A temp track is placeholder music an editor lays under a scene before the final song is chosen and licensed. It might be a famous record, a score cue from another film, or a library track. The editor cuts picture to it, the director watches the scene with it for weeks, and then the music supervisor has to find something that can be licensed and does the same job. When a brief says "we are temped with" a certain song, that temp is the most useful information in the whole brief.
To pitch against a temp, match what the temp is doing in the scene, not what it sounds like note for note. That means landing within about 5 BPM of its tempo, hitting the same energy at the same moments, using a similar instrumental palette, and making sure your song has a clean edit point where the scene needs one. Then send two or three songs that do that, and keep every one of them original.
By the time a brief goes out, the cut is often built around the temp. Dialogue sits in its quiet passages. Cuts land on its downbeats. A slow push-in lines up with its build. Swap in a song at a different tempo and the scene suddenly feels wrong, even if the new song is better.
The industry has a name for this: temp love. Directors and producers get attached to the placeholder because they have heard it against picture dozens of times. The supervisor's job is to get as close to that feeling as possible with music they can actually clear on time and on budget. A song that respects the temp gives them an easy yes. A song that fights it makes their job harder.
Temp references show up in a few common forms. Each tells you something different.
| What the brief says | What it usually means | What to match |
|---|---|---|
| "Temped with [song]" | The scene is cut to that exact track | Tempo, edit points, energy curve |
| "Think [artist]" or "in the world of [song]" | A sonic reference, not necessarily cut to picture | Palette, vocal tone, era, production style |
| "Need a hit at 0:42" or "builds into the reveal" | A timing note from the edit | A downbeat, drop or lift at that moment |
| "Can't afford the temp" | They love it and need a clearable alternative | Function, with a song that is clearly your own |
If the reference is an artist name rather than a specific track, decode it into features before you search your catalog. Our guide to artist references in briefs walks through that, and how to read a sync brief covers the rest of the document.
Matching tempo, mood, instrumentation and structure is normal and expected. Copying a temp's melody, chord-for-chord hook, lyric or distinctive riff is not. A song that sounds like a knockoff of a recognizable record can create a copyright claim against you and against the production, and supervisors are wary of exactly that risk.
Some buyers do commission sound-alikes on purpose. When they do, they say so, they usually involve their own legal review, and the terms are set in the agreement. If a brief does not ask for one, do not offer one. And if you plan to write something new for a brief, keep your session notes and dated demos so you can show it was written independently.
Sometimes the brief just says "temped" with no link. Ask once, briefly, whether there is a temp or reference you can hear. If the answer is no, or there is no answer before the deadline, work from the written notes: tempo range, mood words, any timing cues and the scene description. A supervisor will still recognize a song that obviously fits the scene they described.
Pitchkit reads a pasted brief, including tempo ranges and artist references, and ranks the songs in your catalog by BPM, key, energy, mood and (with transcription on) lyrics, so you start from the closest matches instead of scrolling folders. Choosing the final two or three and checking the edit points is still your call. It runs on your Mac and your files are never uploaded.
Related reading: how to answer a brief in under an hour and catalog management for songwriters.
Not unless the brief asks for one and the buyer handles the legal side. Copying a temp's melody, lyric or distinctive hook can create a copyright problem for you and for the production. Match the function of the temp (tempo, energy, instrumentation, where it builds) and keep the song itself original.
Read the brief first, since many briefs name the temp or describe it as a reference. If it only says the scene is temped, ask once, in one line: is there a temp or reference I can hear? If they will not share it, work from the brief's tempo, mood and timing notes instead.
Temp love is the term for when a director or producer gets attached to the placeholder music after hearing it against the picture for weeks. Anything new sounds wrong at first. It is the reason songs close to the temp in tempo and energy tend to win, and why a song that fights the edit rarely does.
As a rule of thumb, within about 5 BPM, or at half or double time. Editors cut picture to the beat of the temp, so a song far off that tempo will drift away from the cuts. If your song is close but not exact, say so and mention whether a tempo-adjusted version is possible.
Pitchkit is $39, one time. No account, no subscription, updates included.
Get Pitchkit: $39, one time →