One of the biggest headaches in the music industry has long been the often complicated and arduous process of licensing. Music Tech Works aims to make the sync licensing process much more seamless.
Specifically, the company helps TV, film and advertising production companies obtain sync licenses. It’s an agreement between an end user and the owner of a copyrighted song. The license grants permission to release the song in a video format for popular music. So, if your project requires the use of music, Music Tech Works can connect you with the proper rights holder. The company’s founders are Bryson Nobles and Jarrett Hines. They’re providing a solution in industries they’re passionate about: music, technology and business.
“All of our conversations kept bringing us back to improving the sync licensing process,” says Hines. He did management consulting for Accenture and held tech positions with Huge, NCR and SongSplits. “We both have friends that are artists who lost out on opportunities because of challenges within the existing process. Helping them was the inspiration for starting Music Tech Works.”
Positioning Black-led Tech Companies
Hines believes black-led tech companies should engage in industries where “we are consumers.” Generally speaking, they are underrepresented. But in terms of music specifically, it’s easy to see why the involvement of black tech companies at this level is so essential.
“In addition to the artistry, black people have been creating innovative solutions across the industry for years and pushing forward changes in all aspects of the business,” Hines says. “We’ve been early adopters of technology, using it to create new trends. It’s important for black tech to be involved in music. The next logical step is for us to create the tech that solves problems. Then we must push forward the next wave of innovation. This will allow us to capture a larger part of the value we create. We must funnel it back into our community so we can create more value in the future.”