For artists
Get your song into the scene. Keep everything you built.
One placement can pay more than a year of streaming and put your name in front of an audience no playlist was going to hand you. Verilux pitches independent artists for sync — non-exclusively, song by song, with no publishing grab and no retitling. You keep your masters, your publishing and your writer’s share.
And because you should never have to guess what you are signing: every number, every restriction and every clause we would rather you not skim is published on this page, in the same words as the agreement. Read it all before you apply.
Accepting applications through September 15, 2026.
The deal
We take 40% of the upfront sync fee. That’s it.
You keep your publishing, your writer’s share, and every royalty that follows.
Of the gross upfront sync fee, remitted within 30 days of cleared funds.
Of the gross upfront sync fee. Nothing else, ever.
- Representation
- Non-exclusive sync representation. Sync licensing rights only.
- The split
- Verilux takes 40% of the gross upfront sync fee. Artist receives 60%.
- The backend
- Verilux takes 0% of the backend. The artist retains 100% of publishing, 100% of the writer’s share, and all PRO performance royalties. Verilux never registers as publisher, never administers, never collects royalties.
- Retitling
- Verilux never retitles anything. Ever.
- What we don’t take
- No distribution rights. No ownership transfer. No PRO administration. No requirement to leave your PRO.
- Scope
- Territory: worldwide. Media: all.
- Payment
- Verilux collects the license fee and remits the artist’s 60% within 30 days of cleared funds, with a statement naming licensee, project, territory, media, and gross fee.
Term — the part we least want you to skim
12 months, auto-renewing. There is no mid-term exit.
Of everything on this page, this is the condition most likely to matter to you later — so we would rather over-explain it now than have you discover it in month three.
Notice may be given at any time, and takes effect at the end of the then-current 12-month period. Give notice in month 3 and the agreement runs the remaining 9 months of that year, then ends. There is no mid-term exit.
- Initial term
- 12 months from the effective date of the agreement.
- Renewal
- Auto-renews for successive 12-month periods unless either party gives notice of non-renewal.
- Notice
- Notice may be given at any time, and takes effect at the end of the then-current 12-month period. Give notice in month 3 and the agreement runs the remaining 9 months of that year, then ends. There is no mid-term exit.
- Renewal reminder
- Verilux sends a written renewal reminder to the artist at least 45 days before each anniversary date, stating the renewal date and how to give notice of non-renewal. This is a Verilux obligation, not a condition on you — you do not have to diarise it to protect yourself.
- Issued licenses
- Licenses already issued survive termination in full, for their full license term.
- Tail
- 12-month tail after termination, applying only to specific opportunities Verilux introduced and documented in writing before termination.
- Adding tracks
- Tracks are added per-track by schedule addendum — no renegotiation to add music. Tracks added mid-term run co-terminously with the master agreement.
- Song by song, not your catalog
- The term binds the specific songs you list on a signed schedule addendum — nothing else. This is not a publishing agreement and it gives Verilux no claim on your catalog, your back catalog, or anything you write during the term. Songs you never put on a schedule are simply not part of this deal.
- If you want an exclusive deal elsewhere
- Our criteria require that a represented song is not exclusively committed anywhere, so the two cannot coexist. If an exclusive publishing or representation offer comes along for a song on one of our schedules, you would have to wait out the term on that song — notice takes effect at the end of the then-current 12-month period. Your other songs are unaffected and remain free to sign anywhere, at any time.
Pitching a track is not a single email. It is months of cycles — a brief here, a shortlist there, a client who goes quiet and comes back in the spring with a different edit. A track pulled out mid-year takes all of that work with it, usually right before it would have mattered. We would rather show you the trade honestly than write a friendlier clause and then fight you over it.
What we accept
Rights criteria.
All of the following must be true for a submitted track:
- You control 100% of the master and 100% of the underlying composition (one-stop) — or you can clear the remainder within 12–72 hours and provide direct contacts for every other rights holder (easy-clear).
- The specific master you are submitting is not subject to any exclusive agreement.
- The underlying composition is not subject to any exclusive agreement.
- The track is not retitled, and has never been registered with any PRO under an alternate title.
- All co-writers are signed to the same terms.
- All samples are cleared, or no samples are used.
- No outstanding session-player, featured-performer, or work-for-hire claims.
One-stop is the label buyers move fastest on, and a co-written song can carry it two ways. Either every co-writer signs the agreement for that song, or you hand us a split sheet your co-writers have already signed that assigns you authority to represent their shares for sync. We do not prescribe a form — yours is fine, provided it grants that authority plainly. Worth writing into your split sheets as a habit while everyone is still in the room, because it is far easier there than two years later.
Without one of those, the song is easy-clear rather than ineligible — still representable, just slower to clear. Two other things hold a song back from one-stop no matter who signed: any sample at all, even a fully cleared one, and a public domain cover whose arrangement is registered with a PRO, since a buyer then has to license that arrangement separately.
We do not accept retitled tracks
If either the master or the underlying composition is already committed to an exclusive agreement elsewhere, we pass. A retitled version does not solve that problem — it creates chain-of-title ambiguity, cue-sheet mismatches, and misrouted royalties, and music supervisors increasingly reject retitled tracks outright. We will not represent a retitled version of a work that is exclusively committed somewhere else.
Multiple masters of the same composition — allowed, with conditions
Having more than one master of a composition is not disqualifying. You may submit a genuinely distinct master provided that:
- The master you submit is a truly unique recording — not a remaster, alternate mix, edit, stem-swap, or derivative of a master that is exclusively committed elsewhere; and
- The master you submit is not subject to any exclusive agreement; and
- The underlying composition is not subject to any exclusive agreement.
If all three hold, we can represent it.
What we require
Deliverables.
Not paperwork for its own sake. Every item here is something a buyer asks for while the window is still open.
- WAV, 24-bit / 48 kHz minimum.
- An instrumental version is required. No exceptions — ad work needs beds under voiceover.
- Stems are strongly requested. Not required, but tracks with stems get pitched more, because agencies need edit flexibility.
- Alternate lengths welcome and advantageous: :60, :30, :15.
- Lyrics (for vocal tracks).
- Cover art.
- Signed work-for-hire agreements, where anyone else played on it. Session musicians, producers, featured performers — whoever contributed without a writing share. A buyer’s legal team asks who else could surface later, and having these on file is the difference between answering in an hour and losing the window.
- A complete split sheet — every writer with PRO affiliation and IPI number, splits summing to exactly 100%, publisher rows where applicable, plus ISRC and ISWC where they exist.
Opt-out categories
You set the lines. Inside them, we can move.
At signing the artist supplies an opt-out list of categories they will not license into (for example: political, tobacco, firearms, alcohol, gambling, adult, religious, or specific competing brands). Everything outside that list is pre-approved for standard commercial, TV, film, and game use, so Verilux can answer a brief at the speed buyers require. In-category requests are deemed approved if the artist does not respond within 24 hours.
Supervisors work on 12–72 hour turnarounds. Blanket pre-approval within agreed categories is what makes it possible to win the deal at all. Write the opt-out list as long as you honestly need it — that list is where your veto lives, and we would rather you use it than agonise over each request later.
Opportunity lock
30 days, one project at a time.
When Verilux pitches a track to a specific project or brief and notifies the artist in writing, the artist agrees not to knowingly pitch that same project again — whether directly or through another representative — for 30 days. This prevents two reps quoting the same track to the same buyer at different prices, which collapses the fee and can disqualify the track outright.
It applies only to the specific project we named, only for 30 days. The rest of your catalog, and the rest of the market, stays completely open — that is what non-exclusive means.
And the word knowingly is doing real work there. In a non-exclusive arrangement we cannot see where else your music is being pitched, and we are not going to pretend otherwise or police you for it. If another rep takes your song to a project we happened to name and you had no idea, that is not a breach. The clause exists to stop deliberate double-quoting, not to catch you out.
FAQ
The questions we actually get.
What exactly do you take?
40% of the gross upfront sync fee. Nothing else. You receive 60%. Verilux takes 0% of the backend: you retain 100% of publishing, 100% of the writer’s share, and all PRO performance royalties. We do not charge fees, retainers, submission costs, or any deduction other than that 40%.
Do you take my publishing?
No. Never. Verilux never registers as publisher, never administers, and never collects royalties. There is no co-publishing arrangement, no administration deal and no ownership transfer anywhere in the agreement. Your publishing and your writer’s share stay exactly where they are.
Do you retitle?
No — Verilux never retitles anything, ever — and we do not accept retitled tracks either.
A retitled work registered under an alternate title creates chain-of-title ambiguity: two titles, two registrations, one recording. Cue sheets stop matching the registration, performance royalties get misrouted, and the artist is the one who eventually has to unpick it. Music supervisors increasingly reject retitled tracks outright for exactly that reason. If either the master or the underlying composition is already committed to an exclusive agreement elsewhere, we pass on the track rather than paper over it with a new title.
Is this exclusive?
No. Representation is non-exclusive. You can keep every other representative, library and direct relationship you have, and you can pitch your own music yourself.
The one narrow limit is the opportunity lock: when we pitch a track to a specific project or brief and notify you in writing, you agree not to knowingly pitch that same project again for 30 days, directly or through another representative. That protects your fee. If two reps quote the same track to the same buyer at different prices, the buyer takes the lower number — and often disqualifies the track entirely rather than deal with the ambiguity. The lock covers only the project we named, only for 30 days, and knowingly is deliberate: non-exclusive means we cannot see where else your music is being pitched, so an overlap you did not know about is not a breach.
I have my song in another library already. Can you still rep it?
It depends on one test, not on how many places the song lives: is the specific master you are submitting, or the underlying composition, subject to any exclusive agreement? If either is exclusively committed, we pass. If neither is — a genuinely non-exclusive library deal, for instance — we can represent it.
Having more than one master of a composition is not disqualifying. You may submit a genuinely distinct master provided that the master you submit is a truly unique recording — not a remaster, alternate mix, edit, stem-swap, or derivative of a master that is exclusively committed elsewhere; and the master you submit is not subject to any exclusive agreement; and the underlying composition is not subject to any exclusive agreement. If all three hold, we can represent it.
Why do you require an instrumental?
Because advertising is mostly voiceover, and a vocal fighting a voiceover loses every time. An instrumental version is required on every track, no exceptions — ad work needs beds under voiceover. A brief that asks for your song and cannot get a clean bed under the VO does not become a smaller placement; it becomes somebody else’s placement. It is the single cheapest thing you can do to stay in the running.
Why do you want stems?
Stems are strongly requested but not required. Tracks with stems get pitched more, because agencies need edit flexibility: drop the drums for the dialogue, lift the vocal for the last five seconds, rebuild the track to a :15 without asking you to re-mix at 9pm. When an editor can solve a problem inside your track instead of replacing it, your track stays in the cut.
What happens after I apply?
A person reads it — not a filter. We listen to what you sent and check the rights criteria against your attestations. You get an email either way, including if the answer is no.
If it is a fit, we send the representation agreement plus a per-track schedule addendum, and ask for your deliverables and your opt-out category list. Tracks are added per-track by schedule addendum, so nothing is committed until you sign a schedule naming the specific tracks. Applying commits you to nothing.
When and how do I get paid?
Verilux collects the license fee and remits your 60% within 30 days of cleared funds — cleared funds, meaning the money has actually landed from the licensee, not the date they promised it. Every payment comes with a statement naming licensee, project, territory, media, and gross fee, so you can check the 60% against the number it came from.
Your PRO performance royalties are separate and never touch us: they go from the PRO to you, because we never register as publisher.
Do I have to leave my PRO?
No. Verilux requires no PRO administration and no change to your affiliation — stay with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, PRS or wherever you are. Some platforms do require you to leave your PRO, or to register works through them, in order to participate. We do not, because we never register as publisher and never collect royalties.
What kind of placements and budgets?
Sync fees vary enormously by use, from low-three-figure regional and digital spots up to six figures for national brand campaigns. The fee follows the use — media, territory, term and exclusivity — far more than it follows the song.
To be straight with you: Verilux is early-stage, and nothing is guaranteed. We do not promise placements, revenue, or timelines, and any representative who does is selling you something. What we commit to is a clean deal, honest reporting, and pitching your music to music supervisors, ad agencies and creative directors ourselves.
How long am I committed?
12 months, auto-renewing for successive 12-month periods. You can give notice of non-renewal at any time, and it takes effect at the end of the then-current 12-month period. So: give notice in month 3 and the agreement runs the remaining 9 months of that year, then ends. There is no mid-term exit.
You will not get caught out by the renewal date — Verilux sends you a written renewal reminder at least 45 days before each anniversary, stating the renewal date and how to give notice.
The honest reason: pitching a track takes months of cycles. A brief, a shortlist, a client who goes quiet and resurfaces two quarters later. Pulling a track mid-year wastes that work, usually right at the point where it was about to pay off. A 12-month floor is what makes it rational for us to keep working a track that hasn’t landed yet.
Can I withdraw my music early?
No, not mid-term. Your notice ends the agreement at the end of the then-current 12-month period — there is no mid-term exit. Give notice in month 3 and the remaining 9 months run out first.
Already-issued licenses stand for their full license term regardless, which is normal and non-negotiable in sync: a brand that licensed your track for a two-year national campaign keeps that license. After termination, a 12-month tail applies only to specific opportunities Verilux introduced and documented in writing before termination — nothing else.
Apply
Read it all? Then send us up to three songs.
Three songs maximum — send the ones you would want in a scene, not everything you have. We would rather hear your three best than thirty.
Send links, not files. Don’t attach anything. Spotify, Disco or Bridge.audio links are ideal because we can listen the way buyers do, but a Google Drive or Dropbox link is completely fine — just make sure it is set so we can actually open it. If a song has vocals, include the lyrics; briefs get rejected on a single line, so we need to read them before we pitch.
Applying commits you to nothing — no agreement is in force until you sign one.
Accepting applications through September 15, 2026.
There’s a somebody I’m longing to see.“Someone to Watch Over Me” · George & Ira Gershwin, 1926 · public domain