A pitch should mean one specific thing: a named track and version were sent for a defined licensing opportunity, on a recorded date, to a recipient category that could act on that opportunity.
Everything else should use a different label.
That distinction matters because “activity” can look impressive while telling you nothing about whether your music reached a real decision. A song added to a catalog, tagged in a database, included in a general reel, or made available for search may support future pitching. It is not the same event as sending that song against a brief — a buyer’s request for music for a project, with a use, deadline, and usually a budget or range.
Sync is when a song is licensed to play with picture. Because the recording and the written composition are separate properties, a meaningful pitch also needs to say whether both sides can be cleared. Without that field, the activity report can count a send that could never become a license.
A count is useful only after “pitch” has one definition
Use this minimum definition:
The recipient category can be “music supervisor,” “production company,” “advertising agency,” “trailer house,” “game studio,” or another buyer type. A report does not need to publish a private contact list to prove that work occurred.
California law shows why precision around procurement matters. Its Talent Agencies Act defines a talent agency as a person or corporation engaged in procuring, offering, promising, or attempting to procure employment or engagements for an artist. The definition expressly includes musical artists, composers, lyricists, and arrangers (California Labor Code §1700.4).
That statute does not create a universal pitch-report format. It does show that “attempting to procure” work is a concrete activity, not a synonym for storing a file. Contract and licensing questions can depend on the parties and jurisdiction, so get qualified advice about your agreement.
Availability, discovery, pitching, and outcomes need separate labels
A clean report uses four levels:
- Cataloged: The track is ingested, tagged, and available to search.
- Surfaced: The track appeared in an internal search or shortlist for an opportunity.
- Pitched: The track and exact version were sent for an identifiable opportunity.
- Outcome recorded: The recipient passed, held, requested another version, requested clearance, licensed the track, or gave no decision by the reporting cutoff.
Only level three counts as a pitch. Level one proves readiness. Level two proves consideration. Level four tells you what happened after the send.
This prevents double counting. If a song is surfaced twice during one search and then sent once, the report should show two internal considerations and one pitch. If the full vocal and instrumental are both sent for the same opportunity, list both versions under one pitch event rather than claiming two unrelated opportunities.
Level one proves readiness, level two proves consideration, and only a documented send counts as a pitch.
It also protects your time. You can stop asking “How many pitches?” and ask the better questions: Which songs are reaching real opportunities? Which versions are requested? Which tracks repeatedly reach a shortlist but fail clearance?
Every pitch row should contain eight fields
The following taxonomy is a recommended reporting standard. It is not presented as an industry-mandated form.
| Field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunity | Project or brief reference and use type | Connects the send to a real need |
| Date sent | Calendar date | Establishes timing without implying a response deadline |
| Recipient category | Buyer type, not a private contact name | Shows where the track went while protecting relationships |
| Track | Released title or stable internal title | Prevents confusion between similar songs |
| Version | Full vocal, instrumental, clean, cutdown, or other sent file | Shows exactly what the buyer heard |
| Clearance | One-stop, easy-clear, pending, or not clearable | Shows whether the send could close |
| Status | Submitted, hold, pass, request, licensed, withdrawn, or no decision | Separates a send from an outcome |
| Next action | File requested, question due, cue sheet check, or none | Turns the report into work rather than a diary |
A track is one-stop when one party can approve both the recording and composition. A track is easy-clear when the necessary parties and paperwork are known and reachable. The fuller explanation is in One-stop and easy-clear.
ASCAP’s film-music checklist emphasizes confirming who owns the master and who controls the composition before using a song (ASCAP). That is why clearance belongs on every pitch row instead of in a separate spreadsheet nobody checks until the buyer says yes.
A status should describe the buyer’s action, not the rep’s optimism
Use fixed status labels:
- Submitted: sent, with no response yet;
- Hold: the buyer asked to keep the track under consideration;
- Pass: the buyer declined or chose another direction;
- Request: the buyer asked for a version, metadata, quote, or clearance detail;
- Licensed: the license closed;
- Withdrawn: the track became unavailable or was pulled;
- No decision: no outcome was received by the reporting cutoff.
Do not turn “submitted” into “under consideration” unless the buyer actually indicated consideration. Do not turn “surfaced” into “pitched.” Do not turn silence into a hold.
Silence can last. Music supervisors quoted by ASCAP explain that submitted music may sit for weeks or months before it is heard (ASCAP). A report should therefore preserve the send date and show “no decision” rather than inventing a positive or negative result.
The financial benefit is accuracy. A high activity count has no value if half the rows are catalog uploads. A smaller set of documented sends lets you assess which songs reached which uses and whether paperwork prevented any of them from moving forward.
Your representation agreement should say when and how reporting arrives
If representation is exclusive for particular songs, put the reporting obligation in the signed agreement. Under U.S. copyright law, an exclusive license is included in the definition of a transfer of copyright ownership, and a transfer must be in a signed writing (17 U.S.C. §101; 17 U.S.C. §204).
The agreement or attached schedule should answer:
- how often the report is delivered;
- which of the eight fields it contains;
- whether the artist can ask about a specific song;
- how confidential buyer details are handled;
- how duplicate opportunities are counted; and
- what happens when a track becomes unavailable.
Do not demand a minimum pitch count unless both sides can define the unit. Ten database appearances and ten direct brief responses are not equivalent. A reporting rule tied to the taxonomy above is more useful than a large number with no audit trail.
Reporting continues after “yes” because royalties depend on the paperwork
The final row is not “licensed.” It is “licensed, paperwork tracked.”
For film and television uses, a cue sheet records the music used in the production. ASCAP says cue sheets are the primary way it tracks music in films and television and distributes royalties for those performances (ASCAP).
BMI’s guidance says the cue sheet must include ownership information and that non-50/50 splits and multiple composers need to be indicated (BMI). If the wrong writer, publisher, share, or title reaches that document, performance royalties can be delayed or misdirected.
Add these post-license fields:
- license signed date;
- final track and version used;
- final title and ownership data supplied;
- cue sheet requested;
- cue sheet received or verified; and
- discrepancy opened and resolved.
This is where reporting protects money rather than merely describing effort.
If you are comparing representation, use this taxonomy beside the public deal-structure guide. If the terms and reporting standard fit your songs, apply to VERILUX with a clearer idea of what documented activity should look like.