Film and TV
The Russian Doll Soundtrack Feels Like Trying to Take Control in a Chaotic New York (Pitchfork)
In the 24-minute premiere of Natasha Lyonne’s new Netflix show, Russian Doll, you’ll hear the plucky piano and sunny vocals of Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson opener “Gotta Get Up” three times. Though Nilsson is the show’s musical anchor, its soundtrack is curated to exude a certain New York cool – especially the East Village. (See also: Harry Nilsson’s ‘Gotta Get Up’ Surges 2,466% in Streams After Russian Doll Premiere)
2019 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards: Complete Winners List (Billboard)
Music drama A Star Is Born was a big winner of the night, taking home the awards for best music supervision for a film budgeted over $25 million, as well as for best song or recording created for a film for “Shallow.”
How Terence Blanchard Gives Spike Lee’s Movies Their Soul (Vanity Fair)
The Grammy-winning jazz star and composer is up for his first Oscar for his work on Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. It’s long overdue.
Umbrella Academy’s Soundtrack Owes Less Than You’d Think to Gerard Way (IndieWire)
It would make sense for a new show with one of 2019’s most exciting soundtracks to be executive produced by a rock star. But The Umbrella Academy executive producer, comic book writer, and My Chemical Romance co-founder Gerard Way didn’t take too much credit for bringing together the eclectic yet fun musical choices that underscore the darkly comic Netflix superhero drama.
Eight Music Supervisors to Watch: From Gaming’s ‘Redemption’ Soundtracker to Ryan Murphy’s Go-To (Variety)
As music supervision has become a coveted field to get into, these eight Guild of Music Supervisors Awards nominees are at the top of their games.
Film & TV Composer Spotlight: Max Richter (Pop Disciple)
Elegant contemporary classical artist and Emmy nominated composer shares about creating gender delineations within his intense Elizabethan inspired score for Mary Queen of Scots, implementing the devil’s interval and lamenting bass to reflect the grim emotional terrain of Taboo, and his approach in illustrating a 60-year long relationship with stunning piano duets on My Brilliant Friend.
Top TV Song Last Week: February 4th: “Maps” by Freya Ridings | February 15th: “Phantom of the Opera Medley” by Lindsey Stirling (Tunefind)
The last couple of weeks have seen tracks from Grey’s Anatomy and The Umbrella Academy top Tunefind’s popular TV songs list.
Into the Spider-Verse and the Future of Superhero Soundtracks (Red Bull Music Academy)
Tirhakah Love surveys the landscape of music composed for the speculative genre through the lens of the 2018 film.
Netflix’s Sex Education, Led by Al Green’s ‘Tired of Being Alone,’ Reigns on January 2019 Top TV Songs Chart (Billboard)
In 1971, Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone” became the singer’s third entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and his first in the top 40. Nearly five decades later, the song is back on a chart, leading The Hollywood Reporter’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, for January 2019 thanks to its appearance in an episode of Sex Education.
Presenting Pitchfork’s Music and Movies Week (Pitchfork)
All this week, leading up to the Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24, Pitchfork celebrates the magic of movie music with a series of features exploring what happens when moving image meets sound.
Nicholas Britell, composer of 2018’s best movie score, on what you did and didn’t hear (Polygon)
As he ascends to the heights of film music’s most notable names, Polygon caught up with Britell to talk about his start, navigating the movie business, the details that make Beale Street and his other 2018 scores stand out, and where he goes next.
Robert Plant’s Role In Green Book Soundtrack & Other Behind The Scenes Secrets (Forbes)
Green Book director/co-writer and co-producer Peter Farrelly knew he wanted an authentic soundtrack to complement the jazz/classical hybrid of the late pianist Don Shirley that the Oscar-nominated film celebrates.
How TV Pirates Accidentally Pushed a 25-Year-Old Dinosaur Jr. Song to the Top of the Charts in Japan (Gizmodo)
Last week, an alt-rock mystery puzzled the music press. Almost 25 years after its release, the Dinosaur Jr. song “Over Your Shoulder” appeared at number 18 on Japan’s Hot 100 chart, beating out major new releases like Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.”
Oscar-Nominated Songwriters Discuss Craft… and Mysterious Happy Ending to Show’s Song-Axing Controversy (Variety)
Songwriters from three of the five Oscar-nominated songs gathered at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood on Tuesday night to discuss their craft and to touch on, however reluctantly, some ongoing controversies related to the telecast.
Are We in a Golden Age for Experimental Film Scores? (Pitchfork)
More independent films have been utilizing original mood-based scores, from an ever-widening pool of collaborators. New, often experimental, voices have formed a generation of film composers that just might be the antidote to the tired conventions of mainstream movie music.
Gaming
Why Marshmello’s Fortnite Show Will Prove ‘Revolutionary’ for the Music Industry (Rolling Stone)
The numbers attached to the DJ’s in-game appearance are staggering. Epic Games, makers of Fortnite, have now confirmed that the event attracted a record peak concurrent user count (ie. the number of people all playing/watching at one time) of 10.7 million.
Red Dead Redemption 2 composer Woody Jackson conjures Western spirits (LA Times)
Full of haunting strings and atmospheric guitar, Jackson’s score for Red Dead Redemption 2 shares more with the film music of Ennio Morricone and the spooky desert rock of “Kiko”-era Los Lobos; it’s an immersive experience — finely detailed but somehow also defined by negative space.
How Star Stable PC online game extended reach to girls with music label (Venture Beat)
Star Stable is making players’ favorite in-game songs accessible beyond the game, and real-life musicians are representing the characters in the game like Lisa Peterson. Peterson’s first single, “I’ll Be There”, launched on Friday.
Japan’s Man With a Mission Writes Song for Square Enix Video Game Left Alive (Billboard)
Japanese wolf-rockers MAN WITH A MISSION are set to release “Left Alive,” the commercial song for the upcoming Square Enix video game by the same name.
Monstercat’s Roster Is Powering the Entire Xenon Racer Soundtrack (Digital Music News)
Forget about one-off artist and composer deals. Now, we’re seeing entire EDM labels signing contracts with game publishers to create soundtracks for their games.
Capcom Brings Years of Killer Video Game Songs To Spotify (Geek.com)
A key part of Capcom’s rich gaming history is its catalog of killer songs, from lush orchestration to crunchy chip tunes. And you can now enjoy those classic Capcom video game songs on Spotify.
The sound of music: Composers reveal how to collaborate for inspiring results (MCV)
We discuss the unique process of making music for video games with indie and triple-A composers and how developers can improve their collaboration with them.
Video game music composer: Getting your big break (Gamasutra)
How does a newcomer get hired as a game composer? Winifred Phillips puts together some recent research and insights from some top game industry professionals in this article.
Advertising
COVERStories Ep. 2 – Ilana Goldstoff on Using a Bowie Cover for Award-Winning Heineken Campaign (Synchblog)
In this second edition of COVERStories by Coversion, Sizzer Amsterdam’s Ilana Goldstoff talks about using a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” in an award winning Heineken campaign.
Inside the Music and Sound Design of Top Grammys Ads and Google’s CES Roller Coaster (Clios)
Eight Super Bowl spots. Two of the most high-profile Grammy Awards ads. Google’s wild roller-coaster experience at CES. Barking Owl, the Los Angeles-based music and sound design company, has been involved in a slew of interesting projects already this year, and we’re not even out of February.
Sync Story: Ikea/Roy Orbison (Music Week)
Yes, those are sheep flying above rows of beds filled with sleeping ravers in Ikea’s new TV spot. Do not adjust your screens. In celebration of sleep – not to mention its range of bedroom products – the Swedish furniture giant’s new ad imagines a world in which we go to nightclubs to nod off.
Business
Songtradr buys music licensing agency Big Sync Music in multi-million dollar deal (MBW)
The acquisition was a multi-million dollar cash and equity transaction and resulted in Big Sync’s co-founder, Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of Unilever, exiting and becoming a minority shareholder in Songtradr.
Synchtank Featured in Sandbox Magazine’s ‘Sync In’ Issue (Music Ally)
We’re delighted to be featured in Music Ally’s latest Sandbox issue discussing the digital sync tools currently available in the marketplace. Look out for commentary from our CBO Chris Cass.
Symphonic Distribution launches sync licensing arm, Bodega Sync (MBW)
US-based music distribution / label services company Symphonic Distribution has extended its distribution and label services with a sync licensing division called Bodega Sync. In addition to being a standalone full-service sync licensing agency, Bodega will also serve as the sync licensing arm of Symphonic.
Key Takeaways from AIM Sync’s In-House Supervision Panel (Synchblog)
Key takeaways from the ‘In-House Supervision – Broadcasters, Producers and Content Creators’ panel at AIM Sync, including the music selections and licensing processes involved in different productions.
Killer Tracks Teams With Wax Ltd. To Launch New Production Music Label Audio Wax (SHOOT Online)
Killer Tracks, a Universal Publishing Production Music company, has partnered with independent record label Wax Ltd. to launch new production music label Audio Wax. The Audio Wax label will be led by multi-platinum-selling producers/songwriters and Wax Ltd. founders Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry.
Cord Worldwide taps PlayStation audio veteran Alastair Lindsay to converge gaming and music (The Drum)
Sonic branding agency Cord Worldwide has appointed Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Alastair Lindsay as head of audio, leveraging the gaming veteran’s experience for brands and acknowledging the increasing hunger for interactive audio experiences.
Events
MUSEXPO Creative Summit 2019 (LA, March 24th-27th) Focuses On Sync, Licensing
One major topic on the event’s agenda is the sync industry worldwide across film, TV, gaming, trailers, advertising, brand integration and more. Sessions will delve into the creative music strategies of NBCUNIVERSAL and the WALT DISNEY COMPANY, as well as Global Sync & Brands Summit round-table face-to-face meetings.
Don’t forget to consult our list of key music industry and sync conferences for more great events.
New: Jobs
Announcing the new Synchblog jobs board (Synchtank)
Exciting news – we have launched a jobs board on Synchblog to help match the best jobs with the best candidates! Get in touch with us at jobsboard@synchtank.com if you’d like to post a free listing.
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