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Mathew Steele’s Top Ten Tips for Music Licensing

  1. Have an instrumental version of your songs available.
    When in the post process the audio editor has more to work with if there is an instrumental version of the song.  Sometimes having an instrumental under the dialog of a scene makes it easier to hear the dialog.  Giving the audio editor this option makes it easier for him/her.
  2. Get your songs professional mixed and mastered
    With budgets shrinking across most platforms where music is licensed more and more indie music is being used.  It’s important for the sonic quality to be close to what a major label’s record sounds like.  Many indie songs might fit great for a cue but if the quality of the song isn’t where it needs to be they will run with a song from someone else instead.  Have your song professional mixed and mastered might be the difference on landing a nice paying opening cue rather then it just being used as background music for just a few hundred dollars.
  3. Submit high-res (320kbps) mp3 files and have your 16-bit 44.1 .Wav/Aiff files ready. Also do not attach mp3’s in email but send a streaming links to your music. Private links through Disco, Soundcloud, Box, Dropbox as well as public links to Spotify are still acceptable.
  4. Have lyrics sheets available Submit them with your songs and include the lyrics in the metadata.
  5. Stay away from samples:  If your song contains a sample it has a slim chance of it being placed.
  6. Be sure to register as a writer and publisher with a PRO (ASCAP, BMI & SESAC) so you can collect the performance royalties if your song is placed.  It will take at least 6-months to a year for these to start rolling in.
  7. Metatag/ID3 tag your songswith genre, lyrics, BPM, emotion as well as writers/composers full names and PRO, publishing companies, contact info & album cover.  This is extremely important and when a music supervisor is digging through their catalog including your music it will be simply overlooked if it’s not tagged correctly. You can tag the music in iTunes. Just create a playlist add the songs you want to tag and right click the song and select “Song Info”
  8. Have a clean version for your song available If your music contains explicit material
  9. Have Cover Songs recorded professionally. This can be a great way to get a music supervisors attention. You want to make the song your own by changing the tempo and feel from the original. Upload the cover to youtube and tag it well so if a supervisor comes looking they will find it. Also don’t forget to but your contact info in the description.
  10. Do your research!  If you are submitting for a film, watch other films the music supervisor and director worked on.  Same thing goes for television shows, watch previous seasons or episodes. Tunefind.com can be a great way to find out quickly the kind of music used on projects.

The Increased Prominence of Female Leads in Television and Film

In such as male dominated business the female lead is getting more and more attention then ever. Let’s discuss a few examples.
First let’s have to look at the largest grossing film franchise, The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last year Marvel introduced their first feature film featuring a lead female superhero “Captain Marvel”. Bre Larson who played Captain Marvel said In a speech in 2018, that 64 percent of the reviews for Hollywood’s 100 top grossing movies in 2017 were written by white men. “We’re telling a female story, but it’s not good enough to just be like, ‘You just hired a female lead and then we did it!’,” Larson said. We will also see Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson hitting theaters in May.
DC/Warner Brothers released “Wonder Woman” two year prior to “Captain Marvel” which was the first female-led superhero film in more than a decade, and with Patty Jenkins at the helm, it’s the first to be directed by a woman. Jenkins is just the second female director to make a movie with a budget of more than $100 million (Kathryn Bigelow, with 2002’s K-19: The Widowmaker, was first) and she now holds the record for the largest opening of all time for a female helmer, with Wonder Woman taking in an estimated $100.5 million.
We were also introduced to Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016) who we can expect a feature in 2020 “Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn”
Not just are we seeing female lead superheros but we are also seeing women behind the camera directing these films as well. Five of the biggest titles set for release this year — including all four major superhero movies — will be directed by women: “Birds of Prey” by Cathy Yan, on Feb. 7; “Mulan” by Niki Caro, on March 27; “Black Widow” by Cate Shortland, on May 1; “Wonder Woman 1984” by Patty Jenkins, on June 5; and “Eternals”by Chloé Zhao, on Nov. 6.

Over the past 12 months, the likes of Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Lorene Scafaria (“Hustlers”), Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart”), Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) and Melina Matsoukas (“Queen and Slim”) helped propel the number of female-helmed movies to new heights — some 10.6% of the 100 highest-grossing films of the year were from female directors. In fact, two of the top 10 most successful global releases, “Frozen II” and “Captain Marvel,” were co-directed by women (Jennifer Lee and Anna Boden, respectively). It’s a big jump from 2018 when a meagre 4.5% of the top films were overseen by women.

Now the second highest grossing movie franchise is also taking suit, Star Wars. Rey (Daisy Ridley) from Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) who was also in the two previous films “The Last Jedi (2017)” & “The Force Awakens (2015)”. Rey, a young woman with surprising Force powers, takes over as the lead previously taken by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Rey is a young woman living in the nowhere planet of Jakku as a scavenger. It’s the same diamond in the rough theme repeated in Star Wars as we have seen recently in Rey’s character as Luke who was introduced living on a moisture farm on the desert planet of Tatooine with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

June Osborne from The Handmaid’s Tale is played by Elisabeth Moss. The Handmaid’s tail is set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. It is another major production and is Hulu’s top viewed original show with over 8 million views.

Writer/Producer/Director James Cameron, known for Titanic and Avatar was involved in two movies last year with a female lead, Alita: Battle Angel played by Rosa Salazar and Terminator: Dark Fate which actually featured three female roles. The First is Sarah Connor played by Linda Hamilton who we know from the original two films Terminator & Terminator 2. The second is Grace played by Mackenzie Davis a enhanced cyborg sent from the future and Dani Ramos played by Natalia Reyes. Cameron said “Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female! When asked why are movies still so bad when it comes to depicting truly powerful women? For the first time, Cameron is lost for words. “I don’t – I don’t know. There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made. I think – no, I can’t account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I’m shouting in a wind tunnel!”

Some other recent television shows that featured a lead female are American Horror Story, How to Get Away with Murder, Quantico, Shadowhunters, Jessica Jones, Claws & Once Upon a Time.

Not just are we seeing and increase of lead females and directors but we are seeing more female music supervisors. Women are absolute dominating music supervision. Some examples would be Andrea Von Foerster who has worked on “Yellowstone” 2018-2020, “Queen of the South” 2017-2019, “500 Days of Summer” 2009 and “Daybreak” 2019. Mary Ramos who has worked exclusively with Quentin Tarantino including in his film released last year “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” and some some other films such as “Marshall” 2017 and the upcoming film “Stillwater” featuring Matt Damon coming out later this year. Another music supervisor, Lauren Marie Mikus who was a guest speaker we had at our event: Panel and Pitch, in Atlanta May 21st 2017 has worked with director Terrence Malick on films such as “Tree of Life” (2011) and “Song to Song” (2017) as well as a few other films such as “Swiss Army Man” (2016) and” Green Room” (2015). Jen Malone is another superstar in music supervision working on such projects as “Creed II” (2018), “Atlanta” (2016-2018) and “Euphoria” (2019).

Music from Better Call Saul Two-Episode Debut

Music supervisor Thomas Golubić teams back up with Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan for the new AMC show Better Call Saul.

The first episode opens with the Ink Spots “Address Unknown”

and features Dave Porter’s fantastic score and also Massimo Ranieri “Se Bruciasse La Cittá” in the nail salon

and Dutch artist Shook’s funky “Milestones” during the skateboard scam.

Episode 2 features Esquivel’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” in the broken breadsticks sequence,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7EwAnSB8o

and a home-built ‘All That Jazz’ “It’s Showtime” homage with more Jimmy McGill scale instrumentation.

Main title created for the show by the UK’s Little Barrie.

The Art Of Music Supervision And Its Requirements

The art of music supervision has enhanced and made many advertisements, dialogues, movies, television plays, specials and many other venues more epic and emotionally satisfying. The talented people who pursue this occupation are inconspicuous for the most part, but their talent shines as the background music and themes thrill viewers as they listen.

A music supervisor is an individual who combines video media with music. Another, more lengthy definition could be stated as: a professional who is qualified and oversees all related music parts of film, television, advertising, video games and any other aspects of current or upcoming visual media sources.

This person has to have a vast knowledge and research capabilities of music in all forms from rock to symphony and opera, and must possess or be able to acquire a very much in depth the art of music negotiation and licensing. Previously recorded music is the usual recommendation of music to a director of a theater production, movie, or television venue. Advertisement, video games, promotions and trailers are some of the other areas that would apply as well.

The individual who is in charge of the art of music supervision is really the go-between and the chief negotiator between the spectrum of creation and the business ends of the music business. If the director approves a piece of music such as a song, or an orchestral musical score, then the publisher or artist of that music must be approached to secure the rights to use the music. The financial details are then discussed and also the arrangement and how the music will be used are discussed.

This is a very important position because the music supervisor must have great negotiating skills and superb musical acumen in order to work things out with both parties.

The scope of the use of music accompaniment in almost everything seen by the public is enormous. Everything from public events, movies, video games, theatre, television, and advertising requires the necessity for this talent. Music supervisors will work for or with networks, studios, and production companies or do work on a freelance basis.

The responsibilities of a person who practices the art of music supervision could be said to include everything in the process of securing and overseeing the addition of adding music to these venues. That is close to being the truth.

In summary the music supervisor must negotiate the contracts as previously stated, and must also create the credits to be displayed showing the artists and producers, as well as be in charge of collecting and paying royalties. The music supervisor must work within a budget, often 5% or less of the total budget for the whole project.

The background required of a successful music supervisor is daunting. He or she must have a passion for research in the musical genre. Education resulting in a bachelor of fine arts degree, coupled with business and legal education are excellent skills that would serve a music supervisor well. The key musical skills are not performing, writing and editing so much as a broad background in all types of music. Ability to research is a skill that comes to the forefront.   Skill in negotiation and interpersonal people skills are vital. If a music supervisor has a legal background  it will be a very useful skill in this profession.

Why You Should Hire A Music Licensing Company

To most people, the term “music licensing” is related to the world of famous musicians and musical artists under the control of huge corporations. But for someone who makes their own music outside of the mainstream, music licensing companies can often be the difference between making a name for yourself, or fading into obscurity. Thanks to the internet and social networking more and more artists are dedicating themselves to the craft with the hope of becoming famous, but they often find it is far more difficult than they thought. Obviously, an artist dedicates themselves to their craft, expending a great deal of time and effort, but in order to reap the benefits you need to be heard by a wider audience. This is where music licensing comes in.

With music licensing, you are able to have your musical product marketed to the world in the best light possible. You will have access to tools, people and markets that you would not have had otherwise. One of the most lucrative licensing you can acquire is anything related to various arms of the entertainment industry including radio, television, independent films, commercials, even video games. A music licensing company can help your music get into the right hands, and as a result more people will hear your work.

Getting your foot in the door on your own is virtually impossible. This is because there are so many thousands of artists trying to get attention at the same time, and this in turn increases competition. Luck will not get you to the top, it is those with the right people behind them. Music licensing protects your product, promotes your product, and the results will far exceed anything you could have done on your own.

Most reputable music licensees only make money when you do, therefore if a licensing company asks you for money up front this should set off a mental alarm. If the company likes your product they will promote it based upon your talent, and because they know that with the right backing you can make them – and yourself – money. Do not consider licensing as a form of “selling out”. You want people to hear your music, and you want to make money from it.

When searching for the right company, check their references, and ask for names of some of their other customers so that you can inquire about their experience. If the company is as they represent themselves to you, then you will have found a company that can protect your material, market you properly, and get you the notoriety you deserve.

The benefits of hiring a music licensing company are immense. If you are a struggling musical artist who desires a wider audience you need to take advantage of this opportunity right away. Your success may depend on it.

Independent Artists Submit your Music To High Quality Tracks To Music Supervisors

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