Beat These 5 Biggest Music Sync Challenges with Stem Separation

The sync licensing industry has become one of the most important revenue streams for artists, publishers and rights holders. With the boom of streaming platforms, film production, advertising and gaming, the global sync market has grown rapidly. For instance, in 2024, global sync licensing revenue reached roughly $650 million, a 7.4% year-on-year increase fueled by growing demand from films, TV, advertising and video games. Looking ahead, industry estimates place sync licensing revenue between $600 million and $650 million in 2025, underscoring its continued strength as streaming platforms and gaming drive the need for licensed music in audiovisual projects.

For independent musicians, sync placements can make or break a career by providing exposure, credibility and significant revenue. For many artists, even a single well-placed sync can open doors to a global audience and boost streaming numbers, leading to further opportunities. For example, the song “New Soul” by Yael Naim became a major hit after being featured in the Apple MacBook Air commercial, catapulting the previously unknown artist to international fame and chart success. 

For supervisors and libraries, delivering the right track at the right time is everything as it directly affects production success. Working under tight deadlines with strict creative and technical criteria, supervisors rely on quick access to tracks by mood, genre, tempo, or licensing terms to secure placement opportunities.

But the process isn’t as simple as matching a song to a scene. Technical, legal and practical barriers often slow down deals or even prevent great tracks from being placed.

Sync licensing in 2025: more than just great music

In 2025, having a great track isn’t enough to land sync placements. Music supervisors and brands now demand songs that check every box - creative fit, technical polish, legal clarity, and practical flexibility - while the sync landscape grows more competitive and complex.

AI and automation are reshaping the industry by speeding up discovery, tagging, and licensing, but they also risk homogenizing choices and sidelining human curation. At the same time, the flood of new music has made catalog competition fierce, leaving many independent creators struggling to cut through the noise.

Economic pressures, unpredictable royalties and messy rights management remain persistent challenges. Outdated contact networks also make it harder for artists to connect with the very supervisors who could place their music.

In short, sync in 2025 offers huge opportunity but only for those who are prepared, adaptable, and well-connected.

The 5 biggest challenges to watch

Here are the key challenges to keep in mind:

1. No “clean” versions available

Supervisors often need instrumental versions for dialogue-heavy scenes, or acapellas for remixes and trailers.

Why: instrumental versions keep dialogue and voiceovers clear in scenes, while acapellas enable remixes and trailers with greater creative flexibility. Providing these variations alongside the original track is best practice in sync licensing, maximizing adaptability and appeal for supervisors and editors;

2. Strict technical requirements

Networks, streaming platforms and advertisers demand broadcast-quality mixes. Any background noise, poor mastering, or uneven stems can disqualify a track. Music supervisors and producers prefer broadcast-quality mixes to ensure seamless integration with dialogue and sound effects and to deliver a premium experience to audiences. Providing these mixes, including instrumental and acapella stems, increases a track’s chances of being selected for sync placements;

3. Rights complexity

Many songs have multiple rights holders, such as masters, publishing, samples, co-writers. Approvals can take weeks, if not months. (Here’s a breakdown of masters vs. publishing rights, and how royalties are split);

4. Slow approvals

Even when rights are clear, waiting for signatures and green lights can kill momentum like, for instance, it worked with the music licensing platform Audiosocket, a well-known player in the space since 2007. Users have reported that it can take up to 90 days for their submissions to be approved or denied for sync licensing opportunities;

5. Lost or inaccessible multitracks

Years after a song’s release, the original project files may be gone. Without stems, creating alternate versions is nearly impossible.

How stem separation overcomes sync licensing challenges

Stem separation technology is transforming sync licensing by giving unprecedented flexibility and creative control over tracks. 

Music supervisors often require instrumental versions or stems to overlay voiceovers or dialogue smoothly. As one expert source puts it, “having instrumentals and separated tracks can be extremely useful” in sync contexts. Without those versions, licensing opportunities may fall through, emphasizing the high stakes of having stems available.

Companies like Music Rightz use it to isolate or adjust vocals and instruments, offering customized music options without needing original multi-tracks, which extends the value of legacy songs. 

In one notable example, stem separation technology was crucial in restoring and isolating John Lennon’s vocals from an old Beatles demo, enabling the creation of the last Beatles record, which would have been impossible without stem isolation.

With AI-driven solutions like LALAL.AI, supervisors, producers and artists can generate new versions of a track even when original stems are unavailable.

Practical benefits include:

• Instant instrumentals & acapellas - extracting a clean vocal or backing track without asking for a remix;
• Sync-ready flexibility - adapting songs for scene needs: removing vocals under dialogue, highlighting certain instruments, or striping percussion for background usage;
• Library efficiency - stock music producers can prepare multiple versions of each track quickly, making their catalog more appealing to supervisors;
• E-learning & archival use - reviving older tracks where the project files are lost, keeping songs usable for new placements.

Real-world sync use cases

Real-world sync use cases demonstrate how impactful music placements can be for artists and brands:

• Ural Thomas and The Pain gained significant exposure and sync placements in major campaigns for Nike and Netflix by staying true to their authentic retro-soul sound, highlighting how unique music and smart partnerships can drive sync success;
• The Black Keys licensed over 300 songs in commercials, TV shows, and video games, greatly contributing to their recognition and revenues, especially when radio airplay was limited early in their career;
• Roy Music Agency secured a successful sync placement for a French artist's song in Season 5, Episode 1 of the US reality TV show "Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce" on Bravo, evidencing sync’s potential to enhance artist visibility across international markets;
• Music in iconic placements like the use of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey in The Sopranos finale revitalized classic tracks, driving renewed popularity and sales years after initial release.

Potential sync use cases

• A TV drama requests an instrumental bed of a licensed track, but the artist only has the mastered version → stem separation delivers the instrumental within hours;
• A trailer house needs an acapella to overlay dramatic sound design → AI extraction isolates the vocal cleanly;
• A music library boosts its catalog value by providing supervisors with multiple track versions upfront (full mix, instrumental, vocal-only).

LALAL.AI as sync insurance

For sync professionals, time is money - and opportunities vanish fast. By integrating advanced tools like stem separation, voice cloning, voice cleaning, lead & backing vocal isolation, and echo or reverb removal (all are provided by LALAL.AI) into their workflow, supervisors and artists gain a powerful safety net. Even if original files are missing or a last-minute request pops up, they can instantly create clean instrumentals, acapellas, or alternate versions that meet exact sync requirements. The result: faster turnarounds, more flexible deliverables, and fewer missed placement opportunities.

In an industry where deals can stall over missing instrumentals or poor-quality stems, LALAL.AI ensures that no opportunity is lost just because a track isn’t “ready”.

How does LALAL.AI work?

LALAL.AI is available online, so just go to LALAL.AI website and choose the product needed from Products’ section (or use a desktop/Android/iOS app);

1. Log in using one of several login options available;

2. Then, click on Select Files/Choose Audio or Video/Choose song depending on the product you will be using and just follow the process! Then just wait until the audio is processed, that’s all.

Step into the future of sync licensing with LALAL.AI, an all-in-one AI audio toolkit that ensures your tracks are always placement-ready. From stem separation, vocal isolation, and voice cleaning to cloning, echo removal, and quick alternate versions, LALAL.AI helps supervisors, libraries, and artists deliver exactly what a brief demands: fast. Start with the free Starter Pack, scale up with extended plans for bigger catalogs, or reach out for tailored business solutions to streamline your sync workflow.

With LALAL.AI, stem separation and advanced audio tools become your built-in insurance for sync. No matter the deadline or request, the right version - instrumental, acapella, clean, or customized - is always ready to deliver.

Follow LALAL.AI on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with all our updates and special offers.