…but were too afraid to tell you
Guest post by Pam Lewis-Rudden | PlutonicGroupSyncs [UK]
There are bucket-loads of important items music supervisors look for in submissions of music for placement consideration, including but not limited to the best match to their intricate and urgent requests.
But what are the things music supervisors don’t want in a pitch?
In no particular order of annoyance…
Follow Up
‘I’m just following up’…Do not send supervisors hundreds of emails if you don’t hear back. Music supervisors are people too, and like me, they tend to block spam. And whatever you do, do not, let me repeat, DO NOT put ‘Follow Up’ in the subject line – major social faux pas!
Tips and advice from music supervisor Andrea Von Foerster:
What Are You Working On Now?
When you work in music licensing you are always working on something, usually big and quite urgent. No more so than a music supervisor.
So turn on your computer and peel the Internet like an onion – there is enough rolling around online about most supervisors. Ten seconds of googling their names will give you a great one-liner with which to open your email, automatically showing the supervisor you’ve done your research.
It’s been said once and I’ll say it again – RESEARCH people! When in doubt… GOOGLE it.
Metadata
Is there ever a situation when you don’t need to embed your music files with metadata? Hmmm. Let me think about that. Um. NO!
We’re increasingly living in a world built around metadata. Metadata has become vital lifeline to the very people who decide what makes the cut – music supervisors. If it seems like a lot of extra work – it is, but if you want a placement, it’s all-essential in rising above the competition.
As my music licensing comrade-in-arms, Simon Pursehouse at Sentric Music so aptly demonstrated via his blog:
If I can ask for a moment of empathy; imagine this conversation taking place for a second…
Me: “Hello music supervisor of a massive TV programme that is known worldwide and would result in both fantastic exposure and a lovely sync fee for any artists’ music you so choose to use on your show”
Them: “Hello.”
Me: “Check out this great new song called ‘TRACK 01’ by ‘UNKNOWN ARTIST’, it’s really good! Would you like to feature it in your show?”
Them: “Goodbye.”
My motto: Metadata or Die
Did You Listen To My Music?
I bet if I were to conduct a survey, this would rank up there as probably the most asked and most infuriating question a music supervisor receives on a weekly, if not daily basis.
Allow me to ease your pain and suffering while you sit in waiting for a reply…if a supervisor likes and wants to use your music – they will get in touch. I can guarantee it.
Label Your Tracks
Contrary to the rumours flying around the internet, music supervisors do not have psychic powers. They, more than likely, don’t have the means to decipher your files that look something like prehistoric hieroglyphics – audio01.mp3 – being a fine example. Help a supervisor out – label your tracks appropriately. Make a supervisor smile.
MP3 Attachments
When sending music, ALWAYS provide instrumentals and links to allow a music supervisor to Stream + Download.
“If you want to make enemies of music supervisors, then attach MP3s to your e-mails. It jams up our in-boxes and could result in slowing us down from work we’re doing on a tight deadline.”
– Thomas Golubic
So here I’m going to share a public service message I saw online: NEMA (No E-Mail Attachments)! Provide a link or use a file-sending service like WeTransfer, Box or Dropbox unless, of course, you’d like your e-mail address to be banned for eternity.
Email Etiquette
What do you want a music supervisor to remember about you? How do you want to be perceived? Stop Being Lazy!
How many unsolicited emails, spam, junk mail, cold calls have you replied to? Music supervisors are inundated with requests from people they don’t know and therefore don’t care about, every single day of the year – including weekends and most bank holidays. They are bombarded with emails. What makes you different? Stand up and stand out by making genuine connections.
Get it together my friends. Be relevant, get real – focus on the right things. Approach supervisors professionally, treat them like real people – because music supervisors are people too, you know.
But please, whatever you do, don’t write another crappy email…
Aside from being hilarious, Pam Lewis-Rudden is one half of PlutonicGroupSyncs, a boutique sync licensing agency that specialises in writing, producing and searches of music for placement in Television, Films, Advertising, Gaming, Trailers and New Media projects.
Follow Pam here: @PlutonicGrpSync
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