Josh Collum began writing and releasing music as Secrets in Stereo in the 2000s, slowly building a following. Like many indie pop musicians, things ticked along. Until suddenly, four years ago, Collum noticed something unexpected: big sync checks.

“I started working with Rumblefish in 2007, and for about three years, my quarterly checks were $100-$500. Which was fine,” recalls Collum. “I’ve been lucky enough to have my songs licensed over 150 times in more traditional media like TV, film, and advertising. At that point, I really considered micro-licensing just another little revenue stream that was automated. In 2010, my checks started getting a little larger, into the thousands. Then, beginning in 2012, my checks broke into the tens of thousands every quarter, and have continued to increase.”

“Once I was getting consistent checks into the thousands, I wanted to know why. To be honest, at that point, I didn’t really know the ins and outs of what micro-licensing was. I dug into my statement, and I realized that there were two main culprits,” Collum explains. “One, was a song called ‘Happy’ that was being heavily used on a photography video site called Animoto. I had never heard of Animoto, but after some research, I realized how huge it was. The other was lyric videos on YouTube, using songs of mine that the video creators had heard on TV shows. That really opened my eyes to this new digital market, and the music licensing opportunity that was being missed by most artists.”

Collum was thrilled and intrigued by his discovery. Instead of letting the checks roll in, however, he decided to make the most of the momentum he saw building. “I reached out to Rumblefish and asked them what I could do to focus on this market,” says Collum. “That began a close relationship with the company that still exists today.”

It was also the beginning of Sorted Noise, the company Collum founded with several long-time collaborators to create and promote music for images. “Sorted Noise started as a production team, made up of Jason Collum, my older brother, and Thad Beaty,” Collum notes. “They co-wrote most and produced all of the Secrets in Stereo music. After they saw what I was doing for a few years, and I saw what they were doing, I basically badgered them into bringing me on as a partner. From there, Sorted Noise has evolved into what it is today: a creative team that focuses on making music for picture. We work with an amazing roster of artists in Nashville, TN, making music for TV, film, advertising, and other media.”

Many of the images and uses that add up to a steady, respectable income stream for Collum and company are amateur videos, albeit with healthy view stats. Collum is particularly moved when people choose his music as the soundtrack for special personal moments: a charming wedding video shot on Bali, a waterskiing marriage proposal video.

Like other micro-licensing artists, Collum points to the positive sides of Content ID and programs like Audio Swap, which allow users to avoid video takedowns on YouTube by exchanging copyrighted material for alternate cleared songs. “I believe the most viewed video on YouTube using one of my songs has a little over 2.6 million views. It’s a simple video that shows the track listing of the first Twilight film. The video creator originally had one of the songs from the soundtrack playing in the video, but Warner filed a take down claim, and the video creator was suggested my song, ‘Again,’ through YouTube’s Audio Swap. Thanks Warner!” Collum laughs. “I can’t even explain the impact this video has had. Beyond financially, it connected me with Twilight fans, who have been incredibly good to me.”

These fans, their support, and their video creations have allowed Collum to focus on music as a full-time occupation. Collum and his colleagues have seen the financial benefits of this support: Collum estimates that they have earned $200,000 overall, solely from micro-licensing income.

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