In this every two week update from the Synchtank team, we’ll review the important placements and major happenings in the wild and wonderful world of music supervision and music sync.
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By Emma Griffiths of Synchtank and their Synchblog
Film and TV
BlacKkKlansman Features an Unreleased Prince Song on the Soundtrack, Spike Lee Reveals (IndieWire)
“I knew that I needed an end-credits song,” Lee told Rolling Stone. “I’ve become very close with Troy Carter, one of the executives at Spotify [and a Prince estate advisor]. So I invited Troy to a private screening. And after, he said, ‘Spike, I got the song.’ And that was ‘Mary Don’t You Weep,’ which had been recorded on cassette in the mid-80s.”
How Music On The Bold Type Helped Make It One Of The Most Talked About Shows Of 2018 (Uproxx)
The music supervisor for the show, Rob Lowry, is something of a fixture in the LA music community. He sits down with Uproxx to discuss what goes into selecting songs that soundtrack each episode, and the importance of being involved with a show like this in 2018.
Casual Had the Best Soundtrack of Any Show on TV (IndieWire)
Series music supervisor Tricia Halloran shares the stories behind some of the Hulu show’s best and most memorable song moments.
Doing bits: How Love Island became the most important TV show in music (Music Week)
Alongside a group of sync experts, Music Week quizzes Love Island’s producers about what makes the show tick when it comes to music.
Will Emmy for Best Music Supervision go to Atlanta, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Stranger Things, This Is Us orWestworld? (Goldderby)
The Music Supervision category at the 2018 Emmys is now one year old, with Big Little Lies winning the inaugural trophy last year. Now in its second year of existence, Best Music Supervision honors the best in television soundtracks.
Songs for Screens: Mass Appeal CEO Talks New Nas Music, Future Biopic and Rap Doc Boom (Variety)
Songs for Screens caught up with Peter Bittenbender to learn more about Mass Appeal’s approach to hip-hop syncs and soundtracks, a glimpse at how the Netflix sausage is made, preview upcoming projects and get the scoop on when more new music from Nas is coming.
30th Anniversary ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop (Pop Disciple)
Pop Disciple shares their recap of the 30th Anniversary ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop. We spoke to Emmy winning composer and mentor, Richard Bellis, the executive producers of the program, Michael Todd and Jennifer Harmon, and all 12 of the 2018 participants.
Scoring with Cheese (ASCAP)
Composers don’t like their work being labeled as “cheesy”. But in this article, composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson explain how they overcame the “cheese” factor inherent to a show based on the beloved AND over-the-top Karate Kid franchise.
How Sharp Objects Created Its Killer Soundtrack (Vulture)
To learn more about the show’s soundtrack, Vulture called up music supervisor Sue Jacobs, who previously worked with director Jean-Marc Vallée on Big Little Lies, which earned her the inaugural Emmy for music supervision. She discussed the importance of Led Zeppelin, how a song can save lives, and the words a music supervisor never wants to hear. (Hint: It also involves Led Zeppelin.)
How HBO’s Insecure Teamed Up With RCA Records and ‘Afropunk’ for Music Discovery (Variety)
Season three, premiering on August 12, will feature a new, independent artist hand-picked by Issa Rae.
Kids’ play: why are children soundtracking our favourite TV shows? (Guardian)
The kid with sophisticated music taste is fast becoming a TV trope, but is this merely a writer’s conceit? Certainly, as tech companies create hardware designed especially for kids (Echo Dot Kids Edition, Spotify Family) it’s not out of the question that a seven-year-old could develop a musical palate beyond Kidz Bop.
Film & TV Composer Interview: Lyle Workman (Pop Disciple)
Incandescent BMI Award winning composer and guitar virtuoso speaks on the honor of collaborating with funk legends Bootsy Collins and Clyde Stubblefield for Superbad, channeling the flavors of Django Reinhardt and The Beatles for Overboard, covering Creedence Clearwater Revival for Sons of Anarchy, and the rush of playing to a crowd of 450,000 on tour with Sting.
The Meg Composer Began Work Before There Was Even a Shark (THR)
For The Meg composer Harry Gregson-Williams, part of the challenge was starting his work before the film’s titular shark was brought to life.
Inside the creation of the thrilling new A Star Is Born soundtrack (Entertainment Weekly)
If you have watched the trailer for A Star is Born, you’ve probably noticed the incredible soundtrack and the vocals by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
The music of The Handmaid’s Tale provides ‘ironic counterpoint’ to show’s dark themes (LA Times)
Handmaid‘s music supervisor Maggie Phillips and showrunner Bruce Miller debated at length as to what song would close out the season.
Gaming
Songs for Screens: How a John Denver Classic Resurfaced Thanks to Fallout 76 (Variety)
Released July 4 as an iTunes exclusive, the cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” featured in the video game’s trailer has accumulated nearly 30 million views.
Is Clubbing in a Video Game Fun? (Pitchfork)
Allowing players to run their own nightclubs is the logical next step for a video game this obsessed with its own musical universe. Developers invited four different DJs to collaborate closely with them: beloved Chicago house producer the Black Madonna, low-key techno duo Tale of Us, big-room techno favorite Solomun, and Dixon, the Berlin club king known for swooning, orchestral sets.
Fallout, Dragon Age Series Composer Inon Zur to Score Fallout 76 (Variety)
Zur has a long history with the “Fallout” franchise. He created music for the third and fourth major installments, the Obsidian Entertainment spinoff “Fallout: New Vegas,” and the turn-based tactical RPG spinoff “Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel.”
It’s in the Game: A Brief History of Rap Music in Video Game Soundtracks (DJ Booth)
From Rap Jam to Def Jam: Vendetta to Fortnite, hip-hop and video games have had a long, intertwined history.
Advertising
Sync Story: Inside Wilson and Money Mark’s collaboration (Music Week)
Roger Federer’s exploits on the tennis court are usually soundtracked by a heady mixture of awestruck gasps and fervent cheering. But in this new sync with Wilson to promote the RF97 racket, the 20-time Grand Slam champion hooks up with Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark, using on-court sounds – punched forehand, the pop of a new can of balls – to create an original song.
UK Top Shazamed ads: August 01: BT Plus, ITV, O2 and Pretty Little Thing | August 08: Missguided struts into sixth place (The Drum)
The Drum’s Shazam chart is based on the number of times each ad has been Shazamed over the past week using the music identification app. Here are the charts from the last couple of weeks.
The most Shazamed ads of the week (US): August 03: Dierks Bentley Helps 5-Hour Energy Break Into This Week’s Most Shazam’d Ads | August 10: Oliver Tree and Jay Z Get Apple and Peloton Into This Week’s Most Shazam’d Ads (Clio)
Every week, Clios.com, in partnership with Shazam, rounds up the most Shazamed ads of the previous week. These are the top spots from August 3rd to August 10th.
Business
Universal Music Group is making TV shows in tandem with Lionsgate (MBW)
Lionsgate will work closely with Polygram Entertainment, UMG’s film and television production and development division, to ‘combine the artistry, stories and recordings’ from labels such as Capitol, Def Jam, Interscope, Island, Republic, Universal Music Nashville, Universal Music Latin Entertainment, Verve, Motown and Blue Note.
Armada Music and Riptide Music Group partner up for sync representation in the US (ONE EDM)
As a result, Riptide Music represents a select number of releases from the Amsterdam-based record label. The label represents artists such as Goldfish, Dirtcaps, Dirtyphonics, Arston, W&W, SAYMYNAME and many others. Tracks are available for licensing in DIVER, Riptide’s division focused on sync representation for record label releases.
BMG Production Music acquires Deep East Music and Tele Music (MBW)
BMG Production Music has acquired independent UK production music company Deep East Music as well as historic French production music label Tele Music.
Atlantic Screen Music Marks 10th Year Anniversary by Acquiring Redfive Creative, A Noted, UK-Based Music Supervision & Sync Company (Mix Online)
As a result of the ASM acquisition of Redfive Creative, the company’s Creative Director, Rupert Hollier, and Music Supervisor, David Fish, are proud to have become part of one of the world’s largest film score soundtrack production entities.
Events
4th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors ‘State of Music in Media’ Conference – September 15th (Los Angeles)
Discuss and explore the current state of music in media and engage in the conversations that will help shape the direction of the industry. This annual event is attended by the world’s top professionals across the sync and music supervision industries.
The PMA’s Production Music Conference (Hollywood)
The PMA’s Production Music Conference is back for a fifth year! Join them on September 26th through 28th, 2018 in Hollywood, CA, where industry leaders in the production music industry will join forces for a day of panels, learning, and networking.
Key Worldwide Music Industry & Sync Events List 2018 (Updated) (Synchblog)
Still on the lookout for music industry events and conferences to attend in 2018? Don’t forget to consult our handy list of worldwide events.
Want to stay up to date with the latest news in sync licensing, music supervision and the music business? Subscribe to the Synchtank Weekly newsletter, out every Tuesday!