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
Girls helped breathe new life into TV’s music (Decider)
From its breathless dialogue to its never-ending catalogue of outfits that border the line between childhood and adulthood, the HBO divisive show has always been about insecurity. However, it’s Girls’ soundtrack that firmly grounds the show’s liminal characters.
Why the best new music premieres on television, not radio (Quartz)
Haunting, elegiac, mired in nostalgia—the first thing you notice about Big Little Lies, as star-filled and visually artful a show it is, is the music.
Lord Huron’s ‘The Night We Met’ leads THR’s top TV songs chart for March (Billboard)
Indie rock group Lord Huron leads THR’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind and Shazam, for the second time, as “The Night We Met” debuts atop the chart after its appearance in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.
How music on TV actually works, according to The Leftovers and FNL music supervisor (Pitchfork)
At the helm of these winking choices is music supervisor Liza Richardson, whose highlight reel includes music-heavy TV shows like Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, and Narcos.
The 10 best TV show soundtracks you have to hear right now (Movieones.top)
In our current New Golden Age of TV we’ve entered a brave new world for the possibilities of music in original programming.
Big Little Lies standout Michael Kiwanuka: TV is perfect for artists who don’t fit into the radio ‘mold’ (Next Big Sound)
Right around February 19, when Big Little Lies premiered, things started “going crazy” on Kiwanuka’s social media feeds. And that’s when he realized that “Cold Little Heart’ provided the musical pulse to the opening credits.
Interview with Maggie Phillips, music supervisor (Moonlight, Fargo, Legion) (Brooklyn Vegan)
Her credits include this year’s Best Picture Oscar Winner, Moonlight, not to mention acclaimed series Togetherness, Amazon’s Patriot, HBO’s twisted animated series Animals, FX’s ambitious X-Men-related Legion, and FX’s Fargo.
The Get Down Part 2 soundtrack is a “Baz Luhrmann extravaganza”, according to producer Nelson George (Bustle)
The Get Down Part 2 is now streaming, and a lot of the hype around its release was about the musical numbers. But the soundtrack of Part 2 promises to be one of the better adjustments made between the two halves of The Get Down.
The Leftovers Season 3: Will new music supervision Emmy category be salvation for snubbed series (Gold Derby)
The final season of The Leftovers premiered Sunday night to rave reviews, scoring a 98 on Metacritic. Unsurprisingly, the show’s writers, directors and actors have been roundly praised — as has music supervisor Liza Richardson.
Watch Tyler, The Creator discusses his theme song for Netflix’s new Bill Nye show (Fader)
Bill Nye Saves The World, Netflix’s new program hosted by scientist Bill Nye, will premiere on April 21 along with a new theme song by Tyler, The Creator.
Anatomy of a Disney musical: Composer reveals process of creating iconic songs (ABC News)
Alan Menken is the hidden face behind some of Disney’s most iconic musicals, including Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
Last week in film and TV music – 12 April 2017 (Tunefind)
Welcome to Last Week, with links to our favorite stories about film & TV music over the past week (or so), featuring favorite TV soundtracks and tons of sync insights…
A history of The Simpsons on Billboard’s charts (Billboard)
In addition to its TV accolades, the series has spurred four albums on the Billboard 200, plus hit songs, including an entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song in Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger trailer provides the perfect soundtrack for the gritty show (Bustle)
The preview has the perfect mix of intimacy, danger, and teenaged angst, and the song featured in the Cloak & Dagger trailer is the perfect soundtrack for this gritty show.
100th episode: Scandal‘s best music moments (Tunefind)
Olivia’s (and Eli’s) classic record collection has taken us on a spin through some of music’s greatest talents. Here are some of the Tunefind fan favorite songs from the past 99 episodes of Scandal.
Inside the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 soundtrack (Rolling Stone)
From Fleetwood Mac to Jay and the Americans, here’s an exclusive look at what’s on “Awesome Mix Vol. 2,” and why.
Led Zeppelin is Hollywood’s new secret weapon (Film School Rejects)
They’re big, they’re bold, and they’re Hollywood’s new secret weapon when it comes to blockbuster titles.
13 Reasons Why: Music is central to the story (Tunefind)
One of the draws is the show’s music and Tunefind has seen a surge of users searching for tracks they hear on screen. They connected with Music Supervisor Season Kent to learn more about the music used in the show.
Fast and Furious 8 soundtrack – eight explosive new songs to check out now (NME)
Some of hip-hop’s biggest names wrote new tunes exclusively for the film. Here are eight of the most explosive that match the action on-screen.
Gaming
How an offbeat video game got 100 Japanese bands to write soundtrack (Fast Company)
Getting more than 100 bands on board for such a project is unheard of. And in Japan, where the music and video game industries seldom collaborate at all, the very idea seems preposterous.
The remastered Ninja Garden soundtrack proves there’s more to game music than nostalgia (Verge)
But for a number of game soundtracks, including the likes of Ninja Gaiden on the NES, there’s more to their appeal than nostalgia — it’s just good music, game or no game.
Advertising
Sync Story: Inside MailChimp, Alex Cowan and Joshua Williamson’s new campaign (Music Week)
London-based music supervisors Ricall commissioned an original song – written by musicians Alex Cowan and Joshua Williamson – to be sung by a shrimp to a postboy from inside a sandwich he’s eating at work.
UK Top Shazamed Ads: April 11 | April 18 (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): April 10 – April 16 (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 April 10 – April 16.
Imagine Dragons’ ‘Believer’ climbs to no. 1 on top TV commercials chart for March (Billboard)
Imagine Dragons’ latest hit “Believer” climbs to the top of Billboard & Clio’s Top TV Commercials chart, powered by Shazam, for March, thanks to its appearance in Nintendo’s “Switch” commercial.
Mark Ronson partners with Lexus to launch the new LC flagship coupe (Music Week)
The campaign, named Make Your Mark, is intended to introduce the new model and a new era for the brand over the course of six months and will deliver a range of exciting content and experiences for customers and fans.
Business
Former Universal Music Publishing exec launches new publishing and sync company (Music Week)
Becca Gatrell, former head of film and television at Universal Music Publishing, has launched a new company aimed at providing songwriters with a wide range of publishing, sync and music supervision services.
Spirit Music Group promotes Jason Rezvan to Director of Advertising (Spirit Music Group)
Synchtank client Spirit Music Group has promoted Jason Rezvan to Director of Advertising. In his new role, Rezvan will be responsible for synch placements with a focus on advertising.
Tips and Tricks
“There’s no such thing as a more sync-able track than another” – music supervisor Jenny Ring (Midem blog)
How can you get your music alongside big brands like H&M? Ask the music supervisor of Swedish advertising agency Forsman & Bodenfors.
Events
Free Webinar: From Pitch to Placement: The Essentials of Sync Licensing (Online, April 25th)
Thanks to the success of our first webinar in association with our friends at Women in Music, we’re running another one later this month! Join us to hear the best practices for preparing your catalogue for licensing, tips for pitching succesfully, building relationships with music supervisors, and much more.
Applications to the 13th Sync Licensing Mission to Los Angeles now open
Music companies and individuals looking to participate in the 13th LA Sync Licensing Mission hosted jointly by the BPI, the Music Publishers Association (MPA) and Department for International Trade (DIT) have until 23rd April to submit their applications.
Looking for a more comprehensive breakdown of events? Check out our list of key worldwide music industry and sync events in 2017.
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