Film and TV
Blinded by the Light Director, Screenwriter Talk Bringing Springsteen to ’80s England (Rolling Stone)
The movie follows 16-year-old Javed, son of Pakistani immigrants, who amid the political and economic turmoil of the U.K.’s Thatcher era, discovers the music of Springsteen and feels a powerful connection to its lyrics.
How Pop Stars Are Benefiting From the Netflix Boom (THR)
With Netflix producing so much original programming — in 2018, it put out nearly 1,500 hours of original productions, including roughly 300 original series globally — and commercial music integral to the tone of those shows, a host of new licensing opportunities are opening up for recording artists. And dealmakers are taking note.
How the Cover Song Conquered Movie Trailers (The New Yorker)
The story of the cover-song trend in movie trailers began nine years ago, when the veteran trailer editor Mark Woollen found himself grappling with a difficult assignment.
‘An artist turned us down because of the violence’: Killing Eve‘s music supervisor Catherine Grieves on the hit show’s sound (Music Week)
“We try and find the unexpected,” said Catherine Grieves. She works on the soundtrack with David Holmes, whose band Unloved are all over the show.
Euphoria Music Supervisor on Landing Air Supply, Arcade Fire and a Singing Zendaya (Variety)
The sheer volume of songs in Sam Levinson’s show about at-risk teens required a sign-off from 350 separate parties. “We are living in their world and there’s always music around teenagers,” says Jen Malone.
Rising Artist Samuel Jack Talks Soul and Blues Influences, Songwriting and Sync Success (Synchblog)
We sit down with rising artist Samuel Jack to talk musical influences, songwriting, sync, new music and more…
Quentin Tarantino Revives ‘Bring a Little Lovin” by Los Bravos in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood (Billboard)
It’s been over half a century, but Spanish band Los Bravos’ “Bring a Little Lovin’” is finally receiving a little lovin’ of its own. The song is the only original track by a Latin act on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Easy Rider at 50: How they put together that groundbreaking soundtrack (LA Times)
Fifty years ago, Easy Rider not only helped define the counterculture — with its frank depiction of drugs and free love, of “longhairs” squared against square culture — it also revolutionized the movie soundtrack, rejecting a traditional orchestra in favor of a hip “song score.”
The Big Sync Interview: Rising Artist L Devine (Synchblog)
The hotly tipped British pop artist talks to the music agency about her journey so far, Lewis Capaldi, Love Island and how a TV ad sync inspired a fresh new track.
So you want to be a music supervisor? (TIDAL)
This column is meant to give you a broad overview of what this career entails in order to help you to make a more informed decision on whether or not it’s something you want to pursue.
Top TV Song Last Week – 21st July: “Hot” by Dodgr | 28th July: “I’m Not In Love” by Kelsey Lu (Tunefind)
HBO’s Euphoria has taken the top spot for the last two weeks with Portland-native Dodgr’s “Hot” and Kelsey Lu’s cover of a 1970’s yacht rock hit.
Film & TV Composer Spotlight: Hildur Guðnadóttir (Pop Disciple)
Sensational Emmy nominated composer, cellist, and vocalist speaks on field recording in a vast Lithuanian power plant to piece together an ominous arsenal of sounds for Chernobyl.
Snowfall Music Supervisor Talks About Virtual Crate Digging & Honoring John Singleton (Genius)
A daring show needs a daring soundtrack to match, which is why it’s no surprise co-creators John Singleton, whose iconic 1991 directorial debut Boyz in the Hood earned him an Oscar nomination, and Dave Andron, best known for producing the hit series Justified, hired music supervisor Maggie Phillips.
Dear White People: The Songs from Season 3 Make a Great Summer Soundtrack (IndieWire)
One of the most consistent elements across all three seasons of Dear White People has been the music. From Kris Bowers’ unmistakable jazz-infused score to the wide range of musical selections that help punctuate some powerful episode-ending moments, the show has always sounded as good as it looks.
The GLOW Season 3 Soundtrack Is The Perfect Mix Of ’80s Favorites & Las Vegas Show Tunes (Bustle)
In GLOW Season 3, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling have left behind their worn-down gym and jumped right into their new Las Vegas residency. And fans will be happy to know the soundtrack reflects that.
Mica Levi Details Soundtrack for New Film Monos, Shares Song (Pitchfork)
Mica Levi has detailed her score for the new movie Monos. Her soundtrack is out digitally on August 30 (via Invada/Lakeshore). Listen to Levi’s “Monos” below.
The Original Lion King Soundtrack Was Perfect. How Do You Update It? (Rolling Stone)
Lebo M, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Ilya Salmanzadeh, JD McCrary, and Shahadi Wright Joseph discuss making the new Lion King soundtrack.
Fosse/Verdon music duo feels the vibe in their DNA (LA Times)
Fosse/Verdon threw a spotlight on one of the most significant duos in musical theater history: choreographer Bob Fosse and his wife and creative partner, Gwen Verdon. So, naturally, the Emmy-nominated creatives behind the FX limited series are two of today’s most significant musical men.
British Invasion Influences Pennyworth Soundtrack (Tunefind)
With bold hints of early Bond, Pennyworth introduces fans to Batman’s loyal butler as a dashing young diamond-in-the-rough former SAS officer in a ’60s-era London full of political intrigues and great music.
Gaming
How Video Game Music Is Driving A Vinyl Record Resurgence (Forbes)
Cuphead. Persona 5. Undertale. Sunset Riders. The Legend of Zelda. Fans know these titles first and foremost as video games, but they all have something else in common, too: each of them has inspired a vinyl record that has charted on the Billboard 200.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Official Score Launches on Digital Platforms (THR)
“It’s safe to say that we created more than three times the amount of music that you would ever hear in one playthrough of the game,” director of music Ivan Pavlovich tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Roots Music Becomes a Major Player in Video Games (No Depression)
Wanting to know more about the songs and the music in the game, I talked with renowned old-time musician Eli Smith of the Down Hill Strugglers, who worked with Rockstar Games as a traditional music consultant and arranger on Red Dead Redemption 2.
Learn about composing music for videogames (M Magazine)
Composers David Housden and Robin Beanland are set to explore storytelling through music in videogames at the EGX 2019 conference. They will be joined by Janesta Boudreau, Mike Chapman (Rare) and Mark Backler (Sketchbook Games) in this deep dive session, which takes place at the UK’s largest gaming conference in October.
Advertising
How to… make braver (and better) music choices for your ads (shots)
Don’t know your Smiths from your Jesus Jones? Your Chainsmokers from your Unchained Melody? Fear not, Rachel Wood, founder and owner of Woodwork Music, is here to help you make the most from your musical choices.
Bacardi Lets YouTube Users Remix Its New Song With a Few Keystrokes (MUSE by Clio)
The rum brand lets users manipulate segments of “Make It Hot,” a branded dance track from Major Lazer and Anitta, via YouTube’s “fast-forward” keyboard functionality.
Songs For Screens: Grammy Winner Latroit on Scoring Apple’s FaceID Campaign (Variety)
Though White is perhaps best known for his work as a remixer, having taken home the 2018 best remixed recording Grammy for his work on Depeche Mode’s “You Move (Latroit Remix),” the process of climbing the Mount Everest of synch summits began back in 2016.
DDB Music Guru Alec Stern on Crafting Hits for McDonald’s, State Farm and More (MUSE by Clio)
“When I look back on my childhood, the first 12 years, before I picked up an instrument, feels like the identity crisis,” says Alec Stern, director of music at DDB Chicago and its McDonald’s-focused sibling We Are Unlimited. “Then there’s this thunderbolt moment where I picked up a guitar for the first time, and everything fell into place.”
Sync Story: Paco Rabanne/David Bowie (Music Week)
Paco Rabanne needed a big sync to launch its first ever fragrance collection, and it delivers in the shape of a David Bowie hook-up.
Business
Sony’s Masterworks acquires soundtrack label Milan Records (MBW)
Founded over 40 years ago by Emmanuel Chamboredon, Milan Records has released the soundtracks to classics such as Diva, Ghost, Backdraft, Benny & Joon as well as recent hits including The Revenant, Deadpool, Chef, Under The Skin, Birdman, Midsommar and Hereditary.
Premier Music Group Acquires Music Supervision Firm Wool & Tusk (Billboard)
Music and culture agency Premier Music Group has acquired the music supervision firm Wool & Tusk. Wool & Tusk heads Robert Kaplan and Aaron Mercer will go in-house at Premier to lead the company’s music supervision and licensing business.
Wibbitz Partners with BMG Production Music to Elevate Soundtrack Library (LBB Online)
The partnership will make BMGPM’s vast library of premium production music available within Wibbitz’s online video creation platform and video creation API solution, giving customers the assets they need to produce professional quality content.
Jobs
Sync Assistant – Decca Music Group (LA)
This role supports the Decca Music Group VPs, Sync in LA and the Creative Licensing Manager, Sync in London on a day to day basis, covering both the Decca labels and Decca Publishing.
Sr. Manager, Sync (Creative) – Downtown Music Publishing (London)
Downtown is seeking a Senior Manager, Sync (Creative) to join their team in the London office. This position will report directly to their Executive Vice President.
Sync and Licensing Manager – Downtown Music Publishing (Amsterdam)
Downtown is seeking a Sync and Licensing Manager to join their team in the Amsterdam office. This position will report directly to their Head of Benelux – Creative.
Sync Coordinator – Downtown Music Publishing (London)
Downtown is seeking a Sync Coordinator, UK to join their team in the London office and report directly to their Head of Sync and Brand Partnerships, UK.
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.
Just announced: 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, delivered by Synchtank. Subscribe now.
Missed our last music supervision and sync round-up? Catch up here.
