Film and TV
Stranger Things composers talk intense new soundtrack for season 2: “It’s pretty wild” (NME)
NME chats to Kyle and Michael of S U R V I V E about the sound of the new season, how things have changed since the show was released last year, and their upcoming Stranger Things show in LA.
John Carpenter Returning To Compose A Film Score For The New Halloween (Movie Pilot)
Much to many fans’ surprise and excitement, horror legend John Carpenter just announced he’s returning to the Halloween franchise in more ways than we originally thought.
How the Music Supervisor for ‘The O.C.’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ Changed the Game for Indie Rock (noisey)
Grammy-nominated Alexandra Patsavas and her soundtracks for The O.C., Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, and more helped launch artists’ careers and shaped the music taste of a generation.
How TV Became Ground Zero for the Best New Music (Paste Magazine)
Music supervisors have become integral to the success of TV shows, and to the careers of the musicians who wind up on the soundtrack.
David Fincher, Composer Jason Hill Bend Sound and Time on Mindhunter (Billboard)
The muted, subterranean Mindhunter soundtrack is composed by erstwhile alt pop comet Jason Hill — he soared, he shined, he fell short of being a star with bands Louis XIV and Vicky Cryer. But the 42-year-old rose to the occasion for director David Fincher, who asked him to craft a score that wouldn’t sound, literally, like music.
How movie-music writers have stepped out of the shadows to become stars (The National)
As famed director and composer John Carpenter releases an anthology, The National looks at how the cream of movie-music writers have become stars.
Sweden’s Alice Boman On Soundtracking Amazon’s Transparent & Her Guide To Vårhallarna, The Haunting Seaside Oasis In Her ‘Dreams’ Video (Billboard)
Alice Boman’s hit “Waiting” was quickly poached by Amazon’s groundbreaking Transparent series for a sync in the series’ premiere of its second season, which also featured a guest-starring spot from Boman to perform the track.
10 Horror Movie Soundtracks To Scare Your Pants Off (Team Rock)
With the dark joys of the witching season upon us, it feels entirely appropriate to select some of the finest horror movie soundtracks in the world for your pleasure. Whether metallic and bombastic, or orchestral and delicate, these scores are guaranteed to scare the ever-loving bejaysus out of you…
Top TV Song Last Week: “You Belong To Me” by Cat Pierce (Tunefind)
Tunefind’s top TV song last week is courtesy of the season premiere of the CW’s Riverdale, and a steamy scene between Archie and Veronica.
50 years later, The Jungle Book is still Disney’s best soundtrack (AV Club)
Composer George Bruns kept that reactive, improvisational feel, bringing tension to the film’s frequent jungle chases with heightened horns while also turning the rhythms of Baloo’s boxing lesson into a captivating drum solo.
Too Many TV Shows Use Music to Glorify ’70s New York. The Deuce Is Different (Pitchfork)
The pop soundtrack of The Deuce establishes Times Square as a place where worlds collide while helping co-creator David Simon demystify the mob, the sex industry, and 1970s New York in general.
Why Vince Staples Is Hollywood’s Newest (And Unlikeliest) Secret Weapon (Complex)
His music is being used to sell blockbusters left right and centre. Complex takes a look at how Vince Staple’s music is becoming a commercial force.
A Conversation with Film Composer Jeff Toyne on “Collaborative Art”, Music in Film, and his new Project: Jason Alexander’s Hit The Road (The 405)
Jeff Toyne is a composer for film and television with quite a few titles in various genres under his belt including Now You See Me, Fast Five, District 9, Life on the Line, Thom Pain, 9/11, and the up-coming My Little Pony: The Movie.
Mining Mexican cinema for its music: How songs and scores lend power to the picture (LA Times)
Every April, thousands of Mexicans flock to the grave of Pedro Infante. They bring flowers and tequila and sing songs made famous by the charismatic singer and film star who died in 1957.
Synchtank Launches Playlist Series to Spotlight Best Music on TV (Synchblog)
At Synchtank we have launched a brand new curated playlist series to spotlight some of the best uses of music in TV each month, starting with September 2017! Check out the highlights of the music from your favourite shows, and get an insight into which songs music supervisors are currently placing.
How Doctor Who’s Use of Pop Music Echoes Through the Decades (noisey)
The long-running sci-fi show’s changing relationship with its songs over the years showcases its greater evolution.
At State of Music in Media Conference, Demystifying the Role of Music Supervisor (Variety)
The job of a music supervisor is largely misunderstood, according to panelists at the Guild of Music Supervisors State of Music in Media Conference, who said their role is as much about detective and curatorial work as it is about sound-tracking.
Gaming
Interview: Wilbert Roget II On Composing Call Of Duty: World War 2‘s Original Score (Forbes)
Video game composer Wilbert Roget II’s big break came just a few years after graduating from Yale University, where he graduated with a BA in music theory and composition.
David Wise on making the music for Nintendo’s golden age (iNews)
Over a career that has spanned four decades to date, Wise has established himself as one of the world’s most renowned creators of video game music. Working with the legendary British video game company Rare, Wise composed soundtracks for more than 50 games on Nintendo’s NES, SNES and Game Boy consoles – including classics such as Battletoads and Donkey Kong Country.
FIFA wins big at the Music Week Sync Awards 2017 (Develop)
FIFA 17 and FIFA 18 both take home awards for video game soundtrack and video game trailer respectively. The FIFA series was one of the big winners last night at the Music Week Sync Awards.
How video game music is getting the appreciation it deserves (iNews)
As composer Gareth Coker prepared to record his latest score in the hallowed surroundings of Abbey Road, he found himself ruminating on a venue “packed with history – where all the titans have recorded”. An ambitious new project had brought Coker to take his own place in the studio. But it was not a new big-budget movie that he was recording for. It was a video game.
Xbox’s Halo franchise voted best video game music in new Twitch poll (On MSFT)
Twitch, the large video game streaming service, recently conducted a poll with users asking them which game franchise had the best soundtrack and Microsoft’s Halo won with over 155,000 votes.
Kode9’s new Japanese chip compilation will change your perspective on video game music (The Fader)
Diggin In The Carts is an upcoming 34-track collection of rare and compelling Japanese chip music from the ‘80s and early ‘90s, based on the radio show and documentary series created by Red Bull Music Academy’s Nick Dwyer.
Stalk Like An Egyptian: Sarah Schachner Sojourns to Ancient Egypt For Assassin’s Creed Origins Score (Billboard)
Four years in the making, Assassin’s Creed Origins takes gamers back to ancient Egypt with composer Sarah Schachner setting the tone. The Ptolemaic-era setting was at the request of fans polled in 2011 as to where they’d like to see the time-traveling series land.
How FIFA Games Changed Our Tastes in Music (noisey)
An analysis of the soundtracks in the world’s most beloved soccer video game, from Blur to drum ’n’ bass.
Halo Wars 2 shoots for a Grammy, & composers score with music made for video games (GeekWire)
Earlier this month at the SIFF Film Center in Seattle, music composed for the Halo Wars 2 video game — from 343 Industries and Microsoft Studios — was showcased, along with the folks who created it.
VRDC 2017 takeaways: VR music for the game composer (Gamasutra)
The Game Developers Conference is always an awesome opportunity for game audio experts to learn and share experiences. Composer Winifred Phillips takes a look at some of the more intriguing VR game music takeaways from the event.
Classic FM launches second series of video game music programme (Classic FM)
Classic FM has announced a second series of High Score, presented by composer Jessica Curry. The programme, which is dedicated to video game music, will return with a six-week run on 4 November.
Advertising
Sync Story: Volvo/Bowers & Wilkins/Klara (Music Week)
Following the online buzz around the soundtrack for the spot after it aired earlier this year, Volvo, audio company and in-car speaker provider Bowers & Wilkins and Swedish pop singer Klara collaborated to record and release These Woods (Human Made), which fleshes out the song’s initial instrumental incarnation with widescreen production.
Aphex Twin’s ‘Windowlicker’ Features In UK Road Safety Ad (The Quietus)
If you’re watching TV in the near future, you may be treated to the familiar sounds of Aphex Twin’s 1999 track ‘Windowlicker’ which has been used to soundtrack a new UK road safety ad.
Janelle Monae fronts a festive, musical number for Gap’s holiday campaign (AdAge)
Anyone nostalgic for Gap’s late ’90s/early aughts music-fueled commercials will likely be enthused by the retailer’s new holiday work. The San Francisco-based brand is continuing its “Meet in the Gap” messaging from September with a musical number featuring actress and singer Janelle Monáe and set to “(You) Got What I Need.”
UK Top Shazamed Ads: October 17 | October 24 (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): October 09 – 15 | October 16 – 22 (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 11th to September 24th.
No alternative: how brands bought out underground music (The Guardian)
Timberland hosts rap gigs. Princess Nokia makes films for Maybelline. And Red Bull is the new school of rock. Have brand partnerships destroyed counterculture? Or are they all that’s keeping it alive?
Business and Legal
Music Week Sync Awards 2017: Winners in full (Music Week)
Returning for its fourth year, the event celebrated the best sync individuals, teams and placements across film, TV, video games and advertising over the past year with a total of 24 categories.
Music Week Sync Awards 2017: Winners in full
Mark Ross, Son of Time Warner Trailblazer Steve Ross, Jumps Into Music Synch Business (Variety)
Mark Ross, son of the late Steve Ross, who founded Warner Communications in the 1970s and played a key role in the establishment of Time Warner a decade later, has been named partner at Culver City, Calif.-based Riptide Music Group.
Sync Licensing & the Music Biz: Music Consultant Chats to Synchtank’s Joel Jordan (Music Consultant)
Synchtank Founder and President Joel Jordan chats to Music Consultant about how the platform helps artists, publishers, labels and creators manage their catalogues. He also talks about developments in the sync licensing market and how rightsholders can thrive in the current climate.
In Focus: Ninja Tune Production Music (M Magazine)
Independent record label Ninja Tune have launched a production music arm, the latest innovation from a company always intent on pushing boundaries. With Ninja Tune Production Music, they’re offering more than a thousand tracks by big name label artists Coldcut, Mr Scruff, Kid Koala and Machinedrum, among others.
Universal Music Publishing Group Inks Admin Deal with STX Entertainment (MBW)
Under the new agreement, UMPG will also administer music for STXtv’s television properties, as well as the Lalela Music catalog, which can be heard in programs including American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and The Real Housewives franchise (RHO Atlanta, pictured), among others.
BMG Production Music Expands With Acquisition of Movie Marketing Mainstay (Variety)
BMG Production Music has acquired the flagship Los Angeles-based trailer tune house Immediate Music. Founded in 1993, Immediate is a trailblazer in building a company around the concept of creating original music for movie marketing.
‘You own it’: Judge quotes Eminem lyrics as New Zealand party found guilty of ripping off Lose Yourself (The Telegraph)
The National Party ran a television ad that used the song “Eminem Esque” 186 times during its successful 2014 election campaign before pulling the ad off the air. Publisher Eight Mile Style sued, saying the track ripped off the rapper’s acclaimed 2002 hit.
IMRO publishes report on Music for the Irish film and TV sector (Scannain)
The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) has published a report which examines the contribution of Irish music to the success of the film and television sectors in Ireland. Authored by Sarah Glennane, an independent music supervisor and music professional with more than a decade of experience, Music for Screen – an Examination of the music for film & TV sector in Ireland, aims to spark a national dialogue in relation to future growth of the music for screen sector in Ireland.
Guild on Tour: Finnish Edition (The UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors)
Music & Media Finland is one of the longest running music conferences in the Nordic countries (it’s been going since 1989) and this year the Guild were well represented when Duncan Smith and fellow supervisors Iain Cooke, Ayla Owen, Karen Elliott & Amy Ashworth travelled out to Tampere, Southern Finland.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards Announces Nominees (Shoot Online)
HMMA nominees are chosen in specific genres for film, TV and videogame including dramatic feature, sci-fi/ fantasy, documentary and animation. HMMA nominees represent visual music from around the world including Spain, UK, Argentina, France, Norway and Australia.
Advice
Sync Story: Top music supervisor Iain Cooke’s five golden rules of sync (Music Week)
In a special edition of sync story, UK & European Guild Of Music Supervisors president Iain Cooke presents five golden rules of sync…
Events
Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events List 2018
Our comprehensive list of music industry and sync conferences/events worldwide in 2018 is now live. Bookmark it now to stay ahead of events near you.
AIM Academy: Synch Licensing 101 (London, November 1st)
‘Sync Licensing 101’ will take place at London’s Tileyard Studios on Wednesday 1st November, offering attendees the chance to learn how to land sync deals for their music, and how those deals are structured.
A2IM SynchUp (Los Angeles, November 2nd)
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.
AIM’s Sync Licensing to TV, Ads, Film & Games Conference (London, November 20th)
AIM’s annual sync licensing conference returns to London on 20th November 2017, with a host of top industry figures from the worlds of TV, film, advertising and games lined up to speak. Having sold-out for the last 7 years, AIM’s ever-popular Sync Licensing conference returns, a great event for labels, self-releasing artists, music supervisors, publishers and more.
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