What Movie Music Supervisors look for

Chances are if you have good music there’s a Movie Music Supervisor looking to sequence it into a TV or Film production right now. Music Supervisors are always on the lookout for fresh new music because it’s the lifeblood of good TV and Film productions. It’s their job to make the Producer happy with a wide range of musical possibilities to choose from. If a producer likes your music you will get the phone call. Most of the Movie Music Supervisors I know are always looking forward to receiving “independent” slip-through-the-cracks music. If you are an independent artists it will be easier to clear you music and License it. Sending samples of your music to Music Supervisors is the best way to do this. Below is a list of things Film Music Supervisors look for in selecting music for TV and Movie Productions.

- Is the music good?

- Is this music compatible to the Movie Production I’m assigned?

- Will it make the Producer happy?

- What Clearance Issues do I have to deal with to get this music contracted?

- How independent is the artist – The less red tape the better.

- My Production deadline is next month – I need a song quickly with no clearance issues in order to make this deadline.

- Can I depend on this artist for future deadlines and productions?

- Does this artist have a wealth of music to choose from in their overall music catalogue?

Dealing with songs isn't a music supervisor’s only responsibility. There are two completely different streams in the film and TV music game: there are the songs, and then there's the underscore, which is completely separate 99 times out of 100 from the songs that are used. Music Supervisors usually have a wide roster of score composers. They pitch them for projects and negotiate deals for them. Despite the numerous win-win scenarios in attaching songs and performers to popular visual media, Music Supervisors are often mystified when they run into resistance – and in some cases, outright rejection – from major record labels and music publishers they've contacted for a piece of music. There's fear, especially with record labels, that their music is going to be magically extricated from its audio track and somehow placed onto some device by an end user. Most Music Supervisors don’t use the entire song anyway. 99 percent of the time your not licensing the whole song. Maybe 30 seconds to a minute of it.

So if you have good music, and you’re an independent artist you already have the advantage. You are free from a labels resistance or getting their cut. Getting your music featured into Movies, Film, and TV is yet another way to get your songs mass exposure, Not to mention it’s another bullet in your growing, Press Pack. and at times can even be even be lucrative.