Everyone knows that licensing music for movies and television shows can provide excellent returns – not only monetary but also in exposure. Music Supervisors are the most powerful individuals when it comes to this and use their own method of acquiring music that doesn’t involve calling individuals.
Music Supervisors frequent production music libraries because they can deliver any kind of music. No matter how obscure or otherwise difficult to obtain, one of more production libraries will have it. While they originally only contained background sound, production libraries today are much more than that. They discover groups, form record labels and forge alliances with clients in film and television. One of the greatest features of a production library, and a music supervisor’s favorite attribute, is that all the music they possess has been cleared. All the paperwork has already been done and it’s clear who the licensor is – so there is an unlikely chance that a problem with the license would appear. A music supervisor’s worst nightmare is finding out days before a project is to be released that there is a problem with a song that they were using for a scene and they can no longer use it. Using a production company minimizes greatly the chance that this would occur. Artists need to remember that to a music supervisor the quality of your music may matter less than the ability to achieve clearance. Paperwork and logistics can be a major roadblock. Production companies list meta-data standards to make sure that all the music in their catalogs meets certain requirements. Incorrect meta-data results in the legal department getting involved and using production libraries avoids such a mess.
Timing also comes into play when music supervisors decide to use production libraries. Many times a music supervisor will have a complex need to fill – a Latin-reggae tune in the style of a known artist but inexpensive – and will need it fast. For the most part production libraries have extensive catalogs – and if music supervisors use them often enough they can have some negotiation power over the price of a license.
So what does this mean for musicians? One thing is certain - instead of trying to get your music to a music supervisor, it might be wiser to get your music into a production library.
Reference:
What Music Supervisors Wish You Knew
