsoft. 

Fast forward to the early 2000s and three iconic ads spring to mind: Jet’s instantly-recognizable "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" in the iTunes Silhouette campaign (2004), a drumming gorilla playing Phil Collins’ "In the Air Tonight" for Cadbury’s and Feist’s "1234" in a colorful and upbeat iPod Nano campaign (both 2007). The latter catapulted the Canadian singer-songwriter from indie darling to mainstream success, virtually overnight – much like singer Yael Naim who scored a Billboard Hot 100 top ten after her song "New Soul" was handpicked by Apple for the MacBook Air’s debut commercial in 2008.

Since then, syncs have become cultural talking points, particularly electronic pioneer SOPHIE’s 2014 song ‘Lemonade’, which soundtracked an American McDonald’s advert the following year. Alongside exposing the then-underground artist to a mainstream audience that might not have heard her music otherwise, it resulted in a debate surrounding the commercialisation of pop. 

Now, in the mid-2020s, the power of syncs for breaking new artists remains just as strong – even during an age of viral moments. “Particularly with the increase in importance of social media, the ability for a track to make an impact in 15 to 30 seconds is really key,” suggests Gemma Farrington, sync manager at Sentric.

Good Neighbours

Recent proof of this can be found in the rise of Good Neighbours (CM Rank #1530). The British indie-pop duo’s uplifting TikTok hit "Home" has featured on British supermarket brand Tesco’s “It’s not a little thing - it’s everything” ad campaign since February this year. While the song (CM track stage ‘superstar’) had previously been a viral hit, it has amassed a further 93 million streams this year. The duo - who recently released their debut album, Blue Sky Mentality - also reached 100k Instagram followers this July.

Jess Glynne

Social media can also catapult songs that soundtracked adverts in years gone by. This is true of Jess Glynne’s (CM Rank #366) Jet2holidays-soundtracking 2015 hit "Hold My Hand" which, following an ongoing viral trend, was crowned TikTok's Song of the Summer for 2025. It also led to an astronomical increase in the British popstar’s streaming numbers; from July 13 to 20, her Spotify monthly listeners increased by 1.7 million, reflecting a 523.3% rise over the average weekly growth. “It’s a great example of how a song can be aligned so clearly with a brand, through the right placement,” Farrington says. While it started off as an advert, Jet2 “have managed to fully integrate that song into their brand”.

Coupled with the power of TikTok, she says “short, snappy content culture has really taken it away”, and draws similarities with the placement of Kate Bush’s 1985 song "Running Up That Hill" in TV and film – “that became one of the most streamed songs and was listened to across generations after a well-placed moment brought it back into the mainstream.”

The Dare

At the same time, appetite for new material is growing, with artists being asked to write custom songs for specific campaigns. This has been the case for indie sleaze king The Dare, whose profile rose after producing Charli XCX’s ‘Guess’ and the subsequent remix featuring Billie Eilish. Following his involvement in the global ‘Brat’ project, which topped charts in the UK, America and Australia in August 2024, Apple then commissioned the New Yorker to pen a promo for its Genmoji feature, which dropped in December. Almost a year later, the playful ‘Anything You Like’ is still not available on DSPs.

“Creating a new song for a brand from an authentic artist instead of just a jingle helps to keep a certain 'coolness' to the advert,” Farrington suggests of its success. “It means something is more likely to stay in your head, with the ability for people to stream seriously outside just a 30 second spot.” She says this benefits artists as it doesn’t have to affect their album or release cycle either. “It’s also fun stretching creatively,” she adds.

But what is it that sync companies like Sentric look for in a potential sync? “Any music can be synced, so what's most important is the overall quality and production of it,” Farrington says, adding that authenticity is key. “We always say that artists should firstly make music that's most authentic to themselves,” she adds. However, Farrington says there are certain features that “definitely make a song easier to pitch: clean lyrics, a short and obvious lyrical or instrumental hook, dynamic shifts.

Fcukers

"Play Me," a rumbling electronic track by New York duo Fcukers - aka one of the coolest names in underground music - proves this point. In the same month it was synced for Apple’s September events highlight clip (which has been viewed +2.2 million times on YouTube), the song’s streams grew by more than +430k and the pair have since announced a US support tour with Tame Impala.   

“A sync in an Apple Keynote is always a unique opportunity for an artist to gain exposure to a massive and broad audience,” says Hannah Silk Champagne, senior product manager at Ninja Tune, who adds that Fcukers have now had their music used in three Keynotes, with each one receiving millions of views. “Following each sync, we've seen strong spikes in Shazams in the days following, demonstrating that the music does connect even through a usage that is not geared towards a music focused audience.”

But what makes Fcukers’ music so perfect for sync opportunities? “Their energy translates well for brands who want something fresh and dynamic for their spots,” says David O’Bryan, senior creative at Ninja Tune. “Fcukers are one of those rare artists that combine a classic, uplifting electronic dance music sound with something that feels fresh and relevant to both young and more seasoned audiences today. They really put their own unique spin on classic sounds from the last 30 years of electronic music, and make it all feel fun and effortless.”

From a business perspective, Farrington says “the financial potential from an advert can be huge – especially when spanning territories and paired with online advertising”. She goes on to reveal that one emerging artist on Sentric’s roster was able to buy a house off the back of a successful sync. “The impact that this revenue can have on an artist's trajectory can be greatly significant when considering album, marketing and touring costs,” she continues – “particularly in a world where budgets are crunched”. 

The benefits are not just financial, however: “TV advertising can bring a different audience to an artist's music, expanding away from their natural consumer base”. These trends aren’t going away anytime soon, she suggests. “We're already seeing it happen, but artist connection and involvement in the brand is becoming the norm. It’s not just a song featured; it's the whole artist’s persona and online presence that's drawn into the brand.” 

World-building is key, according to Farrington. “Instead of one synchronisation, creating a world around the advert - including the involvement of an artist’s socials, pop-ups, fashion, whatever it may be - makes the sync valuable as an all-encompassing marketing tool for both the brand and artist”. However, Farrington says there are certain features that “definitely make a song easier to pitch: clean lyrics, a short and obvious lyrical or instrumental hook, dynamic shifts”. 

KATSEYE 

KATSEYE (CM Rank #54) - who formed and shot to fame off the back of Netflix’s ‘Dream Academy’ series - are following this exact methodology with their current campaign for fashion brand Gap. The K-pop group is experiencing huge growth off the back of the ‘Better In Denim’ campaign, which launched on August 19 and features the girls dancing to Kelis’ ‘Milkshake’ (which the music icon re-recorded especially). In just one month, the commercial has cloaked up 35 million YouTube views and the group’s Spotify followers increased by over 1 million. Beyond streams, their social media reach expanded massively in the week of the advert launching – the group, who performed at the MTV Video Music Awards at the start of September, saw their Instagram followers increase by 313.7K, marking a 64.5% rise over their average seven-day growth.

With both rising and established artists clearly still keen to jump on board the sync train (and reap the rewards), it’s clear that adverts will continue propelling new names into the mainstream consciousness for a long time to come.