You want every chance to generate income from your music, and while mechanical royalties (for sales of tangible product and digital downloads) have diminished, there are more opportunities than ever to have your music heard on television and in movies. In addition to the financial benefit, for songwriters who are also recording artists, prominent placements in TV shows and films can help expand your fan base, in addition to looking great on a resume. But there are additional reasons to place songs on television and in movies. In many genres, such as rock, singer/songwriter, alternative rock, pop, R&B, hip-hop, instrumental, and Americana music, it’s very tough to place “outside songs” – songs not written or co-written by the artist or producer. It’s also tough to place songs that sound as if they belong in another era—for example, Patsy Cline, 1940s swing music, or psychedelic rock from 1968. However, movies and TV shows need songs in all of these genres—and more, as well as music that sounds as if it’s from various decades. It’s hard to think of any style that isn’t used in television shows and films—and if the music is right, it doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, or what you look like.