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
Big Little Lies‘ music supervisor on how the finale’s songs were chosen (Vulture)
BLL’s finale once again served up another excellent dose of soundtrack from the minds of music supervisor Sue Jacobs and director Jean-Marc Vallée — in the span of 55 minutes, we hear everything from an array of Elvis Presley tunes to a haunting Rolling Stones cover.
The mystery of trailer music, or ‘Why can’t I buy that Game of Thrones trailer song?’ (The Verge)
Since they’re either written exclusively for a specific trailer or licensed by studios from a general catalogue, many trailer songs never see the light of day.
‘Make it like the wind, Angelo’: How the Twin Peaks soundtrack came to haunt music for nearly 30 years (Guardian)
“If you hum the first notes of the opening theme you’re immediately transported into another world,” says Jamie Stewart of Los Angeles-based band Xiu Xiu. “Apart from the timpani in 2001: A Space Odyssey, almost nothing else is as evocative.” (See also: Prepare for Twin Peaks‘ return with Kyle MacLachlan’s “Coffetime” playlist)
Girls music moments: Music supervisor Manish Raval on ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and ‘Million Dollar Secret’ (Girls)
Music supervisor Manish Raval gives his insight into two song uses from Season 6 of HBO’s Girls: ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and ‘Million Dollar Secret’.
How Trainspotting made Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ one of the 90s’ most iconic songs (Noisey)
Noisey chats to Underworld’s Rick Smith about the creation of the zeitgeist-capturing hit, working on the sequel T2 Trainspotting, and shouting LAGER LAGER LAGER!
How Danger Mouse made a Man in the High Castle album full of songs you haven’t heard on the show (Vulture)
Of the two possible ways to describe Resistance Radio: The Man in the High Castle Album, produced by Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) and musician Sam Cohen, one is simple, the other psychedelically complex.
Sync Story: Inside Amy Lee’s Voice From The Stone placement (Music Week)
Fluttering and thudding in the background during the film’s trailer is the piano-led ‘Speak To Me’, written especially for the film by Evanescence singer Amy Lee. To say it heightens the drama on display is putting it very mildly.
If You Love Classic Hip-Hop, You Should Be Watching The Breaks (UPROXX)
If you’re looking for a hip-hop show that’s actually about hip-hop — hop aboard Vh1’s wayback machine and get a faceful of The Breaks.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: How Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff created the theme song in just 15 minutes (EW)
The theme song for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has transcended its roots as an NBC sitcom opener to become embedded in the cultural consciousness, both in the U.S. and abroad.
La La Land soundtrack is the best-selling vinyl of 2017 so far (NME)
Newly-published statistics from the US-based Nielsen Music have revealed that the La La Land soundtrack – released by Interscope – was the best-performing vinyl release in the US during the first quarter of 2017.
What song did Hannah and Clay dance to in 13 Reasons Why? The complete haunting soundtrack and when each track plays (Mirror)
The beautifully haunting soundtrack takes us on just as much of a journey as the story in Netflix’s newest show, 13 Reasons Why. The show follows a group of high schoolers who listen to confessional cassette tapes left by Hannah Baker, who took her own life.
Indie music and teen TV: a bromance made in sad boy heaven (Guardian)
No genre of music is better suited to soundtracking the growing pains of teenagers. As Riverdale returns, Anne T Donahue looks at three shows that acted as a platform to boost burgeoning indie acts.
Gaming
Sync Story: Inside Rag’N’Bone Man’s EA placement (Music Week)
The earthy tones of Rag’N’Bone Man’s now ubiquitous hit Human might seem an odd match for the space-scapes, guns and lasers that trail a video game set in the Milky Way in the 22nd century, but there’s more to this sync than meets the eye.
The unsung women of video game music (Polygon)
The latest episode of Game Maker’s Toolkit, Mark Brown’s insightful web series about game design, is a powerful example of just how influential women are in the gaming industry, often in less visible ways.
Yooka-Layle composer Grant Kirkhope on Playtonic Games making the ‘Rare-vival’ a reality (IBT)
“I’d thought for a while that the time was right for another platformer,” begins veteran composer Grant Kirkhope, the musical maestro behind classics like Donkey Kong 64, GoldenEye, and Perfect Dark.
Konrad OldMoney brings the cool to videogame music (Forbes)
OldMoney has opened up a whole different career as a producer and composer for videogames. He has worked on in-game music and trailers for titles like FIFA17, Fight Night Champion, SSX Deadly Descents and much more.
Composing video game music to build suspense, part 3: creepy clusters (Gamasutra)
In section three of this five part discussion on the role that video game music can play in enhancing tension and promoting suspenseful gameplay, composer Winifred Phillips looks at the creepy cluster technique.
Get Even composer talks about the game’s “melancholic, oppressed, happy” music (GameSpot)
GameSpot chats to composer Olivier Derviere about the music he wrote for the intriguing-looking FPS game.
Advertising
UK Top Shazamed Ads: March 28 | April 4 (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.
Great Exposure – 28th March 2017 (Marcus Brooke-Smith)
Great Exposure is a new series that offers discussion and insight into the the use of music in advertising and its effects on the music industry. Presented by music supervisor Marcus Brooke-Smith.
The most Shazamed ads of the week (US): March 20 – March 26 | March 27 – April 2 (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 the last fortnight.
Major Lazer creates a musical beat for Tuborg as the search for global artists to reimagine it commences (The Drum)
Danish lager brand Tuborg is entrenching further into the world of music (and its creation) with Tuborg Open – a campaign looking to showcase how truly diverse the music stylings of global artists can be.
Jack White stars in, soundtracks new baseball bat ad (Pitchfork)
Jack White has surprise-released a new, mostly instrumental song called “Battle Cry.” The song soundtracks a new promo film for Warstic, an independent sporting goods company that White co-owns, having invested last year.
Business
peermusic at 90: Carter Armstrong and Craig Currier on sync, innovation and more (Synchblog)
As Synchtank client peermusic celebrates its 90th anniversary, we chat to executives Carter Armstrong and Craig Currier about the company’s success, and finding sync opportunities for the publisher’s impressive roster.
Tom Mackay named President of Sony Music Film and TV A&R (Billboard)
Tom Mackay joins Sony Music Entertainment as the president of Sony music, film and television A&R, a newly created position, which will be based in Los Angeles. He will report to Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer.
5 female music supervisors you need to know about (Superbized)
Music supervision blog Superbized run through 5 fncredibly talented and inspiring music supervisors everyone should know about.
Guild for Music Supervisors in U.K., Europe launches: ‘The sync industry is very unique’ (Billboard
A non-profit association dedicated to promoting the under-the-radar, but increasingly important role that music supervisors play within the entertainment industry has launched in London.
Journey’s manager John Baruck on how synchs & touring helped the band reach the Rock Hall (Billboard)
When Journey is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, it will mark a pinnacle moment for their manager of nearly 20 years, John Baruck.
Tips and Tricks
Two words a music supervisor does not want to hear on a Monday morning (Synchblog)
Music Supervisor and CEO of soundlounge Ruth Simmons on the two words that fill her with dread on a Monday morning: ‘Soundalike’ and ‘Musicologist’.
“Pitches should be specific. Don’t throw anything against the wall” – music supervisor Tony Scudellari (Midem blog)
SynchAudio meets with Tony Scudellari at his Sony Pictures Television headquarters in Culver City to interview him for midemblog’s music supervisor series. SynchAudio is the proud partner of Midem 2017’s Global Sync & Brands Summit, and will be releasing more interviews over the coming weeks.
Events
AIMP Creative Panel Sessions – Part 2 (New York, April 18th)
Part 2 of the creative panels will be held this month at Interface NYC. If you want to learn more about music supervision but couldn’t attend the first panel, send an email to: aimp@synchtank.net for details. Synchtank are sponsoring again – we looking forward to seeing you there!
CMW Sync Summit (Toronto, April 21st)
Speakers participating in this year’s Sync Summit have worked on a variety of mainstream and cutting edge Indie projects including major television shows, motion pictures, games and iconic Cultural Brands.
Free Webinar: From Pitch to Placement: The Essentials of Sync Licensing (Online, April 25th)
Thanks to the success of our first webinar in association with our friends at Women in Music, we’re running another one later this month! Join us to hear the best practices for preparing your catalogue for licensing, tips for pitching succesfully, building relationships with music supervisors, and much more.
Applications to the 13th Sync Licensing Mission to Los Angeles now open
Music companies and individuals looking to participate in the 13th LA Sync Licensing Mission hosted jointly by the BPI, the Music Publishers Association (MPA) and Department for International Trade (DIT) have until 23rd April to submit their applications.
Looking for a more comprehensive breakdown of events? Check out our list of key worldwide music industry and sync events in 2017.
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