Music Supervision and Sync News: Lady Gaga • Bohemian Rhapsody • Red Dead Redemption • BMG • More

This month's music supervision roundup from Emma Griffiths at Synchtank surveys the world of film, tv, advertising, gaming, business and more for the best and most interesting synch placements and news.

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By Emma Griffiths of Synchtank

Film and TV

10 Great Movie Music Moments by Michel Legrand (Variety)

From “Windmills of Your Mind” to "Summer of '42" to "Papa Can You Hear Me?," here are clips of key moments when the maestro made us swoon.

Top TV Song Last Week – Feb 11th: “Love Really Hurts Without You” by Billy Ocean | Feb 18th The Woods by The White Buffalo (Tunefind)

The last couple of weeks have seen tracks from Sex Education and The Punisher top Tunefind’s popular TV songs list.

A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody Among Guild of Music Supervisors 2019 Nominees: Exclusive (Billboard)

The awards season is heating up for A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, which earn nominations for next month’s Guild of Music Supervisors Awards in Los Angeles.

Golden Globes: Lady Gaga, Justin Hurwitz Win Music Awards (Variety)

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Lady Gaga and her co-writers won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.

So you want to be a… music supervisor (Creative Review)

Creative Review chats to Catherine Grieves – music supervisor on Killing Eve – about the demands of the job and her route into film and TV.

Music supervisors: Best albums & songs of 2018 (Rollo Grady)

As 2018 came to an end, Rollo Grady asked sixty music supervisors, music producers and music coordinators to list their favorite albums, EPs and songs of 2018.

Memories of Music’s Prime Time (WSJ)

Norman Gimbel composed lyrics for “The Girl From Ipanema” and “Killing Me Softly.” But if you grew up in the 1970s and ’80s, you may be more familiar with his less prestigious songs: the themes to Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley.

The Music Of Roma: Get Familiar With the Oscar-Nominated Film's Soundtrack (Billboard)

Music plays an exceptional role in the Netflix-produced and streamed movie, as music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein recently told Billboard. “All of the music is embedded in the story,” she said. "It’s part of each scene."

Uncharted Music Supervision Territory: Maggie Phillips on Homecoming’s Score of Scores (Synchblog)

To delve into the difficulties presented by Homecoming’s score of scores, we spoke to music supervisor Maggie Phillips about her work on the show.

BAFTA Awards 2019: Music and soundtrack nominees announced (Classic FM)

From Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs to Bradley Cooper’s debut A Star Is Born, here are the film soundtracks selected for this year’s shortlist.

The Latest Trends in Trailer Music and Sound for 2018 (Synchblog)

Trailer music research group Trailaurality take us through the key trends and developments in trailer music over the past year.

Sex Education Will School You in Music, Too (Tunefind)

Sex Education, the new Netflix original series, features a stellar soundtrack bringing together tracks from Beth Ditto, The Smiths, Chip Taylor, Ann Peebles, Bikini Kill and many more.

Music Supervisor Spotlight: Kerri Drootin (Pop Disciple)

Kerri Drootin on tracking down Lucio Battisti’s widow to complete the soundtrack for Master of None, the challenge of getting artists to approve their songs for The Good Place, going out with an expensive bang for The Office series finale, and her most memorable music pitch that was mistaken for an act of terror.

SLC Punk! at 20: The Director, Cast & Music Supervisor Look Back on the Cult Classic (Billboard)

Two decades after its premiere, Merendino, Michael Goorjian (Heroin Bob), Annabeth Gish (Trish), and music supervisor Melanie Miller look back at what made the film a cult classic.

Legacies Soundtrack Features Linkin Park and Avicii Covers for Top TV Songs List (Hollywood Reporter)

Tommee Profitt produced the Linkin Park cover of “In the End” performed by Jung Youth and Fleurie, along with a cover of Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ performed by Fleurie for The CW series Legacies.

2018 Was An Incredible Year For The Soundtrack (Forbes)

On the charts and in our headphones, the musical soundtrack dominated 2018. “Shallow.” “This Is Me.” “All the Stars.” Songs transcended the big screen into radio rotation and streaming playlists, becoming as popular as, well, pop music.

The Breaking Bad Synch That Broke Open ZZK Records (Billboard)

“All of a sudden Breaking Bad happened and Chancha became a star in Argentina, known for that scene [in the desert],” Grant Dull, the label’s founder, said recently in Rio de Janeiro. “For Chancha, it was a before and an after.”

Oscar Music Surprises: No Dolly Parton or First Man, but Terence Blanchard, Gillian Welch Bust In (Variety)

Tuesday’s Oscar music nominations produced some of the day’s biggest surprises (yes to Gillian Welch, no to Justin Hurwitz), inevitabilities (Diane Warren is in, like clockwork) and near-inevitabilities that still produced a sigh of relief (Terence Blanchard, un-snubbed at last).

The 61st GRAMMY Awards nominations 2019 – Complete list (Routenote)

Congrats to music supervisors Robin Urdang, Michael Hill, Brian Ross, and John Houlihan who are nominated for a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Gaming

The Red Dead Redemption 2 Soundtrack Might Be the Biggest Album of 2018 (Rolling Stone)

How a blockbuster video game (which sold nearly 20 million copies in its first weeks on sale) is introducing players around the world to rootsy Americana sounds.

The 10 best video game soundtracks of 2018 (FACT Mag)

FACT picks 10 of the year’s best video game soundtracks, from the grimy, industrial synth backdrop to experimental first-person horror title Paratropic, to the blissed-out accompaniment for retro platformer Celeste and the big budget Old West sounds of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Spending five years composing a game: The music from Below (Polygon)

Capybara Games’ Below took six years to make, and in that period composer Jim Guthrie had an unprecedented amount of time to experiment and find the right sound for the game’s musical score.

Interview: How PES 2019 found its music mojo (Laced Records)

Laced Records spoke to music supervisor Lauren Wilson of sync agency Record-Play about using licensed music to push Pro Evolution Soccer forward.

Video Game Menu Music Gets Its Own Tribute Album (Kotaku)

The Materia Collective community celebrates the music of the start screen with Menu: An Homage To Game Title Themes, a 52 track remix album featuring music from Final Fantasy, The Witcher, Mario Kart, Doki Doki Literature Club and more.

Tips, Tools and Guidance: VR Assets for the Game Music Composer (Gamasutra)

Composer Winifred Phillips updates her list of resources to help video game music composers become more comfortable in the world of VR audio development.

Advertising

Songs for Screens: Cardi B, Chance the Rapper Lead Music-Starring Super Bowl Spots (Variety)

Cardi B, Ludacris and Chance the Rapper are three of the confirmed stars of the Super Bowl commercials, all of whom will be accompanied by a soundtrack of their own music.

Clio Music Awards Opens Entries For Best Creative Work In Music Marketing and Advertising (Hypebot)

Part of the Clio Awards, the global creative and ad community's premier awards show, Clio Music recognizes work spanning artist promotion, music marketing, brand collaborations and the use of music in advertising.

Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ accompanies Budweiser’s next Super Bowl ad (Star Tribune)

Bob Dylan, Minnesota’s musical counterculture icon, has teamed with the famous Clydesdales and loaned one of his signature protest songs for a Budweiser beer television ad scheduled to run during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.

Songs for Screens: Beyond Bohemian Rhapsody, 2018 Was a Record Sync Year for Queen (Variety)

With appearances in nationwide campaigns for Amazon, Ram Trucks, Google, Peloton, Silk Almondmilk and many more, Queen’s music was licensed by more blue-chip brands in 2018 than any other calendar year.

How to Be Your Own Music Supervisor: Notes from DDB Chicago’s Alec Stern (Musicbed)

Alec Stern has placed music for some of the biggest brands in the world, including Jeep, McDonald’s and Miller Lite. Here he offers his advice on how you can do the same and in turn transform your films and make your clients happier than ever.

Business

What Netflix’s ‘choose-your-own-soundtrack’ paradigm reveals about the music industry’s future (MBW)

Cherie Hu discusses what a new, interactive Black Mirror episode on Netflix might mean for licensing, and the wider music business.

Female Composers Are Trying to Break Film’s Sound Barrier (NY Times)

“The numbers are bleak, but the landscape isn’t,” said Laura Karpman, a veteran film composer and a governor in the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Industry Innovator Spotlight: Russell Emanuel (Pop Disciple)

Visionary entrepreneur behind Extreme Music and Bleeding Fingers Music speaks on his punk rock beginnings, his uphill battle to change the industry’s impression of production music, the genesis of his collaboration with Hans Zimmer, and his recent adventures in VR.

Jonathan Palmer joins BMG as Senior Vice President, Creative Synch (MBW)

Based in Los Angeles, Palmer will lead the company’s creative sync teams in both New York and Los Angeles, while working alongside the US and international synch licensing teams.

BMG ups Patrick Joest to Executive Vice President, Global Partnerships & Synch (MBW)

BMG has promoted Patrick Joest to Executive Vice President, Global Partnerships & Synch. Based at BMG’s head office in Berlin, Germany, Joest will report directly to CEO Hartwig Masuch.

Independent labels optimistic about sync opportunities in 2019 (Music Ally)

The UK’s independent-music trade body AIM is preparing for its first AIM Sync global sync-licensing conference, which takes place in London on 28 January. Ahead of the event, some of the speakers told Music Ally about their hopes for sync-licensing in 2019, from an independent perspective.

Tips and Tricks

Music's 'Girls on Film' Share Secrets to Success at REBOOT Industry Workshop for Women (Variety)

Say yes a lot, do your homework on projects in development and think twice about starting out as an assistant. Those were some of the pro tips shared at the fourth installment of the REBOOT women's empowerment workshop series hosted by Pulse Music Group.

How to get into composing library music (M Magazine)

Alongside their Beyond Retro: Library Music’s Unsung Heroes print feature, which ran in their latest issue, M Magazine asked some of the scene’s aficionados to share their top tips for cracking the business.

Top tips for sync licensing (M Magazine)

Ahead of AIM Sync on 28 January, speakers Tim Dellow (Transgressive Records), Emma Lomas (Beggars Group), Pete Beck (Believe), Clemmie Woodhouse (Ninja Tune), Ayla Owen (BBH), Tristan Wilson (Downtown Music Publishing) and Ed Horrox (4AD) offer up some expert advice on the world of sync licensing.

A Music Supervisor’s Guide to Putting Yourself Out There (Spotify for Artists)

As the music supervisor for TV shows like Dear White People and Queen Sugar, Morgan Rhodes is equal parts curator and DJ. We talked to her about where she gets her inspiration, how she finds new artists to work with, and why as an artist you should always be easy to find.

Events

9th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards – February 13th (Los Angeles)

The 9th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards will honor creative achievement in music supervision within the film, television, trailers, and games industries. 15 awards will be presented in the historic Theatre at Ace Hotel during an action packed ceremony complete with celebrity presenters and special music performances to be announced.

MUSEXPO Creative Summit 2019 (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.

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