Spaces In Between
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Throwing this one out to the music supervisors and sync pros in my network.
What's the most common licensing mistake you see brands make?
I have my own list from the brand side of this conversation. But I want to hear it from the people actually clearing music for a living because your perspective is the one most brands never get access to.
I'll start with what I hear most often:
"We used TikTok or Instagram's music library so we're covered."
(You're not. Not for brand content from a personal account using popular music)
"We bought a royalty-free track so there's no issue."
(Depends entirely on what the license actually says. Most people never read it. Plus you're robbing artists of royalties that you do not have to pay for.)
"Our influencer handled the music."
(If you paid them, it's your problem too.)
"It's just a small organic post, nobody will notice."
(Crumbl Cookies said that. $24 million lawsuit. Warner Music Group.)
But I know there are patterns you see that brands never talk about publicly, the stuff that makes you cringe when a brief lands in your inbox, or the clearance issue that could have been avoided with one conversation at the start of the project.
Drop them below. Let's build a list that actually helps brands do this right before they end up in your inbox at crisis time.
(Side note: every answer here is going to be gold for the brands and marketing teams I work with in Happy Valley and beyond. Genuinely appreciate you taking the time.)
04/20/2026
Quick one that comes up constantly:
"Is royalty free music the same as licensed music?"
Nope. And the difference matters more than most brands realize.
Here's the plain English version:
Royalty free doesn't mean free.
It means you pay a one time upfront fee and no additional royalties are generated per use. You still have to pay for it. And you still have to read what the license actually covers because not all royalty free licenses are the same.
But here's the part nobody talks about:
Under a normal sync placement, a composer earns performance royalties when their music is publicly used broadcast, streamed, played on YouTube. Those royalties flow through PROs like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. The platform pays them. The brand doesn't write that check. It doesn't cost the end user anything extra.
Royalty free stock libraries often require composers to waive those royalties entirely just to be in the catalog. Some even make the composer waive the royalties while the platform registers the music and collects!
So the brand saves nothing. And the songwriter loses income they would have earned anyway.
That's what "royalty free" is actually selling you.
Licensed music means exactly what it sounds like.
Someone who owns the rights has given you permission to use a track in a specific context, for a specific purpose, for a specific period of time. That's a sync license. That's what protects your brand.
And here's the piece most creators don't know about:
When your YouTube channel is whitelisted with a sync library, Content ID won't flag your videos or redirect your ad revenue to the rights holder. You keep your full monetization.
But whitelisting doesn't cancel the songwriter's PRO royalties. YouTube holds a blanket license with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. The composer still earns their performance royalties through that system even on your whitelisted video.
You keep your monetization. The artist gets paid. Nobody loses.
Now compare that to royalty free: the composer waived their PRO royalties to be in the catalog. The brand saves nothing on the license fee. And the songwriter gets nothing on the back end either.
One model works for everyone. The other just sounds like it does.
(Side note: I've had this conversation with genuinely smart marketers who've been doing this for years and had no idea. It's not a knowledge problem nobody ever explained it to them. That's the education gap I keep talking about.)
This is exactly what the Spaces In Between Productions Sync Library is built on. Precleared, properly licensed, PRO registered music. Brands protected. Artists paid. Zero conflict.
Questions about your current setup? Drop them below. Happy to help.
11/04/2025
Stoked! I’ve had a blast helping with this event for the last several years! Support the next gen 🔥
🎤✨ It’s that time again!
State College Sings is BACK for year 3! 🎉
I can’t wait to bring together some of Centre County’s most talented singers for a night of incredible music, good food, and great community connections. From pop to rock, musical theatre to R&B, there’s something for everyone! 🎶
📍 Where: Titan Hollow | Bellefonte, PA
🗓️ When: Sunday, November 23 | 5–7 PM
💲 Cost: FREE!
Reservations aren’t required but are HIGHLY recommended (we completely booked out last year in reservations alone 👀).
📞 When you call Titan Hollow, just mention State College Sings so they can save you a spot in the concert area!
Huge thank-you to some of our amazing supporters — , .sea , and , for helping us keep this event free and for continuing to support local music and the arts. 💛
I can’t wait to see everyone there for another unforgettable night celebrating our local music community! 🎶
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