THE SYNCHRO

The Synchro was a London‑based production/library‑music imprint that supplied pre‑cleared music for film, radio, newsreels and the emerging television market. Its shellac era is documented through a run of 10‑inch 78 rpm discs using an FM‑prefix catalogue. Label copy identifies the company as The Synchro Recorded Music Library Ltd, operating from 30 Old Compton Street, Soho (W1). The roster relied on small studio orchestras and light‑music ensembles, with repertoire spanning dramatic underscores, pastoral cues, novelty pieces and newsreel march‑past material.

Origins & operations (1950s):


Synchro emerged within London’s postwar light‑music economy, where independent libraries recorded modular cues in union‑compliant studio sessions and circulated discs directly to picture editors and broadcasters. The Soho address placed Synchro amid music publishers, dubbing stages and film distributors. Pressings follow standard professional library practice of the decade: numbered cues per side, descriptive titles (“Light Tension”, “Pastoral Interlude”, etc.), and licensing language aimed at institutional users rather than retail buyers.

Repertoire & sound:


Typical sides feature compact, film‑ready cues: brass‑forward marches, bright strings and woodwinds for magazine films, and neutral mood pieces for documentary narration beds. The orchestral scale is modest (studio orchestra), but recorded to the period’s high broadcast standards, making Synchro broadly compatible with other British/European libraries of the mid‑1950s.

Transition & legacy:


With the market’s shift to tape and microgroove formats, the 78 rpm line tailed off by 1959. In the mid‑1960s the catalogue identity transitioned to Synchro‑Fox, aligning UK‑origin cues with American distribution and synchronization channels. A number of titles subsequently surfaced in US library series, ensuring continued secondary use well beyond the shellac era. Collectors today encounter Synchro chiefly as FM‑series 78s and occasional later re‑badged issues.