This paper deals with the output synchronization problem of linear heterogeneous MIMO systems. In contrast to common approaches, we present a method which works without the embedding of virtual exosystems that produce a certain synchronization trajectory. A distributed control strategy is provided that consists of three parts: First, noninteracting control techniques are used to generate the synchronization dynamics, if necessary, and to satisfy the internal model principle. Second, a transformation is proposed to get appropriate SISO descriptions for the decoupled input-output channels. Third, based on the SISO models for every channel, distributed controllers are designed that synchronize the agents' outputs.