We run through the latest and greatest in sync licensing and music supervision over the past fortnight, including the latest industry news, advice, and deals.
Film and TV
The Bold Type: How music supervisor Rob Lowry creates a stellar soundtrack (EW)
Over the Freeform drama’s first season, the show’s music choices have been notably on point, and that’s all thanks to Rob Lowry, The Bold Type’s music supervisor. Ahead, Lowry tells EW how he pulls off the series’ “empowering” sound.
How The Hitman’s Bodyguard Mined the Blues and F-Bombs for a Banging Soundtrack (Variety)
The buddy action comedy, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, features a score by Icelandic composer Atli Övarsson that taps into the soulful songs selected for the soundtrack by director Patrick Hughes.
Emmy-Nominated Music Supervisor Thomas Golubic Brings The Soul To Better Call Saul (Deadline)
Golubic was twice nominated at the Grammys for producing volumes 1 and 2 of the Six Feet Under soundtrack album, and with former partner Gary Calamar was responsible for the use of Sia’s “Breathe Me” in the final scene of the series. Here’s our interview with Golubic, the last Crew Call Podcast of Emmy season 2017.
How young composers are shaking up the sound of Hollywood film scores (Independent)
Film music is only a little more than 100 years old, but that’s long enough for any art form to grow stale. Musically, most trips to the multiplex run together these days, with delights and surprises in short supply. But if this year’s Academy Award nominees for best score are any indication, new blood is beginning to course.
Emmy 2017: Society of Composers and Lyricists hosts panel discussion with nominees (Gold Derby)
The Society of Composers and Lyricists hosted a panel discussion with Emmy-nominated composers Gary Lionelli, Mac Quayle, Jeff Russo, Jacob Shea, and Christopher Willis, Emmy-nominated music director Rickey Minor, and Emmy Music Consultant Lynn Kowal.
La La Land among 2017 World Soundtrack Awards nominees (Music Week)
This first wave of the 2017 World Soundtrack Award nominations includes nods for La La Land, Moana and Stranger Things. The 17th edition of the awards ceremony takes place at the Capitole in Ghent on October 18.
Sync Story: Inside The Luka State’s Sky Sports placement (Music Week)
The key to The Luka State’s hook up with Sky Sports for a new promo trailing the broadcaster’s Action and Arena channels lies in the ‘woah’ refrain of their track Bring This All Together. Simon Pursehouse, director of music services at Sentric Music, says he saw the song’s potential as soon as the Cheshire four-piece sent it to him.
The Veils interview: Frontman Finn Andrews on Total Depravity, Twin Peaks, and why directors love the band’s music (Independent)
Filmmakers are drawn to The Veils. Their music has been used in films by the likes of Tim Burton and Paolo Sorrentino, and in TV shows such as Lucifer, the Fox adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic book character.
The Dirty Dancing Soundtrack: 10 Things You Didn’t Know (Rolling Stone)
Learn how the musical companion to a movie no one believed in became a multi-platinum Number One smash.
Composers for Marvel’s TV Universe Strike a Different Chord (Variety)
Traditionally, when comic-book super-heroes are adapted for the screen, they are accompanied by big orchestras playing heroic themes. Think John Williams’ Superman theme or Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man music. For its TV series, however, Marvel has thrown out the old rulebook.
Why Is John Denver’s Music in So Many Movies This Year? (Vulture)
Amy Abrams, one of the managers of Denver’s estate, confirmed in an interview with Vulture that there’s been an uptick in “meaningful feature film requests” for Denver’s music in the last few years, in part because those who loved Denver’s music as kids are now adults able make those requests.
How Master of None’s music supervisor got one of the coolest jobs in the world (KPCC)
When Zach Cowie sat down with The Frame’s host, John Horn, he described how he used to discover music as a kid, and how that seems to have changed a lot over the years.
Top TV Song Last Week: Aug 23: Ember by Katherine McNamara | Aug 29: Needy Bees by Nick Hakim (tunefind)
Tracks from Shadowhunters and Insecure top tunefind’s top TV songs of the last two weeks.
Gaming
An Insight Into Games Supervisors (The UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors)
In case you missed it, the first round of nominees for the Music Week Sync Awards were announced a few weeks ago. The big news this year is the new category additions, one of which is the ‘Music Supervisor – Games’. The winner of the award will be chosen based on their technical innovation, artistic merit and the creative process as well the evidence of commercial benefits to those involved in the production.
Gareth Coker Is A Name You Should Know In Video Game Music (Bandcamp)
This past June, film score composer and producer Gareth Coker found himself in a spotlight that he never truly expected. He performed at Microsoft’s famed E3 press briefing, and for roughly three minutes, his music set the stage for a grand, pixilated adventure.
Advertising
Universal’s Jody Gerson Pumps Up the Volume for Ads (Ad Age)
You likely saw her handiwork at the Grammy’s this year in an ad that matched up “Nothing Compares 2 U,” sung by a variety of musicians in tribute to Prince, with the Google Pixel smartphone (executed by Droga5). Gerson, who has been with Universal Music for almost three years, sat down with Ad Age to discuss the intersection of marketing and music, the problems with streaming, her favorite app and more.
Sony/ATV Copyrights Drive Volkswagen Tiguan’s New Ad Campaign (Billboard)
Sony/ATV Music Publishing has pulled off a hat trick. In a rare move, the publishing company has 100 percent share of all the songs used in the three television ads to tout Volkswagen’s 2018 Tiguan SUV.
UK Top Shazamed Ads: August 22 | August 30 (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.
Sync Story: Inside Ben Khan’s Tom Ford placement (Music Week)
The new 30-second ad for Tom Ford’s Noir Anthracite fragrance matches sultry monochrome visuals with Ben Khan’s Drive (Part 1), from the Dirty Hit signing’s EP, 1992. Jack Derbyshire, founder/creative director at Youth Mode agency says the song selection process started with plenty of digging through Ford’s notoriously provocative commercials.
The most Shazamed ads of the week (US): August 14 – August 23 (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 August 14th to August 23rd.
Business and Legal
A Look at Trends in Trailer Music (Synchblog)
Trailer adusic is big business, whether you’re dealing with a placement of an existing song, a cover/remix, or an original composition. In this post, our friends at Trailaurality take a look at key trends in the trailer music world, and where industry professionals see things heading next.
AI-composed music is here, but will it shake up the sync market? (music ally)
The first market being targeted by artificial-intelligence music startups like Jukedeck and Amper Music is production music, with AI systems capable of generating music to be used in online videos, mobile games and other digital content. What does that mean for the existing synchronisation sector of the music industry?
Spotlight: An Insight Into The French Sync Industry (The UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors)
The UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors delve into the workings of the French sync industry, by talking to MY MELODY founders Astrid & Rebecca, and Too Young Music’s Frederic Schindler.
Universal Music Group Partners With ‘Beat Bugs’ Producers for Three New Music-Based Series (Variety)
Universal Music Group (UMG) has partnered with production company Grace/Beyond (GB) to develop three new music-based television series, Variety has learned exclusively.
Music Supervisors: Who Needs ’em? (The UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors)
Leland Music’s Ed Bailie takes a deeper look at the role and purpose of a Music Supervisor.
Events
London Sync Sessions (Barcelona, 13/09/17 – 15/09/17)
In the true Glastonbury spirit of “taking a year off to let the grass grow”, 2017 see’s the London Sync Sessions move to Barcelona. In collaboration with Future Music Forum, they will be bringing the same pulsing debate and top tier networking to the sunny streets of Spain’s Catalonian capital.
A2IM LA SynchUp 2017 (Los Angeles, November 2nd 2017)
L.A. SynchUp is A2IM’s premiere synch and licensing event. Taking place in the landscaped backyard of a private residence, the Hopeless House, this invite-only event hosts a day of both formal and informal networking and community.
Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events List 2017 – Updated (Synchblog)
We’ve updated this gargantuan list for you yet again! You won’t find a more comprehensive list of music industry events out there, bookmark it now.
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