How to Pitch Songs to Music Supervisors: My Process for Getting Placements

I've pitched hundreds of songs to music supervisors over the past decade, and I can tell you the difference between getting lost in the pile and landing a placement comes down to strategy. Most producers treat pitching like a numbers game—blast fifty tracks to every supervisor on their list and hope something sticks. That doesn't work. What does work is understanding exactly what a supervisor needs, giving them just enough to say yes, and respecting their time. Let me walk you through my actual process.

"He applied what he learned, pitched it, and that track ended up placed on Netflix and the History Channel. The consistent work of pitching and following up was what turned it into placements. Most members who get feedback are still working toward their first placement." — Marc Alan, Sync Producer Hub member

Watch me walk through this:

Build a Five-Track Pitch Playlist (Not More)

When I'm putting together an initial pitch, I cap it at five tracks. That's it. I know it feels counterintuitive—you want to show off your range, your catalog, everything you've got. But here's what I've learned: most supervisors check out after track three. You're competing for attention with dozens of other pitches that day, so you need to front-load your best work.

Start with your strongest cue. Not your personal favorite, not the one you spent the most time on—the one that best matches what they're looking for. Then build the other four to show versatility without diluting impact. Maybe a tempo variation, a different instrumentation, a mood shift. Each track should feel intentional, like you understood their brief and curated specifically for them.

Save the deep catalog for later. Once you get the yes, once they're actually interested, then send additional options. They'll ask for what they need. Right now, you're just trying to open the door.

Know Your Supervisor's Current Needs Before You Pitch

This is where most pitches fail. Supervisors can tell when you're sending generic batches. They get dozens of "I think you might like this" emails every week, and they delete them immediately.

Before I pitch anything, I research. I look at what project the supervisor is actively working on. I check their recent credits—what kind of music did they license last month? I scroll their social media to see what they're talking about. If they posted about needing upbeat indie-pop cues for a comedy series, I'm not sending them dark, brooding ambient tracks. That's a waste of both our time.

Then I personalize the pitch message with one sentence about why my track fits their project. Not a paragraph, one sentence. "I saw you licensed upbeat vocal tracks for Schitt's Creek and thought this cue might work for season three." That's it. That tells them you did your homework.

Timing and Format: How to Submit Without Getting Lost

The mechanics matter more than people think. I send pitches during business hours on weekdays—Tuesday through Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Supervisors are actively reviewing submissions during these windows. Monday mornings, they're catching up. Friday afternoons, they're checking out mentally.

My subject line includes the project name and my strongest track title. Something like: "Submission for Grey's Anatomy Season 20 – 'Neon Hearts' (Upbeat Indie)." That's specific enough to stand out without being cute or gimmicky.

I attach a simple one-page pitch sheet with track info, mood tags, and licensing terms. Nothing fancy. Then here's the key: I include low-res preview links, not full WAV files. A Dropbox link, a SoundCloud preview, something they can click and listen to immediately without downloading a huge file. Friction kills pitches. Make it easy for them to hear your work.

Skip the Copyright Registration Before You Pitch

I'm going to say something that might surprise you: I don't copyright my instrumental cues before I pitch them. I don't. Here's why.

Instrumental tracks get picked up, reformatted, and sometimes assigned to publishers before you even know where they're going. All that admin work—registering with the Copyright Office, filling out forms, paying fees—might be completely unnecessary. You're spending time and money on something that may never get placed. And if it does get placed, the sync deal often involves reassignment anyway.

Do what makes you comfortable. If registration gives you peace of mind, do it. But don't let it slow down your pitching momentum. I register after I get a placement or a sync deal is signed. That's when it actually matters.

Follow Up Without Being Annoying

Two weeks. That's my rule. If I haven't heard back after two weeks, I send one gentle follow-up. One sentence. "Hey, just checking if you had a chance to listen to the tracks I sent on [date]?" That's all.

If they're interested, they'll reach out. Supervisors are busy, but they respond to music they want to use. Silence usually means no. And that's fine. Respect it and move on.

I don't chase the same supervisor repeatedly. I pitch, I follow up once, and then I move my energy to the next person on my list. There are hundreds of supervisors out there actively licensing music right now. Don't waste cycles trying to convert someone who's already passed.

The real skill in pitching is knowing when to push and when to walk away. Master that, and you'll start seeing placements. Keep learning about what supervisors actually need, and you'll keep getting better at it.

🎤 If you want to meet the people placing songs: I co-host SHADES of Sync with Joshua Williams (aka xJ Will) — an annual hybrid (live + virtual) sync licensing conference in Atlanta focused on opening real access to music supervisors, publishers, and brands — especially for underrepresented creators.