Black Toast® FAQs

BTM™ is a boutique, independent music publisher, label/recording administrator, and one-stop licensor. We represent an exclusive catalog of music and records by real songwriters/composers and artists/musicians. Both sides of everything in our catalog are controlled/owned/held by us, making us a rarity as a true, bona fide, one-stop.

Synchronization and master use licensing* for TV, film, advertising, and other media is our primary focus, but not our only one. As long-term, exclusive rights holders, we engage in comprehensive, full-spectrum administration and exploitation, in conjunction with our focus on one-stop/all-in opportunities. This includes unique avenues, and those that follow the evolving digital age, from global multi-platform record distributions, to lyric content licensing, to social media micro-synch, to niche live events and art exhibitions, and many others.

We bridge the separations and gaps among traditional publishers, labels, andproduction libraries, by taking the best elements of each, and leaving the rest. This allows us to offer major label and publisher quality music, with the ease of one-stop, library style licensing. Our Music Creators are all offered the same, deliverable-free, song-by-song deal, where specific music becomes exclusive to us, but people and their creativity never do. Our Clients are offered the sterling level of quality and authorship that's (almost) never accompanied by the trifecta of licensing guarantees: always available, always exclusive, and always one-stop.

1. Create an account at app.blacktoastmusic.com
   1. Choose your role (Music Supervisor or Artist)
   2. Complete your profile
   3. Start exploring our platform features

For detailed instructions, check our quickstart guide .

We offer a diverse catalog of production music across all genres, moods, and styles. Our music is carefully curated and includes both vocal and instrumental tracks, suitable for all types of media projects.

All music in our catalog meets broadcast-quality standards:

• High-quality WAV files (48kHz/24-bit)
• Professional mixing and mastering
• Clear rights and ownership
• Comprehensive metadata

The difference boils down to your workflow preference, and most Clients use both methods depending on their need at a given time. They're simply our terms for the processes you're likely very familiar with already.

Self-serve: Verified Client users can search the catalog and use the project tools enabled for their workspace. Confirm collaboration, download, and licensing workflow availability before relying on a specific feature.

Concierge: Verified Clients can also request custom music searches and project curation from our experts in Creative, in addition to custom-created music itself, where we work with our writers/composers and artists to craft something musically bespoke. Concierge work is scoped to the brief, with timing confirmed for each request.

Having i's to dot and t's to cross can arise at any time. Fortunately, everything—literally, EVERYTHING—in our catalog is owned/controlled exclusively by us, worldwide, long term (a minimum of 40 years from signing). If we pitched it to you, if it's live on our website or our catalog on platforms (DISCO, SourceAudio, Synchtank, et al), then we still represent and control it, and it's available for one-stop licensing.

Yes! Client Workspaces allow shared access to all projects for all team members of the Workspace.

You can also facilitate sharing outside of your Workspace by clicking the 'Share' button above the Project Editor sidebar, on the top left corner of your screen. Enter the recipient's email, the access level they should have, and the link expiration, and done!

Verified Clients can download unlimited audio files in the following formats:

LOSSY
•MP3 (192/256/320 kbps)
•AAC

LOSSLESS
•WAV
•AIF(F)
•FLAC

Submitting music to us is a different process based on whether you're already part of the BTM™ fam (meaning, you're Music Creator we already work with and who has music we represent), or whether you're new to working with us.

• payment and reporting details depend on the account agreement
  • Payments are processed monthly
  • payment options vary by agreement
  • account-specific reporting
  • Territory-specific tracking

See our revenue guide for more details.

Essential metadata includes:

• Track title
• Artist name
• Genre(s)
• Instruments
• Mood/emotion tags
• Tempo and key
• PRO information
• ISRC (if available)

Yes, you can:

• Update metadata
• Upload new versions
• Add alternate mixes
• Update licensing preferences
• Manage track availability

We're the exclusive rights owner/holder, worldwide, long-term, for both sides of all* works in our catalog. That means we offer any license needed for the musical compositions and/or sound recordings we represent, making us one of the few, FULLY one-stop licensors in the game.

BTM™'s Most Common Directly-Issued License Types

• Combined Synchronization & Master Use: the one-stop, all-in license we issue for most TV, film, and advertising uses. These licenses authorize the synchronization of a musical composition with visual media, contemporaneously with the use of a specific sound recording ("master") embodying said composition.
• Synchronization: the specific license issued to sync a musical composition with visual media. As a one-stop publisher/label, we typically issue these composition-only licenses when a master isn't going to be used, such as when a character or entity performs a work on screen.
• Master Use/Performance: a license issued when a use falls outside of or exceeds the scope of performance licenses obtainable through a PRO, such as when a specific sound recording is used in live performance art pieces, art installations, travelling exhibits, or similar live events.
• Direct (Composition) Performance: a license issued when a licensee has not obtained standard licensing from PROs, and is willing to offset loss of future backend royalties with higher licensing fees upfront. BTM™ issues these in cases where the media will exist exclusively on niche, proprietary digital platforms, or for a specified and limited term.
• Reproduction & Distribution: a combined license most commonly issued for niche/boutique uses, such as limited edition vinyl runs.

(This is not a comprehensive list, and doesn't specifically include the licenses we technically grant to the service providers and platforms we use to facilitate normal business operations.)

Standard processing times:

• Regular license: timing confirmed per request
• time-sensitive requests: time-sensitive
• Custom license: timing confirmed per request
• Enterprise license: As specified

Our licenses can cover:

• Worldwide rights
• Regional rights (NA, EU, APAC)
• Country-specific rights
• Custom territory combinations

Yes! It's quite common for the Term of certain licenses to be "perpetuity". The Term of a license aligns with its use case, and in the Digital Age, that frequently means a perpetual Term.

Our platform provides robust project management:

• Create separate projects
• Organize by production
• Set project status
• Track deadlines
• Manage team access

Yes, our presentation tools allow you to:

• Create branded presentations
• Customize layouts
• Add project details
• Share securely
• Track client feedback

Multiple sharing options available:

• Secure share links
• Password protection
• Time-limited access
• Download permissions
• Feedback collection

Enterprise accounts include:

• Custom licensing terms
• integration availability reviewed case by case
• Dedicated support
• Custom workflows
• Volume pricing

Yes, we provide:

• integration requests reviewed case by case
• Custom workflows
• Data migration
• System integration
• Technical support

Multiple support channels available:

• Email: support@blacktoastmusic.com
• Phone: support@blacktoastmusic.com
• email support
• Help center
• Video tutorials