a little ramble by music supervisor at large, David Hayman of SUPERSONIC CREATIVE INC. Catch David on the “Putting Your Music in Film” panel and at the Synch Summit (ticketed event) on Saturday, May 10 at the Marriott Hotel Eaton Centre
CMW is around the corner and I am excited to be participating again this year. It’s always good to be invited to these sync summits and CMW does it right but it’s up to YOU to maximize your licensing potential. We are likely going to meet over 100 artists in the actual summit session and countless others during the week-long festivities. It doesn’t end there. Over the course of any conference, like CMW, music supervisors are going to run into all sorts of folks all over town and especially at the event venues and panels. Everyone and their grandmother has a band these days so I’m going to be loaded up with CD’s, usb keys, business cards and names-in-my-head. I understand your grandma plays a killer bass but so does the guys’ grandma down the road. The best way to get my attention is to have someone else boast about how good you are. If your band keeps popping up on blogs and through word-of-mouth, you’re golden, but these sync-summits are every-band-for-themselves and you are in it, so be prepared.
How can you be sure I will give a shit about any of the music that is submitted to me or any music supervisor? You can’t but you can put yourself in a position to be heard first and to be taken seriously by any good music supervisor. These might be ‘duh’s’ to a lot of you, but it is getting frustrating at the amount of time I spend re-labeling YOUR submissions. Here are some tips to help maximize your chances on open-calls for music and how avoid the trash bin…
How do I label my music? Put your company name as the folder title. By only putting the brand-name or my name you are doing a huge dis-service to your pitch. It absolutely will get lost in the shuffle unless it’s well labeled.
How do I know you’ll listen to ALL of the songs? Maybe you should consider NOT sending 75-song-ideas. I’m looking for one tune most of the time. Trust that our job relies on listening to everything so without a doubt your song will get listened to. However I can’t promise we’ll make it past the 20 second mark if it blows off the bat. Also please properly label the music and the ZIP folder you send for consideration. Mp3s must appear with all info in itunes. Download links only. I’ll follow you on soundcloud later if your music doesn’t suck.
What is the budget? Not worth asking unless you’re a major label. All Music Supervisors (referred herein as ‘we’) will pay fair market price for the value of the chosen song. Go with the flow or you will be branded ‘tough to deal with’. Our careers and reputations hinge on every deal being a win-win for all parties involved. There’s got to be trust.
What are the terms? Always ask. Good to know and you should be armed with this information when it comes time to negotiate the license fee. Expect this in writing before you negotiate.
I don’t really have anything that fits the lyrical theme. Should I send my entire catalogue to you in case? No F-ing way. More respect to those who admit they don’t have the ‘perfect’ song and refrain from sending mp3s.
This request is for an ad BUT see you are also the music super for Rookie Blue. Can I send you 100 songs about Cops? Yes you can but I will delete you from my contact book.
This song I want to pitch is by a really new band who don’t have much experience or audience yet, should I hold it back? NO. I love finding gems, especially if those songs are on-point and well-produced. We are looking for a song, not a celebrity. Although it doesn’t hurt to show me some peacock-feathers if you are blowing up on the scene right now. Do share a ONE or TWO links to prove this. I don’t need your EPK, headshot, every link you’ve every been associated with online or a page-long-bio about how you gave up pig farming to pick up the guitar. Just send the meat. I’ll order the sides separately if I’m still hungry.
Should I send WAV files because they sound better? No. I am pitching mp3s and my hard-drive wasn’t bought to house your high-quality files. When/If chosen we will request that file for the mix.
So you use itunes? F*** yeah. What planet do you live on? Again if it doesn’t read in itunes then it’s lost in our system. WAV files come up without proper itunes-meta-data so don’t send me WAVS. We don’t need the full quality unless your song has been chosen. Check your songs in itunes before sending. Label them properly (artist name and album name ::: sender’s information) and send info to Gracenotes so it is consistent across all itunes.
DEADLINES? Hit them or else I can’t include your song in the pitch. If not noted it means ‘ASAP’. Simple as that.
Should I send some band artwork along with my pitch? YES. I want to judge you. Not being sarcastic here. I need to know what you’re all about. A couple music videos or acoustic session performance clips might be clutch. I need to know who you think you are and I need to get a sense of your vibe. For more tips go here.
I noticed you work with Telus Mobility. The band I’m pitching you is willing to dress up like Telus Animals and perform for the agency. Interested? Keep your fetishes to yourself!
Should I call you to follow up? Yes because I am never busy and I always have time for you to pitch me on the latest SXSW potential signing. I also have lots of free time to talk to you about your career because I have no friends and nothing better to do with my time. I want to make sure we speak so I can say I actually heard your voice, when you get famous. Of course call. Late evening too please. During dinner preferably.
Do you love me? Yes we do. All the staff at Supersonic love and care for you but we can’t hold your hand all the time. Maybe we have issues but it’s just the way we need to be treated to make this relationship work. And we want it to. Because we do love you. Hugs. I made mix for yall. A Music-2-4 Canadian-style. Enjoy and see you around CMW.
SOME SUPER-RECENT WORK @ SUPERSONIC:
http://youtu.be/D_xjbnlNP8M CHEVY WORLDWIDE ft. NICK WATERHOUSE “This Is A Game”
http://youtu.be/v8UNoc__v1M RYANAIR ft The Marvelettes “Destination Anywhere”
http://youtu.be/e98Kt1v7uns ROOKIE BLUE Season 4 final scene ft. MATTHEW WALTERS “I Would Die for You”
http://youtu.be/9Xlogr_oUTM NESTEA; The Recruit with THE SHEEPDOGS
http://youtu.be/33ar9XXwqfw THE DIRTIES Trailer Feature Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi2pG4WnfIg Tapped Out Feature Film Trailer
http://youtu.be/J43WBcVr7Ps That Burning Feeling feature film Trailer
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David Hayman will tell you that Supersonic stands for “music supervision x sonic branding”. But if you ask any of the countless brands, artists, creative directors, or movie & television producers that he’s worked with over the years, Supersonic is representative of a true, honest and authentic approach to finding win/win situations for everyone involved in any of his projects. Whether it be thru finding the perfect song for a dramatic moment, diving deep into his global network of publishers, labels and artists directly to nail the perfect sound for any given TV spot, or developing integrated experiential campaigns to enable brands to connect impact-fully with their audience, David’s success can be attributed to putting equal emphasis on “Super” relations and “Sonic” prowess.