Film and TV
Sam Smith, Rufus Wainwright Duet With Renee Zellweger on Judy Soundtrack (Rolling Stone)
Sam Smith and Rufus Wainwright will each duet with Renée Zellweger on the Judy soundtrack. The biopic of the same name, in which Zellweger plays a latter-day Judy Garland, will hit theaters on September 27th.
The Dos and Don’ts of Needle-Drops (Vulture)
When it comes to movies and on TV, the right song at the right moment can heighten the emotional impact of a scene. It can add a layer of irony or metacommentary to a moment. It can simply make you bang your head or shake your ass where appropriate.
How TV Western Yellowstone Created Its Gritty World With Country, Americana Music (Rolling Stone)
With a keen-eared music supervisor and songs by Ryan Bingham, Whiskey Myers, and Chris Stapleton, the ranch drama’s music is as dusty as its setting.
Chance the Rapper, Patti LuPone & Estelle Contribute to Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe Movie Soundtrack (Billboard)
Cartoon Network’s TV movie musical Steven Universe: The Movie premiered Monday, alongside a star-studded digital soundtrack featuring performances from Patti LuPone (Yellow Diamond) and Estelle (Garnet) and original compositions by Chance the Rapper (who is also an executive producer) and Gallant, alongside showrunner Rebecca Sugar.
How the composer of Deadpool and Mad Max is changing the way we score movies (The Verge)
Sitting in a room that looks more spaceship than studio, movie composer Tom Holkenborg (also known as Junkie XL) tells me about the first time he heard his music in a movie.
Tunefind Now Supports Artist Collaborations (Tunefind)
Drumroll please! We’ve just rolled out some exciting changes to properly support collaborations by multiple artists on Tunefind.
The Reality of Syncs: The Ease (or Difficulty) in Getting Placements (Synchblog)
Attorney Erin M. Jacobson explains the complex variety of factors that can affect scoring sync licenses.
I’ve Got A Synch: How Songs Land UK’s Hit Series Love Island (AWAL)
“There were times during this last season where I sat at my desk watching Love Island to find the exact clips that featured our artists’ songs,” remembers Kyle Schewitz, Synch Coordinator at AWAL. “People would walk by, puzzled. Like, ‘Is this kid just watching reality TV at work?”
Daniel Lanois, Neil Portnow Among Speakers at Guild of Music Supervisors Conference (Variety)
Among the speakers are former Recording Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow, producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel), Rockstar Games’ Ivan Pavlovich (Red Dead Redemption 2) and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker, Chernobyl).
Film & TV Composer Spotlight: Jason Hill (Pop Disciple)
Hypnotic composer, producer, and founder of The Department of Recording and Power details his lifelong rejection of sonic mores, how David Fincher’s unorthodox prompt regarding ‘the death of disco’ ignited the season two musical identity of Mindhunter and more.
Fan Favorites: Most Popular Songs from Euphoria (Tunefind)
One of the buzziest shows of the summer, HBO’s Euphoria had everyone talking. While plenty of chatter focused on the dynamic cast led by Zendaya and the explicit storylines, it was the soundtrack that had fans obsessing.
William Friedkin’s Cruising: Director Reflects on Cult Classic’s Eccentric Soundtrack (Billboard)
For over a half century, William Friedkin shook up American cinema in ways few other filmmakers dared — and music always played a starring role in his most important works. Perhaps Friedkin’s most important soundtrack remains the one that provided the heartbeat to his controversial 1980 erotic crime thriller Cruising.
Jason Bentley on His Past at KCRW and Future With Top Gun: Maverick (Variety)
The mid-June announcement that Jason Bentley was leaving KCRW as music director and the host of “Morning Become Eclectic” has been the subject of much speculation.
BFI London Film Festival 2019 – The Music Supervisors (GMS UK & Europe)
We would like to take this opportunity to highlight and celebrate all the music supervisors who have been involved in the making of the movies that are going to be showcased at the LFF. Congratulations!
The Evolution of Music in the Gaming Industry – A Detailed Guide (The 405)
Games and sound designing go hand in hand and play an integral part in shaping the game experience of players. How did music evolve with the games? Find out.
Roundball Rap: The Hip-Hop Evolution Of Sports Library Music (Red Bull Music Academy)
Christina Lee charts the transformation of TV sports soundtracks from jock rock to jock rap.
Gaming
The music industry wants in on the capitalist dreamworld of video games (DAZED)
Gaming could present a lucrative source of revenue for artists, but it’s likely to only be the richest that benefit from it.
The Composer of Kingdom Hearts Has Never Stopped Reinventing Herself (VICE)
Shimomura carries an unassuming attitude about her entire body of work, even as she’s earned a worldwide reputation for composing some of the most vibrant and celebrated scores in video game history.
The Evolution of Music in the Gaming Industry – A Detailed Guide (The 405)
Games and sound designing go hand in hand and play an integral part in shaping the game experience of players. How did music evolve with the games? Find out.
Advertising
Clio Announces 2019 Gold, Silver, Bronze and Shortlist Winners (CLIO)
Big winners in the Clio Music program included McCann New York’s “The Most Vicious Cycle”, The John Lewis & Partners spot “The Boy and The Piano” featuring music from Elton John, and Kobalt Music Group’s Apple spot “Share Your Gifts” starring Billie Ellish. Grand winners for both Music Marketing and Use of Music are selected by our juries from their recognized Gold winners and will be announced live at the upcoming 60th Clio Awards on 9/25 in NYC.
VW Uses Johnny Cash to Craft an Inclusive Vision of Modern America (Muse by CLIO)
Volkswagen, which has a long history of using compelling soundtracks in its advertising, has rededicated itself to music since the arrival of Johannes Leonardo as its creative agency.
Songs For Screens: Jimmie Allen Talks Ford Campaign, Upcoming Biopic (Variety)
Jimmie Allen held a lot of odd jobs before achieving his country music breakthrough with his debut single “Best Shot” last fall: middle school janitor, busboy, protein shake barista at a Nashville gym, season 10 “American Idol” contestant.
The Voice That Shattered Glass: How Ella Fitzgerald’s cassette campaign fueled a career renaissance (NPR)
In 1970, the Leo Burnett ad agency in Chicago had an imaginative idea for selling Memorex’s new line of blank cassette tapes. They’d prove the old myth that an opera singer could shatter a wine glass with a high note — and then claim a Memorex cassette had such exacting sound precision that its recording of the singer could break a glass, too.
NUE Agency’s Jesse Kirshbaum on Brands’ Evolving Relationship with the Music Industry (Entrepreneur)
In conversation with CAD Management CEO Clayton Durant, NUE Agency’s CEO Jesse Kirshbaum discusses why brands need a chief music officer, and how the music industry can better communicate its value to advertisers and brands.
Business
Reshaping the Status Quo: Sync Execs Launch All-Female Music Library 2nd Mountain (Synchblog)
David Weiss chats to sync execs Cassie Lord, Karen Falzone and Eric Vazquez who are reshaping the status quo with 2nd Mountain Music, an all-female music library launched to create more opportunities for women in the industry.
Production-music startup Soundstripe raises $2m (Music Ally)
Soundstripe’s focus remains offering its library of production music to all levels of video creators, including YouTubers and other online-video stars. It has been going since 2016, and uses a subscription model for creators to get ‘micro-licences’, charging $21 a month for its premium subscription, with a cheaper $11.25-a-month basic subscription (paid annually) also available.
ALIBI expands production music lineup with trailer music collection (NewscastStudio)
ALIBI Music Library, a production music and sound effects company, is expanding its collection with the launch of ATX, short for ALIBI Trailer Exclusives.
Howling Music launches production music library (SHOOT Online)
Howling Music, a leading provider of original music for advertising, has launched a premium production music library. The library’s release includes thousands of original tracks featuring some of the most notable session players in the industry. All of the tracks were created specifically for advertising uses.
New music revenues in India, from sync to digital merch (Music Ally)
On the first day of the All About Music conference in Mumbai, IMI boss Blaise Fernandes cited an “underexploited” public performance market as one of the drivers of growth that will help steer India in its quest to become one of the world’s top ten biggest music markets by 2022.
Jobs
Music & Licensing Consultant – West One Music Group (Brussels or Amsterdam )
West One Music Group have an exciting opening in The Netherlands and Belgium to help look after their clients – either working out of Brussels or Amsterdam.
Sync Temp – Downtown Music Publishing (New York)
Downtown is seeking a Sync Temp to join their team in New York for a 6 month contract period. This position will report into and work closely with their Sync Playlist Assistant and Catalog Operations Coordinator.
For more positions check out our music industry jobs board. To post a listing for free get in touch at jobsboard@synchtank.com.
Events
Guild of Music Supervisors 5th Annual ‘State of Music in Media’ Conference – September 14th (Los Angeles)
Join the Guild of Music Supervisors for a full day of educational panels and an evening of networking and live music performances.
Production Music Conference – September 23rd – 26th (Los Angeles)
The PMA’s Production Music Conference is back for our sixth year! Join us on September 23rd through 26th, 2019 in Hollywood, CA, where industry leaders in the production music industry will join forces for a day of panels, learning, and networking.
Music for Screens Summit – October 29th (Los Angeles)
Variety’s Music for Screens Summit hosts the creators and greenlighters behind the entertainment offerings at the intersection of music and visual media. Over 50 industry leaders converge to discuss the changing landscape of screen scoring for TV, film, video games and more.
A2IM SynchUp – October 30th (Los Angeles)
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.
Don’t forget to consult our List of Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events for more conferences.
Subscribe
Get the latest Synchblog posts + key industry news in your inbox every Tuesday. Subscribe now.
Missed our last music supervision and sync round-up? Catch up here.
