Hello! I’m James (pictured right)!
Music has run through my veins since a very young age. I have been through, and experienced, a large spectrum of the music industry from the grass roots of learning an instrument, to performing at festivals and venues across the UK, to recording in some pretty cool studios, supporting some amazing artists, creating music that’s been used around the world, and picking up one helluva lot of industry knowledge as I’ve gone along. Anyone who’s ventured into this industry knows there are a lot of lows but when the highs come along, it makes it all worthwhile!
I always had a really keen eye on the business side of the music industry and dreamed of owning either a record label, publishing label, recording studio, management company….anything really (!) and it was when I switched from life in a band to composition, when I realised music publishing was potentially my way forward. I soon recognised how difficult it was to get works published and the kind of deals that were being offered, so I formed a boutique PRS/MCPS publishing label and started to build the catalogue offering a fairer deal sided with the musician. Before I knew it, I was distributing production albums to mainstream UK TV (specifically those covered by the MCPS blanket licence) and picking up syncs for my composers. I have obviously learnt a lot by doing this, and continue to do so, but over the last year or so, I started to dream up what I’d consider the perfect licensing scenario for music creators and music users. Unfortunately this model couldn’t work with my existing publishing label because of the copyrights and licences being exclusive to PRS. But imagine a living, breathing platform where new music is added daily and tracks aren’t kept on the platform because an agreement says they have to be, but because the owner wants them to be! Then imagine the music creator (or owners) aren’t required to share their rights and backend royalties, again like they would when signing a publishing/library agreement. Then, what if the way music is licensed was broken down to 3 simple licences to select, making it unbelievably easy for the music user to understand and this being delivered like 24 hour stock music, only we also offer a bespoke licence arrangement for those needing to protect their work. Well, that is exactly what SyncCloud is at its core. It is a place where music can be licensed to media with the music creators having absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by having tracks on the platform. (They of course have a small annual fee to pay for space on our cloud but even that’s under a tenner!) This is where my business partner comes into play.
Charlie Tennant (pictured left) seems to know no boundaries when it comes to coding! We have worked on a few projects in the past and he’s always managed to turn a concept into reality. Charlie is also a passionate musician (when he’s not behind the Mac working for other high tech businesses!). He composes contemporary music, goes to gigs whenever he can, and is right behind the SyncCloud philosophy. You see, for us, SyncCloud isn’t just about music, but what good can come from music and the legacy we can leave behind. We’re passionate about the environment and how we can make the planet a greener, cleaner place. That’s why we have introduced our ‘green syncs’ initiative. With every sync licence issued, we plant a tree! We hope to have planted a woodland in SyncCloud’s name over the years to come and SyncCloud music users should know that licensing music from us is helping to make a positive impact on climate change! We are also looking closely as to how we can help disadvantaged students create music, with lots of options on the table right now. If we can find a way to help and inspire the next gen, we will, as you shouldn’t need to be privileged to succeed!
I’ll leave you with this and I’m sure many of you will resonate; I was once ripped apart in a patronising business meeting by someone who tried to persuade others that I would never be able to deliver a product to market in its current form and that I had my head in the clouds! Although it was too late, I did actually prove that I was right all along! Well, in a way they were right too – my head is in the clouds after all. The SyncCloud! There’s nothing quite like being put down and back in your box to fire one up in the morning! So thank you! If you have a dream, stick at it and never let go. In the words of Dr. Robert Doback (Step Brothers) ‘Don’t lose your dinosaur’.
We hope your sync success starts with us!
Welcome to SyncCloud.