Film and TV
The End Of The F***ing World Soundtrack Sets A Surprisingly Bright Tone (Bustle)
Part of what makes the show so unique, beyond the fact that its protagonist is a teenage psychopath who wants to kill his girlfriend, is the incredible soundtrack.
The Flamingos’ ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ Rules THR’s Top TV Songs Chart for December, Thanks to The Crown (Billboard)
The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You” leads THR’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind and Shazam, for December, thanks to its appearance in Netflix’s The Crown.
Sync Story: Inside Tamar-kali’s Mudbound placement (Music Week)
Tipped by many to win Netflix its first feature film Oscar, Mudbound has prompted much excited industry chatter since its release late in 2017.
The Graduate Soundtrack Turns 50: How ‘Mrs. Roosevelt’ Became No. 1 Hit ‘Mrs. Robinson’ (Variety)
After the soundtrack album for Mike Nichols’ comedy/drama The Graduate was released on Jan. 21, 1968, it quickly vaulted to No. 1 on the American LP charts, where it established itself as something distinctly new and different.
The Cranberries Were the Ultimate Teen Soundtrack Band (Pitchfork)
As Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted in Pitchfork’s obituary for O’Riordan, the Cranberries became ubiquitous on film and TV in the mid-’90s. Although the music industry’s eagerness to monetize soundtracks during those years helps to explain the phenomenon, what’s fascinating is how many memorable appearances the band’s songs made in some of the most enduring teen movies and shows of the decade.
The Phantom Thread Score Is Like Its Own Coming-of-Age Story (Noisey)
Written by previous Anderson collaborator Jonny Greenwood – yes, the one from Radiohead – the soundtrack is a highly addictive, 55-minute barrage of emotive arrangement.
What’s That Song From the New Atlanta Trailer? (Pigeons and Planes)
Our What’s That Song? series highlights music from commercials, movies, television, and video games. These are the songs that get stuck in our heads, whether we like it or not.
Narcos Season 4 Will Have ‘Tons’ of Mexican Music: Watch the Teaser (Billboard)
While past Narcos seasons featured a hot soundtrack of vintage salsa and other deep Colombian grooves, expect the season 4 soundtrack to have a distinctly Mexican flavor.
Seven Seconds: A look at the music in the trailer for Netflix’s upcoming series (Trailaurality)
One of the more acoustically visceral trailers released this past week, Netflix’s upcoming series Seven Seconds is a crime anthology focusing on the death of black teenager at the hands of a white cop.
Jasmine Onstad explores Big Little Lies and the power of the soundtrack (Nouse)
A perfectly crafted soundtrack is something that, if done well, can elevate a good piece of work to greatness. Unlike a score, which is written and orchestrated especially for a film or TV show, soundtracks curate licensed music to accompany scenes and can often take center stage.
10 Music Highlights From Breaking Bad (Baeble Music)
Breaking Bad is ten years old this month, so we figured it was as good a time as any to look back at some of the music moments that elevated an already gripping show to even greater heights.
Top TV Song Last 2 Weeks: Walking All Day by Graham Coxon (Tunefind)
“Walking All Day” by Graham Coxon surged to the top of our Top TV Music chart last week following the Netflix premiere of British cult hit show The End of the F***ing World. It’s now holding onto the top spot for a second week in a row.
Dawson’s Creek Turns 20: Insiders Share Stories Behind the Music, Plot Choices & More (Billboard)
Before the world would dive intoThe O.C. or Gossip Girl’s sonic database, Dawson’s Creek was one of the shows that set the bar high when it came to curating music and breaking artists.
See How the Music to Adult Swim’s Hot Streets Gets Made (Paste Magazine)
Brian Wysol scores every episode of Hot Streets with the same old, 3.5” floppy disc-reading synthesizer he’s had since high school or whenever. (You know it’s from teen days because it has a Jawbox sticker on it.)
27 Dresses director, star James Marsden revisit that amazing ‘Bennie and the Jets’ scene (EW)
In honor of the film’s 10th anniversary, EW called up director Anne Fletcher and star James Marsden to get the history behind how they brought these romantic “walrus sounds” to the big screen.
Luca Guadagnino on Why He Had to Have Sufjan Stevens for Call Me by Your Name (Pitchfork)
Luca Guadagnino makes sumptuous movies, and so he needs sumptuous music for their soundtracks. The Italian director has used the works of Sufjan Stevens, the Rolling Stones, and, often, American composer John Adams to elucidate the emotions his impressionistic camera draws from his actors.
Fans Can’t Stop Editing Silly Music Over Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s Biggest Fight Scene, And It’s Awesome (Cinema Blend)
Some fans are now editing popular hit songs over the badass Praetorian Guard lightsaber duel from The Last Jedi, and it is damn-near perfect. Check out an example using “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra, below.
Gaming
Cyberpunk 2077‘s soundtrack to feature ‘music that has never been heard before’ (AltChar)
CD Projekt Red is working with Brian Mantia and Melissa Reese in order to find the soundtrack that’ll fit their upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077. Both have been members of the famous rock band Guns ‘N Roses.
VR Headphones Update: Video Game Music Composers (Gamasutra)
Video game composer Winifred Phillips looks at how the art of VR audio for headphones has progressed.
Maybe Lightsabers Will Revive the Music Video Game Industry (Screen Rant)
A new lightsaber themed VR game could be poised to revive the long dead music themed video game genre. Released by independent game studio Hyperbolic Magnetism, Beat Saber combines the latest in virtual reality technology with a Star Wars inspired twist.
The Best (Licensed) Video Game Soundtrack Of All Time (Kotaku)
They key to a great licensed soundtrack, one that actually matters, is to not only have it made up of great music, but have that music play a part in how you experience and remember the game. And no game has done this better than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Advertising
Songs for Screens: Apple, Gap Music Supervisor Explains Why 2018 Will Be a Boom Year for Synch (Variety)
Good Ear Music Supervision’s Andrew Kahn catches up with Songs For Screens to delve deeper into the trends shaping music synchronization at large, which is on track to top the $204.3 million in revenue grossed by the U.S. music industry in 2016 (according to the RIAA), and why “authenticity” will continue to be the most crucial element behind the best synchs.
Sync Story: Inside The Goldman Brothers’ Volvo placement (Music Week)
What better way to recover from a break-up than a fast drive through arid desert landscape? Doing just that is Yuval Scharf, the sun-baked star of Volvo’s new branded film for its V40 car. The clip, directed by Tal Zagreba and animated by Robert Moreno, doubles as a music video for Call My Name by Israeli five-piece The Goldman Brothers.
UK Top Shazamed Ads: January 16 | January 23 (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): Jan 08 – Jan 14 | Jan 15 – Jan 21 (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 January 8th to January 21st.
MUSIC+SOUND Awards Talk To… Jocelyn Brown, Senior Music Producer at Leo Burnett (MAS Awards)
Jocelyn Brown is a music supervisor, producer, DJ, musician, writer and conduit. A native of Pensacola, Florida, she has championed music professionally since 1998, starting as a college radio disc jockey at Florida State University.
Ad Lib: Capitol Music Group’s Brian Nolan on Music, Migos and Marketing (AdAge)
As the senior VP of Capitol Records’ in-house division focused on brand partnerships and licensing, Nolan is tasked with bringing new or under-exposed music to potentially huge audiences.
Gap Drafts Metro Boomin for Advertising (WSJ)
Gap is trying to recapture the zeitgeist the way the clothing chain did in its ’90s heyday, this time with a marketing push featuring a new single by a cutting-edge rap producer.
Advice
Music PR Tips for 2018 Part 2: What to Expect When Hiring a Professional, Sync-Specific PR Strategies (Synchblog)
In part 1 of this series, Music PR specialist Emma Bartholomew took us through 5 key considerations for building your PR strategy. In part 2 she looks at when to hire a PR, what to expect from a PR campaign, and specific advice for running sync-specific PR campaigns.
Getting Music Licensed (Music Consultant)
Andrea Canter Matos of Castle Peak Music talks about her background in sync licensing and what grabs her attention when looking for music to place in films, television and commercial spots. She also shares the biggest mistakes she sees artists make when sending their music to industry gatekeepers.
Events
Masterclass: Introduction to Music Supervision (London, January 30th)
If you’re considering a career in supervision, or perhaps you’re working at a rights holder and would like to know more about the work of a supervisor, then get yourself down to this masterclass.
BASCA presents: Meet the Music Supervisors (London, February 6th)
BASCA is working in partnership with the newly formed UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) to present an evening lead by some of the biggest names in music supervision across the advertising, film and TV sectors. The evening, moderated by BASCA Board Director and media composer Mark Ayres, will see an in-depth panel discussion examining the current landscape of the industry, full of tips and advice on what music supervisors are looking for and how best to secure sync deals.
Music 4.5 Sync, the evolving deals (London, February 22nd)
With the recently announced raft of Facebook licensing deals, it is fair to ask if the new content formats and platforms are heralding some real structural changes in the sync and music licensing market, or is it more a case of ‘all change but still all the same’? Music 4.5 Sync will explore these important questions and more.
For more events worldwide check out our ultimate list of music industry and sync conferences in 2018.
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