For buyers
Everything a supervisor asks before they shortlist a cue.
Verilux Music is a non-exclusive sync representative for independent artists. We hold sync licensing rights only. That narrow grant is the point: it is what lets us answer a brief, quote a fee and issue one license covering both sides of the track.
Clearance model
One-stop, easy-clear, and nothing else.
Every track we represent falls into one of two clearance categories, and we mark which one on every shortlist we send. There is no third category.
One-stop
The artist controls 100% of the master and 100% of the underlying composition. One signature clears the whole track. No co-publisher to find, no label to email, no featured artist to track down. We hold this label to the strict definition, so a cleared sample, an unsigned co-owner, or a copyrighted arrangement of a public domain hymn each move a track to easy-clear instead.
Easy-clear
The artist does not control the whole thing, but can clear the remainder within 12–72 hours — the window supervisors already work to — and provides direct contacts for every other rights holder. You get those contacts too, up front, not after you have picked the cue.
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. Verilux never retitles anything, and will not represent a retitled version of a work that is exclusively committed somewhere else.
The seven conditions behind every track
Nothing enters the catalog unless all seven are true, attested by the artist in writing at application and again in the agreement:
- The artist controls 100% of the master and 100% of the underlying composition (one-stop) — or can clear the remainder within 12–72 hours and provide direct contacts for every other rights holder (easy-clear).
- The specific master being submitted 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.
Two further rules govern the one-stop label, because it is the word that carries the most weight in a brief. A track carrying any sample is easy-clear even when the sample is fully cleared — a sampled track always has more than one point of contact. And a public domain cover is one-stop only where the arrangement itself is unregistered; if the arrangement sits with a PRO, that arrangement must be licensed separately and we will tell you so before you shortlist it.
Turnaround
Why we can come back inside your window.
Supervisors work on 12–72 hour turnarounds. Most representation deals cannot move that fast because every request needs a fresh artist approval. Ours are pre-approved by design.
- Pre-approval
- At signing, each 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.
- In-category requests
- If your project falls inside an artist's opt-out categories, we ask them directly. Those requests are deemed approved if the artist does not respond within 24 hours. We will always tell you when a request is in-category rather than pre-approved.
- Opportunity lock
- When we pitch a track to your project we notify the artist in writing. For 30 days that artist agrees not to approach your project directly, and not to knowingly route the same song to it through another representative. We are non-exclusive and will not pretend to police what we cannot see — but the commitment is in the agreement, and it means the conversation you are having is the conversation.
- Honest limits
- Verilux is a small, early-stage representative and we do not run a 24/7 desk. What we commit to is a fast, straight answer — including a fast no when we do not have the right thing. We will not pad a shortlist to look busy.
Deliverables
What arrives when you license a track.
These are conditions of representation, not best-effort requests, so the delivery package is predictable across the whole catalog.
Masters
WAV, 24-bit / 48 kHz minimum on every track. Higher where the artist delivered higher.
Instrumental
Required on every track. No exceptions — ad work needs beds under voiceover, so we do not represent a track without one.
Stems
Strongly requested from every artist. Not required, so we mark availability per track rather than promise it across the board.
Alternate lengths
Welcome and advantageous: :60, :30, :15. Where an artist has supplied them, they come with the cue.
Lyrics & art
Lyrics for vocal tracks, plus cover art, so your clearance and delivery paperwork is not waiting on an email.
Split sheet
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.
Scope & commercial terms
Territory, media, and how we quote.
- Territory
- Worldwide.
- Media
- All media. Commercial, TV, film, trailer, game, branded and digital content.
- Released & unreleased
- Both, and we label which is which. Some of the catalog is out in the world with streaming numbers you can look up, which matters if your client wants an artist with traction. Some has never been released, which makes your placement the premiere. We require neither of our artists, so you are never choosing between a clean rights position and the profile you wanted.
- Rights represented
- Sync licensing rights only. No distribution rights. No ownership transfer. No PRO administration. Artists keep 100% of publishing, 100% of the writer's share and all PRO performance royalties, so your cue sheet routes to the real writers under the real title.
- Exclusivity
- Our representation of the artist is non-exclusive; the license we issue to you can be exclusive to your use where your project requires it. Tell us what exclusivity you need and it is priced into the quote.
- MFN-friendly
- We are comfortable on a most-favored-nation basis and will confirm MFN in writing on request. Fees scale to the actual use — media, territory, term and exclusivity.
- One license
- For one-stop tracks, a single agreement covers master and composition. For easy-clear tracks we tell you exactly what the second signature is and who holds it, before you commit.
Send a brief
What to put in the email.
There is no portal and no form to learn. Email the brief in whatever shape you already have it. These are the fields that make the shortlist better:
The creative
- Reference tracks, or the vibe in your own words
- Vocal or instrumental, and whether lyrics matter
- Cut length and any hard hit points
- A link to the cut if you can share one
The deal
- Media, territory and term
- Any exclusivity or competitive-category restriction
- Budget range, even a rough one
- Your decision deadline — the real one
Next step
Send the brief. We will answer fast, either way.
Direct to the person who searches, quotes and signs.
You ain’t been blue — no, no, no —“Mood Indigo” · Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard & Irving Mills, 1930 · public domain
till you’ve had that mood indigo.