SphereTrax, the music licensing and sync gallery, today announces the appointment of Helen Wiltshire as Head of Sync, Sales and Marketing. Wiltshire joins from her role as International Sync Manager at music giant Warner Chappell, the publishing subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Wiltshire brings with her 15 years of experience in the music industry working across catalogues and major deals with headline artists from the likes of Stormzy, Raye, Radiohead, David Bowie, The Prodigy, Skepta, The Cranberries, and George Michael, and has worked on brand campaigns for Gucci, Facebook, Mercedes, FIFA and LEGO. Her career history spans all elements of sync including pitching, clearing, licensing, negotiating, networking and finance across publishing, recorded music, distribution, digital and marketing.
Music-News.com caught up with Helen to find out more...
How did you first come into the world of music licensing?Post university, I developed an interest in getting into the music industry as music had been such a big part of my life growing up. Over the course of various internships, I was introduced to the area of synchronisation while at Mud Hut Digital, a small label based on the Sussex coast, and immediately knew it was the sector for me. It took another internship and an entry level role following this one, but in 2014 I began working in sync full time at Cooking Vinyl, and have now reached a decade working in sync.
How will SphereTrax revolutionise the sector?Our aim at SphereTrax is to not only revolutionise music licensing for creatives, but for artists and composers as well. For anyone in need of music, we have made searching a catalogue more intuitive. All of the tagging is non-binary, allowing you to dial up or dial down the mood, genre, instrumentation, etc to find the perfect track for your project. Our 6-step licensing page allows the song to be licensed immediately at a clear fee with no hidden extras or last minute approvals needed. For creators, the lion’s share of the money goes back to them; the music makers should be the ones benefiting from the deals & as soon as we get paid our artist gets paid. This is reflected in our unique fee-split model – there really is no other sync label out there that supports the creators in this way, making ethical music licensing possible for everyone.
There are many complexities of music licensing, including obtaining rights, negotiating deals, and ensuring compliance how will SphereTrax help?The mission is to remove as many of those complexities as possible. We have streamlined the process so that the fee you see on the platform is the fee you pay, and there are no lengthy negotiations or drawn out approval process. The landscape for licensing music is always evolving, and being a small team means we have great scope for adaptability across those complexities whether it is understanding new media, creating bespoke deals or sourcing music from across the globe at short notice. And while the platform is highly technical, AI powered, state-of-the-art digital, its all human beings on the other side – we are dedicated to making it as transparent and intuitive as possible, so always welcome feedback and questions from our community.
How will you help independent artists, or labels gain access to music licensing?One thing we are particularly proud of is how our work is resonating with artists, labels and composers. Having been founded by a composer, Sefi Carmel, our dedication to ensuring that the deals we offer are fair is at the very core of our ethos – this embodies our by-creators for-creators ethic. And this, in turn, has attracted over 60,000 song submissions to SphereTrax thus far. As our client base continues to grow and evolve, being on the platform and in the catalogue gives our artists direct access to music licensing across all media either through direct purchase, or a more traditional route of pitching to brief. Clients then benefit from that increased access and community building – we think this is exactly how labels and platforms should be run.
Can you help independent artists when negotiating licenses for tracks and working on original music with producers?As a creator-led business, we believe that sharing our combined knowledge base is key and at the moment we are refining how we approach this beyond our immediate composer community. We help SphereTrax artists not only with licensing and sync, which a lot of musicians aren’t aware of – but also with understanding the usually very complex process to ensure clarity, and equity. We are also beginning to expand our involvement in markets, events and panels as well as hosting webinars to assist independent creators and put our message and community out to more people, wherever they are in the world. The next one to look out for is a webinar we are hosting in association with Dolby on May 9th helping artists and composers understand how to create music and sound in Dolby Atmos audio.
What are your most memorable soundtracks for television shows and movies?I’m very much a product of late 90s teen films when it comes to soundtracks, particularly in terms of the music having the ability to elevate the picture. The likes of ‘Clueless’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet’ come to mind but for me the absolute pinnacles are ’10 Things I Hate About You’ and ‘Cruel Intentions’; the use of music in the latter is perfect every single time.
Anything else to tell us?We’re always open for conversation. We truly believe we can change and simplify the way music is licensed so whether you a music maker, a music buyer or somewhere in between, we are always ready for a chat about what we are doing & how we can help.
Helen Wiltshire, Head of Sync, Sales and Marketing, SphereTrax
