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
The 8 Best Shonda Rhimes Music Moments, From Snow Patrol to Aretha Franklin (Billboard)
Master showrunner Shonda Rhimes has brought us some of the most heartbreaking, thrilling, oh-no-she-DIDN’T scenes on television. But just as memorable as those moments are the songs that soundtrack them.
The Story of the DuckTales Theme, History’s Catchiest Single Minute of Music (Vanity Fair)
In the spring of 1986, in the bedroom of a walk-up apartment on South Beverly Drive in L.A., a semi-struggling songwriter named Mark Mueller pressed “record” on his rudimentary reel-to-reel tape recorder, sat down at his Roland Juno 1 synthesizer, and started thinking about ducks.
Composer Ryan Elder on Creating the Weird and Wonderful Rick and Morty Soundscape (Synchblog)
Rick and Morty is taking the world by storm. April’s surprise season 3 premier drew more than 1.6 million viewers, and the show’s fanbase is about as ardent as they come. We were recently lucky enough to chat to Ryan Elder, composer of the show’s brilliantly bonkers music.
Stranger Things Had To Hide the Monsters To Get the Rights To The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ (Gizmodo)
When you’re making a “Stephen King book directed by Steven Spielberg” like Stranger Things, music is key. And one key piece of music in the first season almost didn’t happen.
How making music for a comedy is totally different than making it for a drama — & the surprising similarities (BI)
Business Insider speaks to Matt Novack, one of the composers of Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, about the challenges of composing comedy, and parodying the music of a nostalgic decade.
Film and TV Music Supervisor: Abi Leland (Ebony Bones)
Using music to help film makers and agencies tell stories, Abi Leland is the founder and managing director of Leland Music aswell as Leland Originals. She is also one of Europe’s leading film and TV Music Supervisors.
Girls, Master of None, Stranger Things Music Supervisors Set Moods Through Sound (Variety)
For the first time in its history, the Emmys are honoring the art of music supervisors, those audio excavators who dig up the perfect song to set a mood, evoke a setting, or express a character’s feelings more succinctly than any line of dialogue ever could.
Big Little Lies Music Supervisor Susan Jacobs On Series’ Musical “Color Box” (Deadline)
Working alongside French-Canadian auteur Jean-Marc Vallée of the Oscar-nominated Dallas Buyers Club—an artist known for going without a composer—Grammy- and now Emmy-nominated music supervisor Susan Jacobs helped piece together one of the year’s most atmospheric and poignant soundtracks.
SZA’s ‘Love Galore’ Rules THR’s Top TV Songs Chart for July After Insecure Appearance (Billboard)
HBO’s hit show Insecure rules THR’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind and Shazam, for July. Three songs from the show crack the top 10, including the No. 1 song, SZA’s “Love Galore,” featuring Travis Scott.
Hollywood musicians are backing a new bill that seeks to stop runaway film scoring (LA Times)
The livelihoods of Hollywood musicians have long been under siege as major movie and TV productions continue to outsource scoring to other states as well as abroad.
Julie Klausner Picks Her 10 Favorite Music Moments From Difficult People (Billboard)
As the show’s creator, Klausner works closely with the show’s music supervisor, Anthony Roman, to come up with songs to provide the series’ more indelible musical moments. To celebrate the third season premiere, Billboard asks Klausner to compile her favorite music moments from the show.
Step Into The Weird World Of Twin Peaks With Sound Designer Dean Hurley’s New Album (Fader)
The New York label Sacred Bones has released Anthology Resource Vol. 1: △△, an album comprised entirely of Dean Hurley’s sound work for the new season of Twin Peaks. (You can also read our interview with Dean Hurley here.)
Gaming
Watch London Trio Daughter Create Music for Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Video Game (Billboard)
In an exclusive behind-the-scenes look of the score’s development, Daughter members Elena Tonra and Igor Haefeli discuss the challenges of approaching a video game score and seeking inspiration from the game’s 16-year old protagonist.
WWE 2K18′s Soundtrack Was Selected By The Rock (Game Spot)
The publisher revealed that WWE legend and box office star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson served as the executive producer of WWE 2K18’s soundtrack. The superstar personally picked 11 songs of various genres.
Video game music systems at GDC 2017: tools and tips for composers (Gamasutra)
Video game composer Winifred Phillips looks at tools and tips for working with interactive music systems.
Composer Duncan Watt On Writing Game Music With Emotion (WBUR)
When an epic game needs an epic soundtrack, you want to call someone like Duncan Watt. Watt has composed music for some of the biggest games, like Bioshock Infinite and League of Legends.
FIFA 18: Some gamer has just leaked the soundtrack (Dream Team)
FIFA 18 fans have been given an early glimpse into the game’s soundtrack – and it’s pretty decent. So how does the game’s soundtrack gets compiled? And what does it takes for an emerging artist to break through into the coveted list? Dream Team speaks to EA Sports Senior Music Supervisor Cybele Pettus.
Advertising
Sync Story: Martini/Paolo Conte (Music Week)
The spot’s classic feel suits the music, from revered Italian singer, pianist and composer Paolo Conte. Jonathan Watts, producer and music supervisor at Adelphoi Music, explains that the brief was to find “a track that perfectly complements this timelessly stylish, subtly cinematic and uniquely Italian film”.
UK Top Shazamed Ads: August 08 | August 15 (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): July 31 – August 06 | August 07 – August 13 (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 July 13st to August 13th.
Portugal. The Man’s ‘Feel It Still’ Leads Top TV Commercials Chart for Second Consecutive Month (Billboard)
Portugal. The Man is having its best summer ever. Days after “Feel It Still” leaped 55-34 on the Billboard Hot 100 — earning the group its first top 40 hit — the single leads Billboard & Clio’s Top TV commercials chart, powered by Shazam, for July, for the second straight month.
Business and Legal
Women in Sync Series: The Music Sales UK Creative Team (Synchblog)
For the second instalment of our ‘Women in Sync’ series, in association with global Women in Music network shesaid.so, we chat to the all-female sync team at our client Music Sales!
Coversion, The Sync-Focused Covers Catalogue, to Launch in September (EIN News)
Coversion, a sync-focused covers catalogue with hubs in London and Canada, will launch in September. The catalogue, entirely tailored to the servicing of high quality covers to the sync market, is set to launch at this year’s London Sync Sessions, being hosted at the Future Music Forum in Barcelona next month.
Tips and Tricks
Music Supervision 2: The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games, & New Media.
Want to learn all there is to know about music supervision? Check out Music Supervision 2: The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games, & New Media.
This second edition is the newly revised, definitive book on music supervision, which guides students and professionals through real-world scenarios and legal landmines, explores sound design, and profiles key players in the industry.
The Four Things You Should Know When You Request a Music License (Forbes)
New Media Rights has spent almost 10 years advising musicians. They’ve distilled some of their recommendations into a list of four key points to set you on the path to getting the license that you need.
Events
London Sync Sessions (Barcelona, 13/09/17 – 15/09/17)
In the true Glastonbury spirit of “taking a year off to let the grass grow”, 2017 see’s the London Sync Sessions move to Barcelona. In collaboration with Future Music Forum, they will be bringing the same pulsing debate and top tier networking to the sunny streets of Spain’s Catalonian capital.
A2IM LA SynchUp 2017 (Los Angeles, November 2nd 2017)
L.A. SynchUp is A2IM’s premiere synch and licensing event. Taking place in the landscaped backyard of a private residence, the Hopeless House, this invite-only event hosts a day of both formal and informal networking and community.
Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events List 2017 – Updated (Synchblog)
We’ve updated this gargantuan list for you yet again! You won’t find a more comprehensive list of music industry events out there, bookmark it now.
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