On the morning of Monday 24 January 2011, at a plushly-carpeted auditorium in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, an audience of publishers, record labels and intrigued industry onlookers gathered to listen to scores of MP3s submitted by songwriters and encompassing every genre from heavy metal and hip-hop to ambient and electro.

The event was part of a ‘music pitch’ session at Midem 2011, the annual global music industry trade fair. The aim was to showcase new tracks for possible placement in films, TV series, adverts and videogames - a process known as synchronisation or ‘syncing’.

The beleaguered music industry is now focusing intently on syncing for fresh revenue. For many artists and songwriters meanwhile, syncing remains something of a holy grail, and a difficult nut to crack.

But examples abound of the profound effect that an expertly-placed track can have on artists’ careers. In 2006, Snow Patrol’s US fortunes received a colossal boost when the track Chasing Cars was used in the US television medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. And in 2009, when UK indie band Noisettes had their single Don’t Upset The Rhythm Baby (Go Baby Go) featured in both a Mazda advertisement and BBC TV’s long-running soap EastEnders, the track reached number 1 in the iTunes download chart.

Well-sync’d tracks can attain near-iconic status, with both music and visuals lending mutual gravitas and meaning. Here, MusicRadar selects ten of the most enduring sync successes ever…

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