An incomplete rights chain
Composition and master are two different products with two different splits. Having one cleared and not the other blocks you exactly as much as having neither.
// Composer · Music supervisor · Madrid
Composer and music supervisor for film, series and brands
Film · TV series · Documentary · Advertising · Sonic branding
The hard part about music on a project isn't finding it. It's being allowed to use it.
I write and produce the music, and I hand over the rights chain that lets you air it: an assignment contract with explicit territory, media and term, sync licence, cue sheet, split sheet and full metadata.
One point of contact. One invoice. No legal surprise six months later.
// The problem
Music without paperwork isn't an asset. It's an open risk.
Almost every music problem on an audiovisual project shows up after delivery, once it is expensive to fix: the campaign expands into a market the licence never covered, the collecting society asks for a cue sheet nobody filled in, or the master turns out to sit with a third party who signed nothing.
One counterparty per element
Composer, studio, publisher, label, agency. Five conversations, five calendars and five invoices for a single 30-second cut.
The metadata nobody filled in
With no split sheet, no cue sheet and no identifiers, the work exists but is invisible: it isn't registered, isn't tracked and doesn't pay out. The cost surfaces months later.
// Reel
Ninety seconds, three different jobs
Every piece comes with its alternative version. That isn't a stylistic flourish — it's how I work. I never present a single direction, because comparing two is faster for the team than correcting one.
Player pending
reel upload
reel upload
Scoring to picture
How a scene is supported without being covered: theme, development and sync point.
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reel upload
reel upload
Advertising and sonic branding
A brand piece with its sonic logo, resolved across the durations the media plan actually needs.
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reel upload
reel upload
Why it sounds different
Ethno-jazz: the rhythms of the indigenous peoples of the Southern Cone crossed with jazz harmony and improvisation. The signature you won't find in a library.
// Services
What you can commission
Six services, available separately or as a single music line under one point of responsibility.
Original score for film, series and documentary
Full score: main theme, dramatic development and sync points, with live players when the project calls for it.
- Spotting and temp track
- Mock-ups per block before recording
- Stems by family, 5.1 mix on request
- Familiar with Ibero-American co-production
Original music for advertising and branded content
Bespoke music for a commercial, branded content or social cut, delivered in every duration and channel the plan requires.
- Two creative routes in 48-72 h
- 60″ · 30″ · 20″ · 15″ · 6″ versions
- Instrumental, TV track and social edits
- Assignment with explicit territory, media and term
Sonic branding and sonic logo
Full audio branding: the sonic logo and the whole system that makes it usable at every touchpoint.
- Sonic logo and its variants
- Long, short, on-hold, app, event and social versions
- Sound usage manual for agencies and vendors
- Reference: corporate sonic identity of TVN
Music supervision and sync licensing
For when the job isn't to write music but to pick the right one and be able to use it. Search, negotiation and clearance of existing repertoire.
- Repertoire search and options by budget
- Sync and master negotiation
- Clearance, exclusivity and sample control
- Cue sheet delivered and filed
Executive music production
The entire music line of a project under one point of responsibility, from creative brief to documented delivery.
- Creative brief translated into a music brief
- Music budget built and defended
- Casting: write it, hire it or licence it — and decide which
- Legal risk managed across the whole line
Rights management and music publishing
The part almost nobody offers alongside the music. I have taught publishing for years and apply exactly what I teach.
- Assignment and licence agreements
- Split sheets and work shares
- Cue sheets, work certificates and usage reports
- Metadata, registration and work tracking
// For music supervisors, production companies and agencies
The spec sheet you usually have to ask for
If you're assessing repertoire or looking for a composer, this is the information that normally takes three emails. Here it is up front.
- One-stop
- On my own work, composition and master sit with a single controlling party: one negotiation and one signature to authorise the use. No third party surfacing halfway through clearance.
- Scope of grant
- Territory, media and term are written into the contract, never assumed. Campaign options (Spain / EMEA / worldwide), for a term or as a buyout, priced separately.
- Delivery paperwork
- Assignment contract · sync licence ·
split sheet·cue sheetin the society's format · work certificate · written human-authorship declaration. - Metadata and identifiers
- Title, writers and publishers with their shares,
IPIper rights holder,ISWCfor the work andISRCfor the recording, plus the society where it is registered. - Delivery formats
- Master WAV 24-bit / 48 kHz, stems by family, instrumental and TV track, versions by duration and channel, and alt mixes. Other formats and sampling on request.
- Turnaround
- Two creative routes within 48-72 h of the brief. Revisions on the chosen route. Production and final delivery to the project schedule.
- Human authorship
- All music is written and performed with human authorship, declared in writing, with the traceability broadcasters, platforms and advertisers now require.
- Coverage
- Based in Madrid. Projects across Spain, EMEA and Latin America, with working knowledge of Ibero-American co-production and of how a work is registered in different collecting societies.
// How I work
Five steps with real timings
No schedule surprises and no "here's something, see if you like it" phase. Every step has a concrete deliverable and a date.
1
Brief
A 30-minute conversation. I come out of it with references, tone, durations, sync points and — above all — the real scope of the grant you're going to need.
30 min
2
Creative routes
Two distinct proposals, not one. Comparing two directions is faster and cheaper than correcting one nobody dares touch any more.
48-72 h
3
Approval
Revisions on the chosen route, with the number of rounds agreed in writing from the quote onwards.
Agreed
4
Production
Arrangement, musical direction, recording, mix and master. Live players when the project asks for it and the budget allows.
Per project
5
Delivery
Master, stems, every version and the complete rights folder. The project closes legally as well as sonically.
Documented
// Always included
The rights folder
Included in every commission — not an add-on, not a separate budget line. It's the difference between handing over an audio file and handing over a usable asset.
Master and stems
WAV 24/48, stems by family, instrumental and TV track.
Every version
Durations by channel and social edits, delivered together.
Assignment contract
With territory, media and term written explicitly.
Sync licence
For the work and the master, with no gap between the two.
Split sheet
Work shares signed by everyone involved.
Cue sheet
In the format the relevant collecting society requires.
Full metadata
Writers, publishers, shares, IPI, ISWC and ISRC.
Authorship declaration
Human authorship declared in writing and traceable.
// Track record
From television, from records, and from rights
I scored the series "No abras la puerta" (TVN) and "Príncipes de Barrio" (Canal 13), and created the corporate sonic identity of TVN, Chile's public broadcaster. I have produced and played for artists including Kudai, Palmenia Pizarro and Andrés de León, and collaborated with Rod González (Die Ärzte).
As a pianist and composer I won the 2017 Pulsar Award for Best Fusion Artist with Holman Trío, releasing six records and touring the United States, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Spain, with shows at Lincoln Center in New York and the Montreal Jazz Festival.
And there is a second half to my work that isn't artistic: rights management. I teach publishing, licensing and sync — assignments, split sheets, cue sheets, metadata, master rights versus composition rights. Which is why, when I deliver music, I deliver the paperwork that lets you use it.
10years of training: classical piano (U. de Talca) and popular piano (U. de Chile)
6albums released and 3 concerts issued on Blu-ray
10countries toured, from South Korea to Canada
1corporate sonic identity for a public broadcaster
- Sonic identityTelevisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) — corporate music for the channel
- Series"No abras la puerta" (TVN) · "Príncipes de Barrio" (Canal 13)
- Television"Estrellas de Barrio" segment, "Buenos días a todos" (TVN)
- ArtistsKudai · Palmenia Pizarro · Andrés de León · Rod González (Die Ärzte)
- AwardPulsar 2017, Best Fusion Artist, with Holman Trío
- StagesLincoln Center (New York) · Montreal Jazz Festival · Seoul Music Week · Ollin Kan (Mexico City) · Circulart (Medellín)
- TeachingMasterclasses at U. de Chile, U. Católica del Maule, U. de Música de Barranquilla and Berklee EMAT Bogotá
- Own courses"Introduction to Publishing" and "The New Music Industry": rights, collecting societies, sync, metadata and works administration
// FAQ
What people ask before commissioning
And if yours isn't here, write to me: answering one specific question beats sending a deck.
What is the difference between a composer and a music supervisor?
A composer writes new music for the project. A music supervisor decides what should be heard and resolves how to use it legally: sourcing repertoire, negotiating sync licences, briefing the composer and closing the rights paperwork. I do both, so on the same project I can score it, licence existing repertoire, or combine the two depending on what suits the piece and the budget.
What does one-stop clearance mean here?
On my own work, composition and master sit with a single controlling party. That means one negotiation and one signature to authorise the use — no publisher, label or featured artist surfacing halfway through clearance with a veto and a new fee.
What has to be in a sync licence?
Three things, explicitly: territory, media and term. On top of that, composition rights (writer and publisher) and master rights have to be resolved separately, because they are different products with different splits. If any of those pieces is missing, the broadcast is exposed.
Can we just use a production library or royalty-free track?
You can, but read the whole licence. Many libraries cap territory, media or term, and almost none give you exclusivity — the same cue may be running in a competitor's campaign. If the campaign expands or runs longer, the licence stops covering you and you renegotiate from a weaker position. Original music removes that and builds an asset the brand actually owns.
What does original music for a campaign cost?
It depends mostly on the scope of the grant: Spain for 12 months is not the same as EMEA in perpetuity. I always quote in three tiers so the team can compare scope against cost before deciding, with the rights fee separated from the production fee — which is what lets you defend the line internally.
What does a sonic identity include?
A sonic logo and the full system around it: long, short, on-hold, app, event and social versions, plus the sound usage manual that sets out when and how each one is used so the brand sounds consistent across every touchpoint. I created the corporate sonic identity of TVN, Chile's public broadcaster.
How fast can you turn a brief around?
Two distinct creative routes within 48-72 hours of the brief. From the chosen route: revisions, production and final delivery to the project schedule. Timings and revision rounds are written into the quote, not negotiated halfway through.
Do you work outside Spain?
Yes. Based in Madrid, working remotely across EMEA and Latin America, with working knowledge of Ibero-American co-production and of how a work is registered across different collecting societies — which is usually where multi-territory projects break.
// Contact
Tell me about the project
With the release date, the intended scope and one sentence on tone, I can tell you the same day whether it fits and what each tier would cost.
- WhatsApp and phone+34 673 779 113
- Emailinfo@altusmusic.es
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/gustavo-cerqueiras
- Based inMadrid · Altus Music
If you'd rather see the material before talking: write and I'll send the 90-second reel, the credentials PDF and a sample three-tier quote.