FAQs
To make things a little easier we've compiled a list of FAQ's. We kick off below with some for our wonderful customers. If you are in a band and we already represent you or you would like us to represent you you'll find some FAQ's just for you lovely people further down the page,
Industry Professionals FAQ
What is SupaSonic? SupaSonic Music Publishing Ltd is the music publishing and sync and licencing arm of the online music community SupaJam.
Who does SupaSonic licence to? We provide pre-cleared music predominantly for TV and film production, as well as for advertising, new media and corporate usage.
What separates SupaSonic from other licensing companies? SupaSonic is here to thoroughly simplify sync and licencing for your media production. We offer a vast range of current, high-quality and budget friendly music from emerging artists. Our music can be browsed in our innovative online catalogue and bought through our quick and simplified licencing/check-out process.
Where do we source our amazing catalogue from? We source our catalogue from the competitions run by SupaJam, where emerging artists compete for slots in world famous festivals and concerts. They are selected by way of voting by our 100,000 strong online music community, and a panel of highly regarded music industry professionals. This way we know we are supplying good quality, current and exciting music. Our contracts are extremely artist friendly offering simple licencing and in some cases publishing deals so all tracks are pre-cleared and ready for quick and easy licencing.
Why do I need to register for a SupaSonic account? You can search and listen to music without an account, but to receive the benefits of an account like the playlist function, the music sharing facility, the history tracker, and the ability to purchase music, then you will need to register with SupaSonic. Please click on ‘register now’ on our home page.
How do cue sheets work? Anybody who uses music in any sort of public production needs to fill in a cue sheet to send to PRS which will tell them when where and how a track was used, otherwise our artists cannot receive their royalties.
How can I widen my search results? Try searching by only your most important criteria, ie choose only genres OR only moods, etc. Selecting multiple items within a single field will include all choices in your search results.
How do I share my tracks and playlists? Every track has a "share track" link visible while playing the track. When viewing a playlist there is a "Share" link next to the playlist list box.
Artists FAQ's
I want to join SupaSonic. Where do I submit my music? Our music catalogue is mainly sourced through our live competitions, so have a look at SupaJam to see when the next competition is due to run. You don’t have to win, or even come in the top 40; we consider every track that is submitted for our competitions for our SupaSonic catalogue. If you already have a track published through us and would like us to consider more of your repertoire, please send mp3s to David Court.
What are the recording quality requirements for the music I'm submitting? We require 16 bit studio recorded tracks in .wav or .aif format, and ideally an instrumental version as well.
Does it cost me anything to sign up with SupaSonic? No. If you are not already signed up to PRS, there is a small fee to become a member in order for you to be able to collect your artists’ share of performance royalties, but we would suggest you did that anyway!
Will SupaSonic let me know if/when my music is used? While we would love to let you know when your track has been successful for a sync, we cannot guarantee that you will always be notified, purely because of the amount of syncs we are handling at any time. There also will be times when even we don’t know that your track has been used until after the event when we receive the cue sheet from the producers.
Do I get a say in where and when my music is going to be used? We have a warranty in our contract to say that we will never use your music to sync to inappropriate media like porn, but for simplicity reasons when providing music for our clients it would be unrealistic for us to put any further exclusions on where the music can be used. SupaSonic will aim to exploit your music into as many media productions as possible to really maximise your revenue.
If I sign up with SupaSonic can I still do other things with my music? YES. If you sign up to the simple Sync agreement this is non exclusive so it means you can sign up to other sync companies if you wish.
As some artists have asked SupaSonic to collect thier publishing royalties these artists will need to get our permission before signing to another third party sync company.
Can I leave the contract if I want to? Yup, if you have signed the sync contract all you have to do is give us two weeks notice in writing.
If SupaSonic is your publisher then the contract term will need to expire before you can sign another publishing contract for that track.
Who needs to sign the contract? If you're signing our sync contract the most simple thing to do is to appoint a band member/song writer to sign the contract on behalf of the rest of the band. But remember you are signing the contract on behalf of everyone who has interests invested in your track so make sure everyone is happy.
If you want SupaSonic to be your publisher it's a little more complicted so contact David Court directly and he can fill you in on all the benefits and legal requirements.
Do I need to sign up with PRS? We would always recommend a band registers with the PRS but it's not an obligation for signing our Sync contract.
If SupaSonic handles your publishing then as a member of the PRS, SupaSonic can only collect 50% (the publisher’s share) of royalties owed for any live performance you make. PRS as a rule, have to pay the other 50% of the share directly to the artist. So yes, if we are your publisher as well, in order to receive your full share, you will need to be a member of PRS.
Payment FAQ for artists who have procured a sync
Does SupaSonic pay me my share of royalties when they place my music? SupaSonic will pay you any up front sync fees as and when we receive them from the producers.
If we are your publisher as well all royalties (except performance royalties*) will be accounted by us to you twice a year.
*50% of the total performance royalty payment will be paid directly to you by the PRS
What am I going to receive as typical payments for my music? It is very hard to estimate an exact figure as it depends on where your track is synced. Different placements in different places and for different lengths of time all pay different amounts. It also depends on many different factors. Payments could be made for a large number of small syncs over a period of time, or could be a single big payout for a placement in a Hollywood feature film.
What's the pay structure? If you have just agreed for us to Sync your music you will be paid 50% of the sync fee.
If we handle your publishing the following splits apply:
Print i.e. sheet music royalties – you will be entitled to 10% of net retail price (pro-rata) where sold by us and 70% of our net receipts (pro-rata) where sold by our sub-publishers;
Mechanicals: you will be entitled to 70% of Receipts;
Synchs: you will be entitled to 50% of Receipts (including the first sync licence we secure in respect of the Compositions);
Performance: you will be entitled to 70% (40% of Receipts of publisher’s share);
Covers: you will be entitled to 60% of Receipts;
Other income: you will be entitled to 70% of Receipts.
Are there any charges outside of the commission you take? No. This means we only get paid if you get paid, so we work extra hard to make that happen!
How does payment work? Your share of any sync fees will be paid to you as and when we receive them from our clients.
If you have asked us to handle your publishing then royalty payments will be made twice a year when we receive the money from PRS.
Do I need to pay taxes on payments I receive from SupaSonic?Yes. You are responsible for declaring money paid to you by SupaSonic for tax purposes.
What if I want my payments to go to my company instead of me as an individual? SupaSonic will pay money into one bank account, the details of which should be given to us by you, the artist. It is your prerogative as to whether you set up a company to receive these payments, and therefore the tax payments are also your responsibility.
Can SupaSonic split up the licensing or publishing fees between me and all the members of my band? Sorry, no. We only send payment to one designated bank account.
If we have asked SupaSonic to be our publishers can I get money for gigs I've already played or airplay my music's already received? Yes. We would suggest you become a member of the PRS and then we can collect performance royalties from up to twelve months back. Remember to keep us updated on all your activity with playlists which we can submit to the PRS to make sure all of your royalties are collected. Remember we are only collecting performance royalties for the song(s) which we publish for you. Any other tracks need to be collected by you or whoever owns the copyright.
If you are my publsher do I get paid for every performance? You're entitled to royalties for every performance, but the PRS can only pay royalties for performances they know about so keep SupaSonic fully up to date on all your performances and you'll receive as many royalties as possible from your music.
If SupaSonic is my publisher when do I get my money? We’ll normally pay you twice a year, but when you first sign up to PRS it'll take around 3-6 months to research your recent history to see how much you are currently owed. So on average it takes around 9 months for money to start coming through.