Exclusive or Non-Exclusive - THIS is THE question!

I’ve been studying sync placements for a while now, and it’s fascinating to explore the production side and structural elements of tracks specifically created for film, TV, and advertising. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I like to compare the production process to baking a delicious cake. If you change the recipe and don’t follow the “rules,” adding ingredients however you please, you risk ruining the final product. But stick to the recipe, and you’ll end up with something truly enjoyable—something others will appreciate too. 

Now that I have a solid understanding of production and structure, I’ve started pitching my tracks to sync music libraries. But before I go into detail, let me say this: it feels like the same old story as the streaming industry. Whether we like it or not, creatives—songwriters, composers, producers, and vocalists—often come out on the losing end, exploited by a clever and deeply flawed system. 

It’s no different from what’s happened in the publishing world. Writers spend months, even years, pouring their hearts into books, only to give them away for free on platforms like Amazon Kindle. I’ll never understand why people sell themselves short. Nothing good should be free. People are willing to pay for poison—cigarettes, alcohol, fast food—yet hesitate to pay for music and literature created with true dedication and soul. Why is that?

Anyway, enough of that. It is what it is. I can’t single-handedly change a broken system that seems to be deteriorating further each day. And let’s be honest, the rise of AI isn’t exactly helping matters.

Back to my cake analogy. In recent weeks, I’ve started receiving responses from exclusive sync libraries, and I’d like to share some of their feedback—and get your perspective. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

For context: I’ve been releasing music independently as a lyricist for the past three years. I now have 15 professionally produced and recorded tracks spanning Pop, R&B, and Rap. My featured artist, Thir13een, is an incredibly talented and uniquely gifted vocalist—there’s no doubt about that.

Here’s one response I received from a British exclusive library: “We only work on an exclusive basis. That means tracks are signed exclusively and in perpetuity, with income split 50/50 across the board (no upfront advances or fees).”

I also had an email communication with a US Exclusive library that works as a pre-cleared “one-stop” sync licensing boutique library. To my surprise, they not only want the artist to give away their full rights, but also offer no upfront payment.

While the standard revenue split in non-exclusive sync libraries is typically 50/50 %, there are some libraries (I won’t name names) that actually take a shocking 75% of the sync license fee—leaving the artist with just 25%. Honestly, why would any self-respecting artist in their right mind agree to such terms? I genuinely don’t have an answer.

Why should anyone spend their hard-earned money and countless hours crafting a “delicious cake,” only to give it away for free in the vague hope of maybe—possibly—receiving a few crumbs somewhere down the line, with no idea when or how often that might happen? Again, I don’t have an answer.

That said, I’ve been weighing my options carefully and have put together a list of pros and cons when it comes to signing with exclusive versus non-exclusive libraries. I'm still figuring out which direction makes the most sense for me, but in the meantime, I’ll continue pitching my music to exclusive libraries that still respect artists—and don’t treat them like naive, clueless amateurs.

Exclusive Sync Libraries PRO & CONS

Pros

• Higher sync fees & premium placements
  Major libraries offer exclusive tracks and often land big-budget placements like blockbuster trailers or network TV leading to significantly higher upfront fees and royalties
• Publisher confidence & priority
  Being exclusive signals commitment. Music supervisors see your music as unique and harder to source elsewhere, which boosts placement chances
• Shared sync and performance income
  Some exclusive deals include a share of sync fees, not just performance royalties

Cons

• Restricted freedom
  Tracks can’t be licensed elsewhere, and rights may be tied up for extended or indefinite terms
• No guarantee of use
  You depend on the library’s promotional efforts, your music could sit unused if not prioritized
• Higher quality bar
  Expectations for production value are high, and competition is stiff
• You have to give away your full publishing and master rights
• You can’t promote and release your music anywhere

---

Non‑Exclusive Sync Libraries  PRO & CONS

Pros

• Maximum flexibility
  Keep the freedom to pitch tracks to multiple libraries or pursue deals directly—ideal for diversifying opportunities
• Quick and easy uploads
  Many non‑exclusive libraries have low entry barriers, great for new composers to start building sync revenue
• Retain rights & royalties
  You usually keep full publishing and master rights, earning both sync and performance royalties
• You can promote and release your music anywhere

Cons

• Lower fees & placements
  High-end opportunities are rare; they don’t negotiate big budgets the way exclusive labels do
• Metadata confusion & admin issues
  Libraries often retitle tracks, leading to royalty attribution errors and disputes
• Catalog saturation
  With thousands of tracks uploaded daily, your music may struggle to stand out

Collaborating with Music libraries & Sync placements!

When I started my journey as an indie lyricist in 2022 to mainly promote my online petition #HumanityB4Nationality for better rights for refugees with my track “80 Million People”, I had never heard anything about sync licensing. 

Last year after the awful treatment with my former music distributor Amuse.io (the most corrupt distribution company of all) with their false accusations and disrespectful treatment regarding my tracks ending up on AI playlists (obviously without my knowledge), I knew that I couldn’t trust distribution companies who treat artists like shit! And I have decided to remove my music completely from streaming stores such as Spotify & Co and make them ONLY available on LilyAmis.Bandcamp.com

It didn’t take long to realize that if you want your music to be heard without allowing streaming platforms to “use your work” for free, the ONLY profitable way where you also get exposure is Sync placements in TV and Film productions. 

It took me months of research, reading blogs and articles, watching YouTube Videos, etc., and I soon realized that the Sync journey wouldn’t be an easy adventure. Why? Mainly because many successful artists take advantage of the cluelessness of indie artists by offering their service as Sync mentors and asking for a fortune, which, as we all know, indie artists simply don’t have. I have seen prices starting from 1000 up to 2000 dollars! Or monthly subscriptions starting from 50 dollars, and one-on-one Zoom calls, where you also have to pay an hourly rate starting from 100 dollars!

I’m glad that I didn’t use any of these expensive services. I manifested my desperate need for a mentor and came across the “Sync Academy Group” a few weeks ago. In this group, you not only learn how to produce and design your tracks for TV & Film placements, but also how and where to pitch your work the professional way! 

From what I have learned so far, as Jesse, the founder and mentor of the Sync Academy, keeps saying, the Sync industry is not rocket science. There are rules that you need/should/must follow, and when you do it the right way, there are realistic chances for everyone to get placements regardless of music genre. 

For me, it is like having a baking recipe. If you change the recipe as you wish and don’t follow the instructions step by step, you destroy the cake! Simple as that! 

Follow the instructions, use the ingredients mentioned, and you end up having a tasty and delicious cake that not only you enjoy, but also other people who eat a little slice. In other words, make good music, and Music Supervisors will enjoy your cake as well. Easy as that! 

Having said that, I'm still learning a lot about production and marketing, and I highly recommend the Sync Academy if you are seriously interested in improving your skills and being as professional as possible and want to succeed with your music! 

#Lily4Refugees #wallraff Watch this German undercover documentary!

We watched the documentary on German Television RTL and couldn't stop our tears. The lack of humanity and the power of corruption in 2025 are shameful and simply disgusting! 

We wish everyone could watch this eye-opening undercover documentary in English, but the pictures speak for themselves. Even if you don't speak and understand German, take a minute and watch this unbelievable, scandalous reality about the awful treatment with desperate refugees in Berlin, Germany! 

The German Government and Red Cross Germany are making a fortune with the misery of innocent refugees who have lost everything in life! We are speechless. We are upset and heartbroken. Back in 2022, I started my online petition #HumanityB4Nationality to raise awareness about the plight of refugees stuck in refugee camps in countries like France and Greece. 

2025, the misery continues and people in power such as Ursula von der Leyen do nothing! And I mean absolutely NOTHING to help the hopeless and helpless refugees! 

Description in English: 

In the new #wallraffen investigation, the reporting team led by Günter Wallraff uncovers how millions of euros in taxpayer money at the Berlin refugee shelter in Tegel are apparently not benefiting the refugees who live there under sometimes questionable conditions. In 2023 alone, over €298 million flowed into the facility. Where is the money really being used? The team is given access to figures in the previously redacted operating contract. This reveals, among other things, that organizations such as the German Red Cross (DRK) and Messe Berlin receive an additional administrative fee for personnel costs, for example.

Currently, around 3,000 people are said to be housed in Tegel: in open "honeycombs" with up to 14 people – without ceilings, proper doors, or privacy. Based on the approximately €1.2 million that the state pays per day for the Tegel refugee shelter, this would amount to €400 per capita per day. Christoph Wapler (Green Party): "It's the most expensive accommodation with the worst conditions."

An RTL reporter went undercover as a supervisor for the Workers' Samaritan Federation (ASB) in Tegel, and her impressions were sobering: Employees often have nothing to do, and patrols seem pointless. "For me, this is just occupational therapy. Imagine if we didn't have the checklists. What would we do then?" a shift supervisor tells her. The German Red Cross (DRK), which commissions non-profit organizations like the ASB to care for refugees, writes in its statement to RTL: "The deployment of staff is based exclusively on actual needs, professional standards, and the requirements of the state of Berlin."

Furthermore, it appears to the journalist that she and her colleagues are not even allowed to take on many caregiving tasks. For example, she is not allowed to allow children access to a room with art supplies, even though she has time to supervise them. The ASB told RTL: "The childcare center is open all day. [...] To ensure the protection of the children in care, supervision or monitoring is only possible by appropriately trained staff."

The "Team Wallraff" reporters show the figures in the contracts, unredacted, for the first time to Green Party politicians Jian Omar and Christoph Wapler, as well as Elif Eralp (The Left). Although they have a say in budget allocations and refugee accommodations, they don't know all the figures for the Tegel accommodation center. Jian Omar is appalled by the research results: "Hiring people without giving them anything to do is not only a waste of money, but also detrimental to the refugees themselves."

GERMAN: 

In der neuen #wallraffen-Recherche deckt das Reporterteam unter Leitung von Günter Wallraff auf, wie in der Berliner Flüchtlingsunterkunft Tegel Steuergelder in Millionenhöhe scheinbar nicht den Geflüchteten zugutekommen, die dort unter teils fragwürdigen Bedingungen leben. Allein 2023 flossen über 298 Millionen Euro in die Anlage. Wo werden die Gelder wirklich eingesetzt? Das Team erhält Einsicht in Zahlen im bislang dazu geschwärzten Betreibervertrag. Daraus geht unter anderem hervor: Träger wie das Deutsche Rote Kreuz (DRK) und die Messe Berlin erhalten eine zusätzliche Verwaltungspauschale auf beispielsweise Personalkosten.

Aktuell sollen in Tegel rund 3000 Menschen untergebracht sein: in offenen „Waben“ mit bis zu 14 Personen - ohne Zimmerdecken, richtige Türen oder Privatsphäre. Ausgehend von rund 1,2 Millionen Euro, die das Land für die Flüchtlingsunterkunft Tegel am Tag zahlt, würde dies auf Pro-Kopf-Berechnung einen Betrag von 400 Euro am Tag ergeben. Christoph Wapler (Grüne): „Es ist die teuerste Unterkunft mit den schlechtesten Bedingungen.”

Eine RTL-Reporterin schleuste sich undercover als Betreuerin des Arbeiter Samariter Bunds (ASB) in Tegel ein, ihre Eindrücke fielen ernüchternd aus: Beschäftigte haben oft nichts zu tun, Kontrollgänge wirken sinnlos. „Das ist für mich einfach nur Beschäftigungstherapie. Stell dir mal vor, wir hätten die Checklisten nicht. Was würden wir dann tun?“, verrät ihr ein Schichtleiter. Das DRK, das gemeinnützige Organisationen wie den ASB für die Betreuung der Geflüchteten beauftragt, schreibt in seiner Stellungnahme an RTL: „Der Personaleinsatz richtet sich ausschließlich nach dem tatsächlichen Bedarf, fachlichen Standards sowie nach Vorgaben des Landes Berlin.”

Zudem hat es für die Journalistin den Anschein, als dürften sie und ihre Kollegen viele Betreuungsaufgaben gar nicht übernehmen. So ist es ihr beispielsweise nicht gestattet, Kindern Zugang zu einem Raum mit Malsachen zu gewähren, obwohl sie Zeit hätte, diese zu beaufsichtigen. Der ASB erklärt gegenüber RTL: „Die Kinderbetreuung ist ganztägig geöffnet. [...]. Um den Schutzauftrag gegenüber den betreuten Kindern zu gewährleisten, ist eine Begleitung oder Beaufsichtigung ausschließlich durch entsprechend geschultes Personal möglich.“

Die „Team Wallraff“-Reporter zeigen Zahlen in den Verträgen ungeschwärzt erstmals den Grünen-Politikern Jian Omar und Christoph Wapler sowie Elif Eralp (Die Linke). Obwohl sie über Haushaltsmittel und Flüchtlingsunterbringungen mitentscheiden, kennen auch sie nicht alle Zahlen zur Unterkunft Tegel. Jian Omar zeigt sich über die Rechercheergebnisse entsetzt: „Menschen einzustellen, ohne dass sie was zu tun haben, ist nicht nur Geldverschwendung, sondern auch nachteilhaft für die Geflüchteten selbst.“

Lilys Ambassadors & Botschafter second-edition now available!

Dear Book and dog lovers, the second edition of my books LILYS AMBASSADORS and LILYS BOTSCHAFTER are now available! 

In 2022, I published these two books for the first and last time with BOOK ON DEMAND. It was the second-biggest mistake in my publishing journey. I'm now back to AMAZON and happy to have full control over my book prices and marketing. 

If you are new to self-publishing, stay away from BOD. Once you publish your book in print and e-book with this company, you have no say in pricing etc. And if you wish to update the files, you have to publish the book from scratch. They expect you to pay for every new edition! This doesn't make sense! Whenever you, the copyrighter of your work, have no say, you know you are not in good hands! Demand the respect your work deserves, and don't allow corrupt companies to take advantage of your cluelessness. 

For me, after 10 years, AMAZON is still THE best company to work with. Not only because of the full control that I have as the writer, but also because of the great quality they offer in print. The paper and colour are perfect! I couldn't be happier! :-)

ENJOY THE READ IN YOUR PREFERRED LANGUAGE! 

The Lily Amis Story Compilation!

THE LILY AMIS STORY 

is a compilation of three personal tracks 

inspired by the memoir The Lily Amis Story, 

including The Stolen Years in Zurich. 

The compilation includes:

The Stolen Years

The Three of us

SIMA

and a BONUS track! 

ONLY AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP and 

nowhere else! 

The Games of Life!

 

"The Games of Life" is a compilation of three tracks, including a BONUS track! 

YOYO & CHESS is a rap song about people who toy with people’s lives. For centuries, the universal key to ultimate happiness and success has been liberty. We are all part of a game, ruled by Godless rulers (evils) who make our lives a living hell. They stop us from improving and growing, and if we don't fight back and stand up for our beliefs and goals, we will never be able to live a life of liberty.

BOWLING is an anti-war rap song. A wake-up call for mighty hungry, fame, and fortune hunters. A reminder that money and power are not everything in life. It won’t last for eternity, but Karma does. It is also a song against the mainstream media, which way too often misuses its power, manipulates and brainwashes us with headline-lies and "fictional" breaking news stories without a bad conscience.

PING PONG & PUZZLE is an uplifting and liberating pop song about letting go of toxic people and a painful past. It's about accepting that those who left us behind were never meant to be in our lives. They didn't deserve our love and devotion. We all experience rejection and indifference in life, and no matter how many times we feel the pain, it is always hurtful. It takes time to understand and accept that some people are just not worth the pain and sorrow.

RIP Pope Francis!

Forcing an old, sick man to function despite his fragile condition, just for the sake of money and greed, is beyond disgusting. I hate the world we live in. It is revolting. I was worried this would happen, and it did!

I knew it! Seeing Pope Francis yesterday showed me how greedy the Vatican is. He needed rest. He needed to recover! BUT the church didn't care! Your greed for money is simply disgusting! I feel ashamed for your lack of humanity, kindness & care! I'm heartbroken! I hope the Vatican is happy! Did you make enough money over the holidays?

This poor, fragile and sick man needed rest, but you decided to torture him despite his weakness! You didn't respect his need for recovery! :-(

RIP Pope Francis :-( 

LEONARDO - Humans Just Dont Care!

Leonardo is a young and hopeless dog with a difficult life journey full of emotional and physical obstacles. After leaving an animal shelter he ends up in an orphanage in the heart of Florence. But the manager and the children treat him so badly that he runs away in the darkness of the night in hope of finding love and kindness. After a stressful journey filled with struggles, he ends up in the capital city of Italy, in Rome, and has only one goal. He wants to meet Pope Francis and ask him why he sees humans but not humanity. Why humans treat each other and him so badly and why they just don’t care!

My Voice for the Voiceless
During our many visits to major cities like Rome in Italy, we have experienced unfortunate people sleeping on the streets, while residents of the cities, national and international tourists walk by daily without taking notice and we’ve been wondering why. It is heartbreaking and shameful to look out of your fancy and warm hotel room with your comfy bed, while helpless humans struggling and surviving on the freezing cold streets just a few footsteps away and are only covered with newspapers. It is a tragedy of humanity how ignoring homeless people has become normality. It is a scandal how we look away and don’t act. Every single human being deserves a life of dignity. Every single soul deserves to be taken care of. Every single human being deserves to experience love and kindness, whether it is a child in an orphanage or homeless people and refugees on our streets. The story of Leonardo is my voice for the forgotten souls!

Who are Fallen Angels?

Fallen Angels are secret devils! 

After my song release “Secret Angels”, the 14th track on my album Legacy4Humanity, I was going to name the follow-up and last song on the album “Secret Devils”. But in my heart, I didn’t like the idea of promoting the word DEVIL on my song cover and in my social promotions. So I changed the title from Secret Devils to Fallen Angels.

Fallen Angels are people with criminal, evil and negative energy who toy with other people’s lives and destinies by misusing their power and position or by misleading others with dishonesty, corruption and criminal activities. 

Whether we like the idea or not, every one of us is surrounded by secret devils. They are here to teach us painful life lessons. We only grow through pain, disappointment and heartbreak. 

In today’s shallow, superficial, selfish, ignorant, dishonest, disloyal and thoughtless society, people have more possibilities to toy with other people. Before the Internet, we only had to deal with the evil people in our circle. Nowadays thanks to social media, we have to deal with plenty of fallen Angels, who we never get to meet in person face to face. Thanks to all the social platforms, people create identities and profiles within minutes and claim to be someone that they're not. 

Catfishing is a perfect and easy way for the secret devils to use other people's trust and cluelessness for their own benefit and profit!

This is one of the main reasons why I'm no longer on Facebook and have changed my Instagram settings to private. I’ve had enough of fake accounts and fake people who only wasted my time in the past. Once the trust is broken, you can't fix it! And trust is everything in life, but to secret devils TRUST is a holly word that destroys demons and devils like holly water! 

Be aware of the Fallen Angels around you and don't give them a chance to toy with you as they wish. Sooner or later, they are caught and can't hide their evil side any longer! Secret Devils are not only the mighty-hungry, fame and fortune hunters in politics, governments and celebrities, they are often the ones close to us, and it takes some time until we finally see their true evil character and nasty personality!

Open your eyes, open your mind and protect yourself from the Fallen Angels!

Fallen Angels - Fighting Fallen Angels!

Never before has one of my song lyrics inspired me to write an entire book series. To this date, my songs were inspired by my books. “The Stolen Years”, “The Three of Us” and “SIMA” are inspired by my memoir "The Stolen Years in Zurich”. “The Miracle of Music” is inspired by my book “Lennon, The Miracle of Music”.

But my second Bonus track on the album Legacy4Humanity (15 tracks), “Fallen Angels” has opened me to a magical and spiritual world. Recently I have been learning so much about healing stones, protection scents and amulets. It is such an exciting new world. I wish I had known about all these protection and self-care possibilities years ago. Knowledge is mighty.

The song title FALLEN ANGELS was actually supposed to be SECRET DEVILS. After my bonus track release SECRET ANGELS, I thought Secret Devils would match perfectly. But in my heart, I didn’t feel comfortable using the word devils on the cover and in my promotions. There are enough evils around us daily. So there is no need and desire to promote these dark souls at all! 

Anyway, I will be working on a new, exciting book series in the upcoming months while I’m taking necessary actions against the secret devils in my life. Self-protection and self-care are my priority!

If you want to join my journey, follow my new IG account @FightingFallenAngels

Who can you trust? Your distributor or the stores?

It’s been months since I have taken down ALL my audiobooks from audiobook stores, including Spotify. Why? Because I haven’t seen any mentionable profit since my first audiobook release, Teddy & Lily back in 2017. Also, I simply don’t trust these stores any more. I can’t believe how time flies and how naïve I was to believe, that I would be able to make donations to charities with the profit from my audiobooks! Ha ha!

Indie writers spend so much money for a professional production, not realizing that we will NEVER make any profit. Everyone else such as the narrators and recording studios is making a living except us the writers.

It just doesn’t make sense any more. It’s the same stupid game with music. Indie writers invest time and money in audiobook production and have to put up with a corrupt system! Sooner or later, all these companies will be removed for good because all they do is use indie author’s work like the music stores do. We bring traffic to these billion-dollar companies’ platforms by promoting our work, and they get new subscribers! Who are the fools? Unfortunately, we the indie writers!

While I have published my 10 audiobooks ONLY on LilyAmisBooks.Bandcamp.com, I still discover online stores that have listed my audiobooks. Some mention the product is no longer available. Some say it’s been sold out. I really do wonder why they don’t remove unpublished copyrighted works, but hey, whatever their policies are, I no longer have to put up with their nonsense!

However, this week I discovered Teddy & Lily and Bon Voyage on a Swedish audiobook store! As you can imagine after my recent awful experience with my former corrupt distributor the Swedish Company Amuse.io and Spotify, both Stockholm-based companies, I’m more than alert when it comes to Swedish companies. I don’t trust them! Discovering my work that had been taken down for months was a red flag! So I contacted the CEO and support team by mail, contact form, and Instagram, and to my surprise for the very first time within a day, I received an answer from the CEO, and my request was taken seriously.

I received the following message:

“Thanks for contacting us and informing us about the situation with your books in our service. Our content department has replied to your request via customer care. All books are disabled now, and we are investigating why we did not get a takedown notification from Findaway that normally automatically would disable the books.”

Opposed to the corrupt music stores such as Tidal, Deezer, Audiomack, and my latest annoying experience with the lyrics platform Musixmatch, I didn’t have to waste time on sending out several emails back and forth until my request was respected and taken care of right away! That’s how ALL stores should react when the copyright holder has a problem!

And as you read, according to the stores' feedback, my distributor didn’t do its job. It’s not the first time that I have discovered my work in stores since my take-down request! 

But I have to say, the way people behave and treat writers couldn't be more different than the way people treat artists! While writers work is being respected, the lack of respect and support with artists is shameful and beyond upsetting. It is simply unacceptable! These two worlds couldn't be more different! 

So my takeaway from this experience is: You can’t trust either your distributor or the stores! NONE OF THEM! When you publish a work and use a distributor, you lose control over your copyrighted work. That’s why make sure who you trust before you push the release/publish button! It’s better to have your work listed in one single store than in many across the globe and not knowing how much they actually sell!

DON’T TRUST THE FALLEN ANGELS!