Film and TV
Da 5 Bloods Composer on Spike Lee’s Vision, Marvin Gaye’s Message & Hollywood’s POC Blindspot (Variety)
Composer Terence Blanchard has collaborated with Spike Lee for over 30 years, going back to 1991 when the director tapped him to score Jungle Fever.
Da 5 Bloods Playlist Features Songs from the Film and Commentary from Director Spike Lee (/Film)
“All the music in this film is very important to me,” Spike Lee says on this Da 5 Bloods playlist “From the very beginning, I understood the power of music. The power of music with images…music is essential to a Spike Lee Joint.”
‘Bad Boys’: The Writer of the Cops Theme Song Wishes You Knew More Than the Chorus (Rolling Stone)
“You have to look at the song itself,” Inner Circle bassist-songwriter Ian Lewis says. “What is the song saying? How is it being misconstrued?”
Top TV Song Last Week: June 3rd – “Look What You Made Me Do” by Jack Leopards & The Dolphin Club | June 9th: “Don’t Look Back (feat. Kotomi & Ryan Elder)” by Rick and Morty (Tunefind)
The last two weeks have seen tracks from Killing Eve and Rick and Morty top Tunefind’s popular songs list.
In Conversation with Mzwandile Sibanda: ‘We wanted to provide Blood & Water with music that’s at a high level and helps enhance the story’ (OkayAfrica)
Meet the team behind the music from the South African Netflix Original, Blood & Water.
Ramy Youssef on How His Sitcom Uses Music to Tell a Millennial Muslim Story (Pitchfork)
The soundtrack plays a big role in conveying the inner worlds of Ramy’s character, who navigates between religious tradition and millennial modernity, morality and sin, American life and his Egyptian culture.
Behind the music of Killing Eve with Catherine Grieves and David Holmes (Music Week)
Since series one, Grieves and Holmes have enjoyed crafting a soundtrack to match the intensity and darkness of Killing Eve’s bloodthirsty storyline, showing new possibilities for syncing music to picture in the process.
Lennie Niehaus, Who Set Eastwood’s Films to Music, Dies at 90 (New York Times)
After a high-profile stint as a saxophonist and arranger with Stan Kenton’s big band, he found new opportunities in Hollywood as a film and television composer.
Insecure Season 4 Soundtrack Is Here for Your Weekend Listening (Hypebeast)
Ahead of the season finale this Sunday, HBO, Raedio and Atlantic Records have released the season 4 soundtrack in full, with tracks from Yung Baby Tate, Kirby, Jidenna and more.
Film Score Pioneer Max Steiner Is Ripe for Rediscovery, with the Help of a New Biography (Variety)
Composer Max Steiner, whose scores for King Kong, Gone With the Wind and Casablanca placed him in the movie-music pantheon, isn’t much discussed today.
The I May Destroy You Soundtrack Features a Slew Of Female MCs (Bustle)
Arabella’s story is about the chaotic, propulsive present, and the music of I May Destroy You keeps you locked in the right now.
Midem Digital Edition Keynote: Sync with Lynn Fainchtein & Jesper Gadeberg (Midem)
In this online conversation, Lynn Fainchtein (The Revenant, Roma) & advertising specialist Jesper Gadeberg (Michel Gondry, TRAKTOR) will share concrete insights on their successful careers as Music Supervisor for Film/TV & Ad formats, also sharing their thoughts on the actual impact Covid-19 has on their daily role.
Tips and Tricks
Guide To Get Heard By A Music Supervisor (Hypebot)
Music supervisors are constantly bombarded by artists trying to get their particular tracks featured – so what do you have to do to stand out from the crowd?
Sync Licensing Community Providing Free Online Course To Musicians (OffBeat)
The Sync Licensing Community is providing musicians with free access to an online music licensing course, as well as online access to the Sync Community.
Gaming
In Celebration of Black Videogame Composers, Part 1 (Paste)
The overwhelming volume of Black composer excellence that’s been sent my way this week is undeniable, from chiptune jams to electrifying RPG battle tracks and the chilliest of songs about magical girls and cats.
How music shapes the way we play video games (Mashable)
“The images tell the story, but the music tells you how to feel,” video game composer Grant Kirkhope said in a phone call with Mashable.
How Streets Of Rage 4 Reimagined Gaming’s Most Iconic Rave (NPR)The Streets of Rage video game franchise was known for its cutting edge, club-inspired soundtrack. Composer Olivier Deriviere set out to recapture that magic in “Streets of Rage 4.”
Are video games the future of live music? (gamesindustry.biz)
Travis Scott’s concert in Fortnite grabbed the headlines, and suggested a way forward for a music industry hit hard by COVID-19.
Mobile game developer Gismart launches partnership programme to create new revenue for musicians (Music Week)
The company will offer artists a range of opportunities including lookalike in-game characters and in-game content to music and merchandise integrations and more. Partners will also receive a profit share of the game.
Advertising
Why Aren’t We Making Better Use of Music in Advertising? (MUSE by Clio)
Music has always been an expression of culture, and the advertising space has been capitalizing, commoditizing and annexing this cachet for some time. Ad music certainty hasn’t altered in a while, and it should aim to remain relevant, as it has in the past.
Striking the right note: Why brands are sounding the same during the Corona-crisis (DigitalArts)
Close your eyes and listen – if you’ve had commercial TV on in the background or the radio during your daily lockdown routine, you may have found yourself listening to the brand soundtrack to the Coronavirus crisis.
Business
Meet the Team Behind Issa Rae’s Growing Raedio Music Empire (Synchblog)
We chat to the team behind our client Raedio, the “audio everywhere company” launched by Issa Rae that’s changing the game for artists and creators.
Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for the Sync Sector (Synchblog)
As the world gradually starts opening up again, here are some of the key areas that are worth the attention of the sync sector.
US publishers pulled in $3.7bn during 2019 – just over half what record labels made (MBW)
“Sync is continuing to benefit from a lot of the landmark deals the NMPA and publishers have done, which means a lot of the mass synchronization revenue is really starting to pay off”, said NMPA CEO David Israelite.
ViacomCBS Ups Bruce Gillmer To Newly Created Post, President Of Music, Reporting To CEO (Deadline)
ViacomCBS has named longtime exec Bruce Gillmer to the newly created position of President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events effective immediately and reporting directly to CEO Bob Bakish, who continues to make his mark on the newly merged company.
How We Work Now: Concord Music Publishing Senior VP Synchronization Brooke Primont (Billboard)
In a series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now. This installment is with Brooke Primont, Concord Music Publishing’s senior vp of synchronization.
SyncFloor launches licensing platform, including podcasts (Music Ally)
Yesterday, SyncFloor announced its public launch with some details. It’s a sync-licensing platform, with a catalogue of music from independent labels for use in TV, film, games, advertisements and podcasts.
Coronavirus Sync Resources and Virtual Events
Guild of Music Supervisors Unveils Summer Panels Featuring Tastemakers From Insecure, Mrs. Maisel, More (Variety)
The Guild of Music Supervisors has unveiled its summer panel series lineup featuring many of the top musical tastemakers and composers working across television and streaming platforms today.
GMS Weekly Online Educational Panel Series in Collaboration with Mondo
The Guild of Music Supervisors have launched a free weekly online educational series featuring top music supervisors, composers and artists. While geared for students, it is open to all. Don’t forget to catch any panels you miss on Mondo’s YouTube channel.
The Ivors Academy’s Remote Recording Directory
A free and open database to connect composers for film, TV and games with professional musicians able to record from home has been launched by The Ivors Academy.
Sync Summit’s Sync Cafe
SyncSummit is hosting a Sync Cafe Daily Chat at 1PM ET to bring everyone together during the Coronavirus crisis so we can come together, speak about music, business and life. If you want to take part, just fill out the form below for access.
The Guild of Music Supervisors Canada hosts virtual 1:1 meetings with music supervisors
The Guild of Music Supervisors Canada is offering Canadian musicians the opportunity to virtually meet with Music Supervisors across the country.
Marché du Film Online: Spot the Composer – June 22nd – 26th
This year, join the Marché du Film Online from 22 to 26 June 2020, and join our online event Spot the Composer. Spot the Composer invites film music composers and their artistic agents to meet via one-to-one online sessions film directors and producers looking for original music for their projects.
For more events check out our comprehensive list of music industry conferences which is regularly updated to include virtual events:
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