This Fortnight in Music Supervision and Sync (05/10/18)

Film and TV

A Star Is Born soundtrack review – instant classics full of Gaga’s emotional might (The Guardian)
Bradley Cooper shows he can sing as well as act and direct but it is Lady Gaga’s pop prowess that lifts each track, be it spectacular piano ballads or heart-rending duets.

How Getting a Song on Rick and Morty Changes Your Life (Vulture)
Across its three seasons. Rick and Morty’s co-creator Justin Roiland (Dan Harmon is the other) has chosen unexpected tracks by bands like Belly, Mazzy Star, and Chaos Chaos for emotional, episode-ending sequences. In each case, this placement has resulted in an outsize spike in interest in the song.

Songs for Screens: How an All the Boys Hot-Tub Scene Turned ‘Lovers’ Into a Hit (Variety)
Scandinavian pop singer Anna Lotterud’s breakup song has turned into a stateside breakout thanks to the cult rom-com.

Name that killer tune: why today’s TV dramas thrive on musical mystery (Guardian)
Original scores are fast giving way to obscure existing tracks, propelling their makers to sudden stardom.

Shine Movie Album Comprised of All Fania Artists Announced by Concord Music (Billboard)
Great news for salsa lovers and movie junkies: Concord Music will release its first feature-film soundtrack comprised of all Fania artists for the upcoming movie Shine, Billboard can exclusively reveal.

Music Supervisors Pick Their Favourite TV Syncs of 2018 So Far – Part 2 (Synchblog)
Want to know which musical TV moments music supervisors are enjoying in 2018? Check out part 2 of our feature where we ask them to pick their favourite TV syncs of the year so far.

Kier Lehman Talks Using Music to Compose the Vibe of Los Angeles in Insecure (Billboard)
HBO’s hit show Insecure is renown for its celebration of good local, contemporary music. Its huge emphasis on the sound of the show is what initially drew music supervisor, Kier Lehman to join the team.

Music Supervisor Spotlight: Morgan Rhodes (Pop Disciple)
Gifted music supervisor and eminent radio host speaks on her deeply compatible collaboration with Justin Simien and Kris Bowers to define the layered musical identity of Dear White People, authentically soundtracking the Civil Rights movement for Ava DuVernay’s gripping historical drama, Selma, and how contemporary music is continuing to transcend genre.

The Hate U Give Score Sets Mood in World of Racial Violence (Variety)
It’s a June morning at 20th Century Fox, and the scenes flashing on the big screen in the Newman Scoring Stage are disturbing: White police officers are hurling tear gas into a crowd of mostly black protesters. Forty musicians supply the mood — at first unsettling, then intense, finally melancholy.

Music Supervisor Spotlight: Duncan Smith (GMS UK & Europe)
This month we feature an exclusive interview with Senior Music Supervisor at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Duncan Smith who shares insights into his career to date and what inspired him to pursue a career in supervision.

Wes Anderson’s New Film to Feature Songs by Mark Mothersbaugh, His Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums Composer (Indie Wire)
French publication Premiere reports the writer-director has tapped musician Mark Mothersbaugh to write the original songs for what is rumored to be a musical set in France during the 1950s.

How One Composer’s Music Holds the DC Animated Movie Universe Together (Inverse)
Frederik Wiedmann is the composer behind some of your favorite animated superhero movies, from Flashpoint Paradox all the way to 2018’s Death of Superman.

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross to Keynote Variety’s First Music for Screens Summit (Variety)
The day-long event, with ambient music exclusively provided by iHeartMedia, will focus on the latest trends in composing for film and television, music supervision, commercial synchs in the digital age, legacy act management, soundtracks’ enduring popularity, and more.

Top TV Song Last Week: September 27th – ‘Silhouette’ by Aquilo (Tunefind)
Each week, Tunefind presents the most popular track featured in a TV show that week. This week sees a track from Grey’s Anatomy’s two-hour season 15 premiere take the top spot.

We’re Living in a Golden Age of Music Documentaries (Rolling Stone)
How a quartet of different movies released in the last month — and one hitting theaters this Friday — are contributing to the Era of Peak Music Doc.

How Radiohead nearly wrote the soundtrack for Fight Club (BBC)
“Ed [Norton] and Brad Pitt wrote to me and said, ‘We really think you should do this,'” Thom Yorke told BBC 6 Music. “And I went, ‘Nah, I can’t’. “I was completely gaga,” he added.

The Music On Reality TV Shows Like KUWTK & Pump Rules Is Actually Way More Important Than You Realize (Bustle)
The music on reality TV shows is actually one of the most important components to a successful show, and as the co-founders of Signature Tracks know, putting together an impactful one is no simple feat.

The First: Colin Stetson’s Score Will Convince You this is a Show You Should Be Watching (IndieWire)
Some of the year’s most impressive work is a fundamental part of why the new Hulu drama is ambitious, moving, and thrilling all at once.

Gaming

Rocket League And Monstercat Are Innovating How Games Get Their Soundtracks (Forbes)
Anyone who’s played Rocket League has heard its bumping electronic music, but there’s much more behind the game’s soundtrack than just some catchy tunes. Psyonix and Monstercat are innovating how music is curated and presented in video gaming.

Wale Talks Landing ‘Ungrateful & Thankful’ on the WWE 2K19 Video Game Soundtrack (Billboard)
The 33-year-old is joined on the soundtrack by the likes of the Migos, Post Malone, 21 Savage, Eminem, Offset, and more hand picked selections by WWE superstars.

The Secret History Of Def Jam Vendetta, The First Hip-Hop Video Game (Okayplayer)
Originally released in April 2003, Vendetta was a collaborative endeavor between Def Jam and EA Games. Prior to Vendetta, hip-hop culture and video game culture were brought together twice with varying results.

Concerts, box sets and popstars: how video game soundtracks went mainstream (NewStatesman)
Suddenly it seems there’s a market for a five-disc box set of music from the latest Zelda, while the vinyl boom has made space for the Doom and Skyrim soundtracks. And pop stars like Paul McCartney are contributing songs to best-selling games in exchange for good ol’ exposure.

Music Is The Secret Weapon Of Mario Speedrunners (Kotaku)
Is there anything so satisfying to watch as a well-played Mario speedrun? What makes an expert run of Super Mario Bros. so eminently watchable, and how do the players master their moves so perfectly? It turns out that the answer to both questions could be “music.”

New Season Of Diggin’ In The Carts Begins, Features Atari Founder & Donkey Kong Composer (The Gamer)
Nick Dwyer’s online radio show, Diggin’ In The Carts, returns tonight with an episode featuring Atari‘s Nolan Bushnell and Donkey Kong Country composer David Wise.

Video games introduced electronic music to a generation, almost subconsciously (QZ)
As with the best film scores, the best video-game soundtracks can be easy to overlook until you hear them again. But whether it’s a melody from the Final Fantasy series or the theme to Super Mario Bros., it only takes a few bars to transport you back to the console or arcade where it all began.

Advertising

Why Advertising Neglects so Many Music Genres (LBB Online)
Uncommon’s Nils Leonard and a selection of music supervisors tell Alex Reeves about the parts of the musical landscape that advertising unfairly ignores.

Wendy’s Mixtape and Logic’s 1-800-273-8255 Win Grand Clios in Music (Clio)
The 2018 Clio Music juries picked two Grand Clio winners that have vastly contrasting emotional energies, but are united in the end by their fresh and unexpected creative approaches.

Fat Joe, Nike and Foot Locker Rediscover ’90s Hip-Hop in a New York Cab (Adweek)
Remember the ’90s, when samples were still analog and you had to drive to the store to buy a new pair of shoes? Nike and Foot Locker looked to tap into that nostalgia in their most recent campaign, which launched late last month to promote the new Nike Air Origins and Nike Air Frequency packs.

Leland Music on Re-recording Bohemian Rhapsody with a Band of Kids for John Lewis (LBB Online)
Director and music supervisor Ed Bailie on working with Dougal Wilson on a bona fide classic. (See also – Music Week’s Sync story: John Lewis/Queen)

UK Top Shazamed ads – September 26: Game of Thrones star performs Italian classic for Dolce & Gabbana | October 02: The Audi ‘e-tron’ ( 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) – September 28: Amazon Brings the Canned Heat to This Week’s Most Shazam’d Ads | October 05: Amazon and eBay Break Into This Week’s List of Most Shazam’d Ads (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 September 28th to October 5th.

Business

Primary Wave Names Primary Wave Names Patricia Joseph VP of Creative Synch (Variety)
Patricia Joseph joined Primary Wave Entertainment as vice president of creative synch, the company announced this week. She will be based in New York and report to senior vice president of creative/head of synch Marty Silverstone.

Wendy Griffiths upped to EVP role at Position Music in Los Angeles (MBW)
Los Angeles-based Position Music has promoted Wendy Griffiths to the position of EVP of Synch & Creative Marketing. Griffiths joined Position Music in 2016 as SVP of Creative Marketing and is responsible for building and overseeing the pitching, sales and licensing teams to secure synchronizations for Position Music’s repertoire in Advertising, Film, Television, Trailers and Video Games.

The Business Behind The Beats: An Interview With Deborah Mannis-Gardner (Synchblog)
We discuss the art and evolution of music sampling, the business practices involved, hip hop and rap in sync and more with “The Queen of Sample Clearance” Deborah Mannis-Gardner.

Hitco Entertainment, Pilgrim Media Partner for Music-Themed Series and Docs (Variety)
A documentary about the Atlanta music scene and a music competition program called Take the Lead will be the first projects from the teaming.

Music Biz Law Conference unites tech CEOs, creators, & lawyers to discuss hot topics (Music Biz)
An interesting summary of all the panels at this recent event, including Synchtank’s own ‘Automation In Sync Reporting: Risks & Rewards’ panel featuring CD Baby’s John Bahr, Cosynd’s Jessica Sobhraj, and MG+ LLP’s Steven Masur.

What’s the score with AI music (Broadcast Now)
Adrian Pennington finds out if artificial intelligence is a threat to the production music industry or a useful resource.

Unsung Heroes: Why Women Composers Are Getting their Free the Bid Moment (LBB Online)
“The addition of women composers to the Free The Bid database is an incredibly exciting step for popular culture, as well as the creative industries, and we look forward to its use as an inspirational resource”, says Manners McDade’s Jenna Fentiman.

NBC Developing Musical Dramedy From Austin Winsberg, Paul Feig, Tannenbaum Co, Universal Music & Lionsgate TV (Deadline)
NBC has given a script commitment plus penalty to Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, an hourlong musical dramedy from Jake in Progress creator Austin Winsberg, Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men), Universal Music Group and Lionsgate TV.

Production Music Conference Delves Into Gender Equality, Shares Creative Insights (Shoot Online)
The issue of gender equality came up unexpectedly in one session and as anticipated in another during the course of the Production Music Association’s (PMA) three-day Production Music Conference.

Tips and Tricks

The Guild of Music Supervisors’ Suggested Metadata Standards (Synchblog)
Supe Troop’s Laura Katz runs through the Guild of Music Supervisors’ suggested metadata standards when pitching your music for sync placements.

Pitching to Film and Television (Music Consultant)
E! Entertainment music supervisor Rebecca Rienks shares some critical advice for musicians that want to get their music heard by the gatekeepers at film studios and television networks.

Events

Free Webinar: The Business of Trailer Music with Position Music’s Emily Weber – October 10th (Online)
Join us at Synchtank for an in-depth look at the ins and outs of the trailer music business with our client Position Music’s VP of Creative Licensing for Trailers & Promos, Emily Weber.

Variety’s inaugural Music for Screens Summit – October 30th (Los Angeles)
Tied to the popular feature, Variety’s inaugural Music for Screens Summit will feature panels, workshops & interviews with music supervisors, composers, publishing executives & filmmakers driving music for TV, film theater, video games & commercials.

A2IM SynchUp – November 8th (Santa Monica)
We’re moving to beautiful Santa Monica for a two-fold day: a focus on synch licensing and a focus on digital capacity. This day will be rich with networking, panels, discussions, and one-on-one meetings. Attended by music supervisors, independent record labels, publishers, DSPs and more, this is a premier private music industry event.