The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference in Los Angeles opened today (Oct. 27) with numerous tips from composers and music supervisors who spend their days sifting through music submissions. Here are five takeaways from the opening day of the conference.
1.There are many different mediums for music licensing, from reality shows to network TV to sport teams. But that’s not all good news for musicians. Fees are dropping substantially. William Derella, president of DAS Communication and the personal manager of Natasha Bedingfield, whose music has been featured in “Easy A” and “Eastenders,” among others, said a few years ago it wasn’t unusual to see seven-figure deals. These days, there’s more of a ceiling on price, particularly in televison. For one TV show, panel host John Houlihan, music supervisor on “Letters for Juliet,” said he’d recently been quoted $250 for a song. Music supervisor Ralph Sall said he was offered $500 a song for Showtime’s “Weeds” before it started. At the same time, what is low varies quite a bit — can be as much as $25,000, said Brooke Primont, Razor & Tie VP of music placement and licensing. Because of the price cuts, music supervisors are turning to indie musicians more. At the same time, labels are cutting their fees to match indies.
2. Know how to submit your music. Music supervisors on morning panel Real Time Critique said they get 80 album submissions a day, and that they rarely listen to a full song. To stand out, or just get a listen, artists should be sure to include contact information even in the metadata on the CD. One album submission was tossed without a listen during the panel because there was no contact information. Musicians should also be sure that the album art matches the music and has a professional look. E-mail a streaming music link and send a CD since supervisors tend to prefer one or the other. Oh, and skip the shrink-wrap.
3. Target, target, target. Panelists on almost every panel today said it’s important for artists and managers to Google music supervisors to learn what they’re working on. They should also investigate the type of music they use in the TV show, sports program, videogame or whatever project you’re pitching. EA’s Steve Schner said he’s constantly pitched music with “football” themes in the lyrics for Madden Sports, though they’ve never used a song with football in it for 10 years. “Time is tight,” John Houlihan said. Musicians can build relationships with supervisors by submitting music targeted to their projects.
4. Know when to license music for free, and when not to. Atlantic Records Group executive VP Kevin Weaver said they give music away “because they see tangible results.” A song used on a TV show can result in 1,500% spike in hits, Google searches and sales. But Angela Rose White, president/founder of DaBet Music Services, cautioned artists to think about their livelihood and career longevity before giving music away. GTM music supervisor Maureen Crowe says she doesn’t use free music but is being undermined by artists giving music away.
5. Exposure in film and TV translates to sales. Bedingfield’s song “Pocketful of Sunshine” was heard by 50 million people through partnerships before it hit the radio. MTV’s “The Hills,” Derella said has been an “amazing music mover.” Atlantic Records’ artists Rocket to the Moon saw 200,000 single downloads of a song they licensed to MTV’s “Teen Mom” season finale. Bedignfield’s manager said they sometimes license a song more than once, “for reach and connection.”
For full coverage from The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Film and TV Music Conference click here.
