Film and TV
It took the entire making of Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel to finally nab the rights to a Led Zeppelin song (BI)
The latest Marvel movie, Thor: Ragnarok, isn’t just one of the most fun movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it also features one of the most memorable rock songs ever created.
Inside the Long-Running Partnership Between Director Todd Haynes and His Favorite Composer (Bilboard)
Todd Haynes’ films are marked by a collaborative spirit, particularly evident in his latest and seventh feature, Wonderstruck. Haynes reunited with actresses Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams, cinematographer Ed Lachmann and costume designer Sandy Powell for the film. But it’s composer Carter Burwell, who scored Haynes’ Carol, Mildred Pierce, and Velvet Goldmine, whose work feels the most distinguished this time.
Tracking the Movie-Music Contenders at Next Year’s Grammys (Variety)
Powered by a selection of carefully curated tunes timed precisely to the action on screen, Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver: Music From the Motion Picture” has raced to the front of Grammys’ soundtrack pack, with James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Awesome Mix Vol. 2” trailing by a couple of laps.
Stranger Things 2 soundtrack: Examining the show’s song selections (Hidden Remote)
Stranger Things knows just when to put music to good use. Not only is the soundtrack something to marvel at, but the song selections they use work well with the show. With an increased budget, the show spent a significant amount on the songs they elected to use in the new season.
Rap Disrupted Music First. Now It’s TV and Film (NY Times)
For decades, hip-hop made it to the screen — big and small — only intermittently. But recently, there’s been something of a boom: a slew of rap-infused shows, movies and documentaries that look back to both the old-school era and the mid-1990s, revisiting the periods when hip-hop was becoming the driving force of pop culture.
From Star Wars to Game of Thrones, Film and TV Music in a Live Setting Is Thriving (Variety)
Just a few years ago, “film music in concert” translated to short suites by big-name movie composers (Henry Mancini, John Williams) performed at summer pops concerts. Today, established American orchestras that once didn’t look at the merging of screen and music seriously, take heed of live-to-picture performances as very big business, with concert halls packing in audiences around the world.
Guild of Music Supervisors Share Industry Knowledge in Q&A Panel at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (Los Angeles Sentinel)
Seven music supervisors from hit shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Greenleaf, and Entertainment Tonight, shared their industry knowledge during a live panel at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza on Thursday, Oct. 5. The event was geared towards educating current and aspiring music supervisors in their quest to better understand the job and the varied paths to getting there.
Drake’s Hotline to Hollywood: Inside an Ambitious Push Into Film and TV (THR)
At home in Toronto with music’s reigning (and restless) hitmaker as he shifts his focus to new projects with Netflix and Apple and unveils plans to “take six months or a year to myself and do some great films.”
DJ Mustard Lands Music Supervisor Gig for All Def Comedy (XXL)
DJ Mustard has landed himself some major opportunities over the course of his career so far, and now he’s dipping into the comedy world. According to reports, the West Coast producer is serving as the music supervisor for Russell Simmons’ upcoming HBO series, All Def Comedy.
Future, Ty Dolla $ign, Meek Mill & More Featured on Netflix’s Bright Soundtrack (Billboard)
Netflix is gearing up to release its newest original film, Bright, starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton this December and if the plot isn’t enough to reel viewers in, the soundtrack will surely do the trick.
Grey’s Anatomy music supervisor picks her favorite songs from the show (EW)
In honor of the ABC medical drama’s 300th episode, which airs Thursday, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas put together a Spotify playlist comprised of her two favorite songs from each season.
Music Supervisors Discuss Working on TV’s Most Popular Horror Shows (Synchblog)
In the spirit of Halloween, we chat to music supervisors working on two of the most popular horror TV shows: American Horror Story and The Exorcist.
Pollen Music Group talks about creating 3D sound for 360-degree short Pearl (VRFocus)
Last year, Pollen Music Group and Google Spotlight Stories teamed up to create a virtual reality (VR) project called Pearl. Pearl was the first VR or 360-degree video to receive an Oscar nomination, and of the first to receive an Emmy award. Much praise was given to the music, particularly a song called No Wrong Way Home which featured prominently through the short.
Synchtank’s playlist showcasing the best Music on TV in October is now live, featuring gems from Stranger Things and more (Spotify)
Check out the highlights of the music from your favourite shows, and get an insight into which songs music supervisors are currently placing.
Gaming
Shania Twain to feature in mobile game Home Street (Music Week)
Shania Twain is set to feature as an in-game character within Home Street, a new free mobile game from London-based company Supersolid. Twain, who scored a UK No.1 with comeback album Now last month, will appear in Home Street and engage virtually with fans during November.
How the Music to Videogame Halo Wars 2 Was Made the Old-Fashioned Way (Variety)
It’s the first game soundtrack in 12 years to be recorded with union players on Twentieth Century Fox’s Newman Scoring Stage.
Call of Duty: WWII Composer Talks Music & Respecting WWII (heavy)
Wilbert Roget II’s career as a video game composer is partly accidental. He told Forbes that one day after graduating from Yale University and becoming a music editor for LucasArts in 2008, he accidentally overheard that they were looking for an additional composer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. So he wrote a demo piece, showed it to the music supervisor, and eventually was asked to write about an hour of music for the game.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of War Composers on the Pressures of Scoring Tolkien-Inspired Video Games (Billboard)
Billboard spoke with composers Nathan Grigg and Garry Schyman about the hours of music they created for both Middle-earth games, the pressure of creating music for Tolkien’s rabid fanbase and how scoring an open world game differs from TV or film.
Why classical purists should start taking video game music seriously (NewStatesman)
Headlines regularly surface asking the depressing question “is classical music dead?”. Yet millions of people are listening to hours of contemporary classical music every week, and they might not even know it. They do it while they play video games.
Advertising
Elbow cover The Beatles for John Lewis Christmas advert (Music Week)
John Lewis has unveiled this year’s Christmas TV advertising campaign, Moz The Monster, directed by Michel Gondry and featuring a Beatles song covered by Elbow. The band’s version of Golden Slumbers is also set to feature on their greatest hits, released by Polydor on November 24.
How Advertisers Get Away With Using Fake Versions of Your Favorite Songs (Pitchfork)
“I mean COME ON guys at least put some effort in.” Tame Impala figurehead Kevin Parker’s frustration was palpable when he ripped into the Chinese milk company Mengniu for ripping off his band’s single “The Less I Know The Better.”
Sync Story: Inside Years & Years’ H&M placement (Music Week)
The lush, four-minute film used to launch Erdem’s new collaboration with H&M breathes fresh life into the idea of flower power. Directed by Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann and soundtracked by Years & Years, the clip tells the story of “a house where it is always spring, where you can escape and let your desires run free,” says Ben Turner, director, Earworm Music.
MagnusTheMagnus’ ‘Area’ Leads Top TV Commercials Chart for October (Billboard)
Swedish electronic producer MagnusTheMagnus, aka Magnus Lidehäll, tops Billboard & Clio’s Top TV Commercials chart, for October, with “Area.” The track leads the chart after its appearance in Apple iPhone 8’s “Unveiled” commercial.
Apple swoops right into the Shazam Chart with the new iPhone X at number two (The Drum)
Three new entries have made their way into this week’s chart, with Apple reappearing with the new iPhone X as well as Simply Be and All Things Hair, taking out TUI, Asda and Lloyds Bank. The iPhone X smoothly moves in at number two with an ad from TBWA that showcases a marvel of marble colours sashaying across the device to Soffi Tucker’s ‘Best Friend’.
Sync Story: The Blaze’s Bodyform placement (Music Week)
Bodyform’s #Bloodnormal spot is here to “put a spotlight on the taboo and outdated cultural viewpoint around women and periods,” says Steph Perrin, supervisor at Felt Music. Made with French production duo The Blaze – who contribute an atmospheric electronic soundtrack – the two-minute film shows women going through the menstrual cycle and challenges years of advertising tropes.
The Story of ‘Similau,’ the Peggy Lee Song Sexing Up Samsung’s Galaxy Note8 Ad (Variety)
It’s the TV spot that launched a million Shazam searches. Peggy Lee’s haunting take on “Similau (See-Me-Lo),” a 78 RPM single released on Capitol Records in 1949, forms the sound-track to a television ad campaign by Samsung for the new Galaxy Note8, a contemporary love story told via phone messages.
UK Top Shazamed Ads: October 31 | November 07 (The Drum)
The Drum’s Shazam chart is based on the number of times each ad has been Shazamed over the past week using the music identification app. Here are the charts from the last couple of weeks
The most Shazamed ads of the week (US): October 30 – November 05 (Clio)
Every week, Clios.com, in partnership with Shazam, rounds up the most Shazamed ads of the previous week. These are the top spots from October 30th to November 5th.
Business and Legal
Bucks Music Group’s Sync Team on Publishing Trends, Placements & the Power of Being Independent (Synchblog)
We recently caught up with our client Bucks Music Group‘s award-winning sync team to chat recent signings/placements and the secret to their success as a leading independent music publisher.
Round Hill Partners With Zync Music to Boost Film and TV Synch Business (Billboard)
Round Hill Music has formed a partnership with Zync Music by investing in the boutique synchronization firm and merging its own synch staff into the newly named Zync, Powered By Round Hill Music.
Daniel Higbee joins Dualtone Music Group as VP of Synch (MBW)
In this newly-created role, Higbee will initiate all pitching and placement efforts for licensing in Film, TV and Advertising for Dualtone’s catalog and the Dualtone Songs publishing roster, which includes Chuck Berry and The Wild Reeds. Higbee will also be signing talent and building out Dualtone’s third party pitch roster.
Sync Awards Artist Of The Year Barns Courtney reflects on a ‘crazy’ year (Music Week)
Barns Courtney, winner of the coveted Artist Of The Year trophy at the Sync Awards 2017, has described his success in the sector as “crazy”. The singer, whose debut album The Attractions Of Youth was released via Virgin EMI in September, told Music Week the story behind tracks such as Glitter & Gold, which have won him placements across TV, advertising and film.
Events
Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events List 2018
Our comprehensive list of music industry and sync conferences/events worldwide in 2018 is now live. Bookmark it now to stay ahead of events near you.
AIM’s Sync Licensing to TV, Ads, Film & Games Conference (London, November 20th)
AIM’s annual sync licensing conference returns to London on 20th November 2017, with a host of top industry figures from the worlds of TV, film, advertising and games lined up to speak. Having sold-out for the last 7 years, AIM’s ever-popular Sync Licensing conference returns, a great event for labels, self-releasing artists, music supervisors, publishers and more.
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