Influential Woman · Music production and sync licensing
CherylAn Sokol-Byrne
Co-owner, Composer/ Producer/ Songwriter/ Engineer, CAP Partners Music and Publishing
Souterton, PA 18964
Her Story
About CherylAn
CherylAn Sokol-Byrne is the co-owner of Cap Partners Music, a production music company she runs alongside her husband, licensing their original broadcast-ready cinematic action, dramedy, and tension instrumentals to film, television, commercials, and podcasts. Her creative roots trace back to childhood, when she played clarinet and bassoon in symphony settings before teaching herself guitar and going on to become an in-house songwriter for Philadelphia International Records, working within the storied legacy of Gamble and Huff. Along the way, she also discovered that she learns best through visual and hands-on instruction, a realization shaped in part by her experience with ADHD, which she now considers a source of strength through intense focus and heightened creativity. Before returning to music full-time, Sokol-Byrne earned a certificate in computer programming, and built a substantial career in the mortgage industry, advancing from junior processor to underwriter, operations manager, and ultimately a top-producing loan officer recognized among the top seven percent of originators in her region for over a decade. She eventually transitioned back into music, mastering new production tools to specialize in sync licensing. Today, she and her husband operate dual home studios in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where their compositions have been placed in television, film, and advertising projects worldwide, including licensing placements on major streaming platforms and reality television programming across multiple countries. Her work has earned her a nomination for a Hollywood Independent Music Award, and she remains active within the industry as a member of the Production Music Association and as Director of Member Experience for the Sync Titan Community, a role in which she helps fellow composers access education, collaboration, and professional connections. Sokol-Byrne attends production music conferences in Los Angeles annually to strengthen relationships with music supervisors, and she credits her success throughout every stage of her career to persistence, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to integrity.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with CherylAn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to persistence and an unwillingness to give up. Time and again, I've proven to myself that if I stay committed, I can accomplish what I truly set out to do. My path has taken me from playing clarinet and bassoon, to teaching myself guitar, to writing in-house for Philadelphia International Records, into a career in the mortgage industry where I worked my way up to top-producing loan officer, and finally back to music, where I learned the sync licensing business and new production equipment to build my current career.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is to never give up. As the saying goes, obstacles are simply what you see when you take your eyes off your goals. I stay committed to my goals regardless of what gets in the way. I'm fairly hard-headed — when I want something, I go after it and don't easily take no for an answer.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is to focus on what counts in the sync licensing business. No one cares about your history, what you look like, or where you live — what matters is whether you have musical talent and the industry knowledge to present yourself as a true professional to the decision-makers; delivering the type of music that's being requested, exactly when it's needed. Ultimately, your job as a sync licensing composer, producer or engineer is to serve the entertainment industry, and listening closely and understanding what they need is essential to doing that well. Stay focused, keep learning, and believe in yourself. Decision-makers will remember you if you save them time. That's how you become a valuable ally, and that's how you succeed.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Being based in Pennsylvania, one of my biggest challenges is making sure my presence is known and building in-person relationships with the music supervisors who make the decisions. It's still very much a male-dominated field, but once people see that I understand my craft and do it well, they care far less about my gender. I go to many zoom meetups with sync professionals, but each year, I attend a production music conference in Los Angeles to build those connections, and that effort contributed to my nomination for a Hollywood Independent Music Award.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is the value that guides both my personal and professional life. It's easy to maintain on a good day, but it can be genuinely difficult on a hard one. Being honest with people isn't always simple, so I try to do it with gentleness. Integrity is the only thing that truly belongs to me — something no one can take away — and I try to run my life by that principle.
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