Breaking Into The Film/Tv Music Markets

By Peter Spellman

State of the Market:

Composition for film and TV has evolved in recent years. Where one composer used to be responsible for all the musical elements in a film, these have now been divided so that each part of the collaborative effort can place greater focus on its unique element. The "soundtrack" and the "score" now fall under two separate departments and a new creative music executive has evolved to fill the vacuum and carrry some of the load that was once completely the composer's. Enter the "Music Supervisor."

The Music Supervisor has come to be the person responsible for all the musical elements -- technical, creative, and administrative -- that are exclusive of the score and its production. As described by music supervisor Mark Roswell, ("Sleeping with the Enemy", "Wild at Heart" ), "We provide a service to the director to find source songs that are right for the film. To do this we follow the same instinct -- creativity -- as the composer, but with an entirely different execution."

Another music supervisor, Barbara Jordan, says there are many more opportunities for beginners writing these generic background songs for movies than in getting songs cut by top recording artists. "For consideration by a Dolly Parton or a Whitney Houston, you need to have a song that is nearly perfect because you're competing with top-notch songwriters for a limited number of cuts. But there are many more opportunities for placement of songs in film and TV, and it's not as critical that these songs be 'perfect.' They just have to set the right mood."

Breaking In:

Don't make a move until you understand the publishing intricasies of film/tv music: "synchronization rights", "performance rights", "blanket rights", "public domain rights", "master uswe license", etc... Recommended reading: "This Business of Television", chapter 33, "Music" by Howard Blumenthal and Oliver R. Goodenough (Billboard Books, 19991); "Kohn on Music Licensing", 2nd ed. by Al & Bob Kohn (Aspen Law & Business, 1996); and "On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring", Chapter 27 "The Business" by Fred Karlin & Rayburn Wright (Schirmer Books, 1990).