Film and TV
Every Song In Mindhunter Season 2 Is As Killer As You’d Expect (Refinery 29)
The soundtrack features a smattering of better and lesser known tracks from the time, ranging from underground hits such as “The Overload” by the Talking Heads to more popular songs like “Call Me” by Blondie.
Hitting the Trifecta: How Pop-Up Music Scored a Triple Tarantino Sync (Synchblog)
We catch up with Mark & Jim from Pop-Up Music who recently won the sync jackpot, landing three placements in the latest Tarantino movie, Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood.
Ennio Morricone May Reclaim Copyright to Film Scores, Judge Rules (Pitchfork)
An appellate court has ruled on Wednesday that iconic film composer Ennio Morricone may reclaim the rights to his film scores. Morricone sued Bixio Music Group in 2016 in an attempt to regain the copyrights to six of his film scores from the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Top TV Song Last Week – 4th August: ‘All For Us’ by Labrinth and Zendaya | 16th August: ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’ by Roxy Music (Tunefind)
Tracks from Euphoria and Mindhunter have taken the top spots over the last couple of weeks.
The Emmys Allowed Music Supervisors In, But Tension With the TV Academy Remains (Variety)
It’s been a long road to Television Academy acceptance for music supervisors. This year, music supervisors can vote in all seven music categories, thrilling some, enraging others.
Lady Gaga, Post Malone Among 2019 World Soundtrack Awards Nominees (Variety)
Along with Oscar-winning song “Shallow,” Post Malone’s “Sunflower,” which appears on the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, is nominated for best original song written for a film.
Euphoria Dominates July’s Top TV Songs List, Plus HBO’s Big Little Lies, Last Chance U (THR)
HBO took eight out July’s ten spots for Top TV Songs from the soundtracks of Euphoria season one and Big Little Lies season two.
Hear Charli XCX’s New Song ‘Miss U’ From 13 Reasons Why Soundtrack (Rolling Stones)
Charli XCX has contributed a new song, “Miss U,” to the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack. The release of “Miss U” and the soundtrack coincides with the Netflix series’ Season 3 premiere Friday.
The End-Credits Songs Forever Burned Into Former Movie-Theater Employees’ Brains (Vulture)
An ex-movie theatre employee recalls end-credit songs that have dug into his brain after repeated listens.
Music Supervisor Spotlight: Steven Gizicki (Pop Disciple)
Formidable Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated music supervisor speaks on his wild juggling act to bring the magic of musical theater to life on FX’s Fosse/Verdon.
How Sesame Street Started a Musical Revolution (New York Times)
Fifty years ago, the television show united children’s education, puppetry and songs. Pop stars have been singing the Muppets’ tunes (and vice versa) ever since.
The Untold Story Of The Creepy Charles Manson Song In Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood (Stereogum)
Tarantino’s longtime music supervisor, Mary Ramos, confirmed that it’s a real Manson song. “And just to let you know, because even considering using that, we wanted to … find out what happens if this is used, where the money goes,” Ramos emphasized.
Red Right Hand: how Nick Cave’s song gave Peaky Blinders its sinful, villainous heart (The Telegraph)
“It was already one of their biggest songs [before Peaky Blinders],” says David McGinnis, head of global music sync marketing and licensing for Cave’s record label, Mute.
How Explosions In The Sky Became the Sound of Film and Television (TexasMonthly)
Since their song “Your Hand In Mine” was used as the instantly-recognizable theme of the Friday Night Lights film in 2004, Explosions In The Sky have become a pervasive mainstream presence in movies, TV shows, and commercials, with an influence that’s rippled far beyond their own licensed tracks.
Disney Music Group Jumps Into Podcasting With ‘For Scores’ Interview Series (Billboard)
For Scores, an interview series featuring composers working in film, television and games with ties to the company, will debut this Friday, Aug. 23, with a kickoff at the D23 Expo gathering of Disney superfans in Anaheim.
Music Supervisor Spotlight: Robin Urdang (Pop Disciple)
Elite Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated music supervisor returns to discuss how they authentically rendered 1959 Jewish summer resort culture in the Catskills for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and more.
Scoring Serengeti: Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory on Writing for Baboons, Hyenas and Lions (Billboard)
Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s narration anthropomorphizes the animals to heighten the emotion. Also adding to the tension and drama is Will Gregory’s expansive score, which spans multiple musical styles including 1970s cop shows and traditional African vocalizations.
Thom Yorke Shares New Song “Daily Battles” From Edward Norton Movie Motherless Brooklyn (Pitchfork)
The new song, which features Yorke’s Atoms for Peace bandmate Flea, came about after Norton directly reached out to the Radiohead frontman.
Hear John Coltrane’s Previously Unreleased ‘Blue World’ From 1964 Soundtrack Session (Rolling Stone)
Recorded in 1964 and largely unreleased until now, the 37-minute session was intended as a soundtrack for Le chat dans le sac (“The Cat in the Bag”), a film by the Quebecois director Gilles Groulx.
Gaming
Vintage guitars, sneezing sheep and artificial intelligence: How the shifting soundtrack of Red Dead Redemption 2 was built (The Telegraph)
“We worked hard to create a system that would feel responsive and reactive to player actions and the situations they find themselves in while exploring the world,” says Alastair MacGregor, Audio Director at the Edinburgh-based Rockstar North.
Major Lazer Remixes Fortnite Soundtrack and Releases New In-Game Skins (Variety)
Major Lazer, one of Diplo’s many creative outlets, has teamed up with Fortnite to offer fans access to a unique character skin and new remixes of the game’s Default Dance track.
As Games Get More Systemic, Composing Music For Them Is Getting Harder (VICE)
How branching narratives run counter to the ways linear narratives are scored.
BTS’ Agency Big Hit Acquires Superb Gaming Company (Billboard)
Superb said it would develop new games using Big Hit’s music and intellectual property, with Superb co-CEO David Kim calling it a “new opportunity for everyone.” Big Hit founder and CEO Bang Si-hyuk echoed that sentiment.
6 Skills You Need to Compose Video Game Soundtracks, According to the Pros (Reverb)
From the basic concepts behind game audio to the nitty-gritty of implementing interactive music systems, this article will get you started on the right path to making the next great soundtrack.
Advertising
How Absolut Found the Perfect Endorser in Lizzo (Muse by CLIO)
The campaign launched with a 30-second spot and two :15s showing Lizzo (and her “Big Grrrls”) singing “Juice” and dancing in monochromatic environments that match the product’s strawberry and apple flavors.
Jeep Visits NBC’s Songland, Using Winning Songwriter’s Tune for New Campaign (Adweek)
Jeep execs wanted to “reinvent the notion of placement” by weaving its brand into every part of the competition while steering clear of unscripted TV tropes like logo slapping and product displays.
‘Hello Tomorrow,’ the Song From Spike Jonze’s Famous Adidas Ad, Gets an Upbeat Remake (Muse by CLIO)
To celebrate its merger with Nylon Studios and the formation of expanded commercial music and marketing firm Squeak E. Clean Studios, Sam Spiegel and his team have remade the song for a music video that pairs clips of the company’s crew at work with archival footage from NASA.
Business
Warner Records names Claudia Butzky SVP of Brand Partnerships, Strategic Marketing & Commercial Sync Licensing (MBW)
Based in Los Angeles, Butzky will report to Tom Corson, Co-Chairman & COO, Warner Records. Butzky joins Warner Records from RCA Records, where she was Senior Vice President, Global Brand Partnerships.
The Music Playground promotes Deborah Cally (Music Week)
LA-based Cally is responsible for creative pitching, deal negotiations and business development, and has helped place or create music across thousands of TV shows, advertisements, trailers, promos, films and other media.
FirstCom partners with iconic Capitol Studios for production music label (Newscast Studio)
FirstCom Music, a division of Universal Publishing Production Music, is entering into a new production music partnership. Dubbed Capitol Studio Masters, the new label will “represent the spirit of Capitol’s history with relevant music spanning virtually every generation and every genre.”
Jobs
Sync Temp – Downtown Music Publishing (New York)
Downtown is seeking a Sync Temp to join their team in New York for a 6 month contract period. This position will report into and work closely with their Sync Playlist Assistant and Catalog Operations Coordinator.
Sync Assistant – Decca Music Group (LA)
This role supports the Decca Music Group VPs, Sync in LA and the Creative Licensing Manager, Sync in London on a day to day basis, covering both the Decca labels and Decca Publishing.
For more positions check out our music industry jobs board. To post a listing for free get in touch at jobsboard@synchtank.com.
Events
Guild of Music Supervisors 5th Annual ‘ State of Music in Media’ Conference – September 14th (Los Angeles)
Join the Guild of Music Supervisors for a full day of educational panels and an evening of networking and live music performances.
Production Music Conference – September 23rd – 26th (Los Angeles)
The PMA’s Production Music Conference is back for our sixth year! Join us on September 23rd through 26th, 2019 in Hollywood, CA, where industry leaders in the production music industry will join forces for a day of panels, learning, and networking.
Music for Screens Summit – October 29th (Los Angeles)
Variety’s Music for Screens Summit hosts the creators and greenlighters behind the entertainment offerings at the intersection of music and visual media. Over 50 industry leaders converge to discuss the changing landscape of screen scoring for TV, film, video games and more.
A2IM SynchUp – October 30th (Los Angeles)
This day will be rich with networking, panels, discussions, and one-on-one meetings. Attended by music supervisors, independent record labels, publishers, DSPs and more, this is a premier private music industry event.
Don’t forget to consult our List of Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events for more conferences
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