Film and TV
How Avengers: Endgame Used Traffic’s ‘Mr. Fantasy’ to Honor Tony Stark (Variety)
The band Traffic has probably been getting its heaviest web traffic ever this past week, thanks to the use of a 50-year-old song, “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” that plays briefly but inescapably in the first 10 minutes of the superhero epic. (See also – Avengers: Endgame Uses Music to Propel Its Own Narrative – GQ)
Native Son Director, Music Supervisor On How Dead Kennedys, The Clash Inspired HBO Film (Billboard)
“The music is such an important part of the storytelling and it becomes another character because of how unexpected it is.”
Top TV Song: Jenny Of Oldstones by Florence + The Machine (Tunefind)
Game of Thrones fans are watching and listening closely during the highly anticipated final season, looking for clues to how the epic fantasy series will end. The second episode lit up on Tunefind and takes Top TV song last week with a haunting Westerosi ‘traditional’ song sung by Florence + the Machine.
Film and TV Composer Spotlight: Disasterpeace | Rich Vreeland (Pop Disciple)
Imaginative award-winning composer speaks on his unexpected entrance to video game scoring, how he conveyed the elaborate environment of neo-noir fever dream, Under The Silver Lake, combining Ennio Morricone flavored guitar work and ambient string textures with musical contributions from Lars Ulrich of Metallica for Triple Frontier, and the introspective process of refinement that underpins his novel creations.
All-time Shazam record smashed by Florence + The Machine track in Game Of Thrones (MBW)
The all-time record for the most number of Shazams in 24 hours has been shattered. Florence + The Machine’s performance of Jenny of Oldstones appeared over the end credits in the latest episode of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, which aired Sunday (April 21).
A Bittersweet Farewell to Shadowhunters; Looking Back at Favorite Music Moments (Tunefind)
In a nostalgic look back, music supervisor Lindsay Wolfington shares her thoughts as the show comes to an end, and walks us through her favorite music moments from the series.
Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger Weaves Story with 17 Versions of a Song (Tunefind)
As Tandy slips between alternate realities in this most recent episode of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, there is a common theme throughout: the haunting strains of a single song, reimagined multiple ways. Tunefind takes you behind the scenes on this ambitious undertaking.
How The Weeknd, Travis Scott, SZA Ended Up on the Game of Thrones Soundtrack (Rolling Stone)
For the Throne is a star-studded album, featuring A-listers singing and rapping about the fantasy world of Westeros. They were easier to get on board than you would think.
Why Someone Great Cast a Lorde Song Before Gina Rodriguez or Lakeith Stanfield (Rolling Stone)
Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson handpicked the soundtrack for her Netflix anti-rom-com with a 500-song inspiration playlist.
For Musicians, Screen Time Is a Growing Source of Income (WSJ)
Electronic-pop artist Josh Ocean doesn’t need to tour to promote his latest album. He has Apple, New Balance, T-Mobile, Royal Caribbean and Volkswagen blasting his upbeat hooks across the world. Mr. Ocean, who releases music as Nvdes, is among a growing crop of musicians who make a living through placements of their work in ads, television shows and films.
The Tuca & Bertie Soundtrack Is Just As Fun As Its Zany Characters (Bustle)
Although Tuca & Bertie was created by the same team who did BoJack Horseman, Netflix’s new animated series is much more whimsical than its predecessor. The same holds true of its music.
Elton John Catalogue Reimagined By Giles Martin On Rocketman Soundtrack (uDiscoverMusic)
Rocketman: Music From The Motion Picture features the vocal performances of the film’s star Taron Egerton, and producer-composer Giles Martin reinterpreting Elton’s landmark hits, tailoring the music specifically to complement the movie narrative.
New ComposHER concept aims to celebrate some of the best women composers writing for the screen today (GMS)
ComposHER is a new concert celebrating the best new music to moving picture, featuring a stunning roster of some of the best women composers writing for the screen today. The aim of the concert is not only to showcase this incredible talent in the UK, of composers scoring film, TV and more, but also to inspire the next generation of women composers and to seek to make this area of the industry as inclusive as possible for future generations.
Gaming
Music and Gaming – The Time is Now (Magnetic Magazine)
Last month on Day 3 of the Winter Music Conference, Seth Combs (CMO – Beat Fever) led a panel on the interweaving of gaming and music with Niles Heron (CSO – Popdog), Chris White (CEO – Merlin Collective), and Afrojack.
Faze Clan, 100 Thieves, And How Hip-Hop And Video Games Collide (Vibe Magazine)
When he first started placing songs into the Madden and NBA Live franchises on behalf of EA Sports, Kevin Mitchell knew he’d found his lane – it turns out that hip-hop and gaming aren’t as different as they may seem.
Symphonic Score Recorded In Nashville Adds To Interactive Storyline In Madden NFL 20 (Forbes)
“This truly has become, in my opinion, many people’s opinion, most of the major composers of the world, one of the top three recording destinations for film, television, and games in the world,” says Steve Schnur, President of Music for Electronic Arts.
Advertising
Warner Music breaks down catalogue into ‘Colour Cues’ to help brands score creative (The Drum)
Warner Music UK’s synchronisation and licensing team has launched ‘Colour Cues’; a music discovery tool that uses the psychological relationship between colour, mood and music to help advertisers find the right track to score their creative content.
Next Clio Music awards submission deadline is 17 May (Music Ally)
Clio Music, the global advertising and marketing awards born of the original Clios, recently announced their 2019 juries for music marketing and the use of music in advertising. Currently, the program is open for entries with the next submission deadline scheduled for May 17th.
So Tell Me What You Want (What You Really Really Want) (LBB Online)
soundlounge’s Kerry Schofield digs into the results of her recent survey asking what agencies want from a music supervisor.
Songs for Screens: Extra Gum Follows Gold-Certified Synch Smash With Campaign Featuring Jacob Banks (Variety)
The last time Mars Wrigley’s Extra gum debuted an original ad campaign with original music, 2015’s “The Story of Sarah & Juan,” the spot achieved a rare made-for-synch trajectory for its custom cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by former “American Idol” contestant Haley Reinhart.
Jack Daniel’s Gets Ready to ‘Rumble’ as Link Wray Powers Its New Ad (Muse by Clio)
The distorted guitar licks of Link Wray’s “Rumble,” an influential 1958 instrumental that set the tone for hard rock and punk, power this new Arnold Worldwide spot positioning Jack Daniel’s as the “whiskiest whiskey” of all.
Sync Story: BMW/Dennis Lloyd (Music Week)
Sometimes, there’s nothing like a good sync to demonstrate just how wide pop music’s net can reach, and that’s precisely what BMW serves up in its new 3 Series campaign.
Business
Music Sync: A Market Ripe for Change (MIDiA Research)
The music sync market is booming, with the number of syncs higher than ever and more platforms and productions seeking new music. It is also a market with a host of structural challenges, which is the focus of MIDiA’s latest major new report on the music sync market – Music Sync Market Assessment: A Market Ripe for Change.
Sara Lord becomes SVP of sync in raft of Concord promotions (Music Week)
Concord is taking flight again, with Sara Lord becoming SVP, synchronisation & project development as part of a group of promotions across the indie’s global operations.
New: Ask a Sync Expert
Introducing our latest feature – Ask a Sync Expert! Have you got a burning question for a sync professional? We’ve got you covered. Send your questions to info@synchtank.com and we’ll select our favourites to be answered by experts on our blog. Check out the questions that have been answered so far here.
Events
The GMS present: ‘A Panel About How To Actually Land A Sync Deal For Once’ (May 9th, Brighton UK)
If you are attending The Great Escape in sunny Brighton this year, make sure you make your way down to the Jury’s Inn Waterfront (Conference Room 2) on Thursday, 9th May at 17:30-18:30.
“Reality TV Music – Real Money!” Presented by the California Copyright Conference (May 21st, Sherman Oaks)
Our panel reveals insight into music placement in unscripted programming. They’ll cover…
- Profitability
- For music placement, what a music supervisor looks for in a show
- How composers create the music
- The best ways of networking for music opportunities for unscripted programming
- Who are the decision makers?
- Other topics include: How music is used in scenes • What musical direction is unscripted programming taking in the future • Musical styles of artists that work for reality television, and much more.
New artist showcase and song camp launches (June 8-11th, Hollywood)
The writers camp will be held at various Hollywood Studios from 8 to 11 June and will involve writing to specific briefs from music supervisors each day. There are spaces for up to eight songwriters to attend.
For more great events check out our recently updated list of key music and sync conferences worldwide.
Jobs
Sync, Creative and Copyright Coordinator – Involved Publishing (London)
Involved Publishing are looking for a highly motivated and proactive person that can demonstrate strong experience and understanding in key business areas in Publishing including Synch, Creative and Copyright management.
Senior Manager, Sync Licensing – Downtown Music Publishing (London)
Downtown Music Publishing is looking for a Senior Manager, Sync Licensing to oversee promotion of the DMP catalog to UK-based music licensors.
Check out more on our jobs board here.
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