IN SYNC: Pitching Best Practices
Speaker Nathalie Phan Co-Founder, SoundSync Music [email protected] (512) 777-0015 Pitching to Music Supervisors ● Don’t buy e-mail lists. ● Never use attachments. Always link to your music instead. ● Never spam them with follow up emails. Know when and how What NOT often to follow up. ● Never use samples or cover music to do. you haven’t cleared. ● Don’t pitch to them if they don’t want to be pitched to or if they don’t take submissions. ● Don’t use these phrases. ● “I have the perfect song for you” ● “Did you get a chance to listen to my music yet?” Avoid these ● “I have a song called ‘Deep End’ that would be perfect for your show Phrases ‘Deep End’!” ● “I’d love your feedback!” ● “What are you working on?” ● “Can I be added to your search list?” ● Get on Twitter ● Personalize your message. ● If you can, get an introduction first. ● If you are using IMDb Pro to find Research. contact information, be sure you are not contacting their agent and make Research. sure that they accept submissions ● Find out what shows supervisors Research. are currently working on (but understand it may not be up-to-date). ● Make sure the shows have not ended or are not cancelled. ● Use Tunefind.com to understand what music is already working for the show. Research. ● Get involved with the Guild of Music Supervisors (they have a Research. great directory!) and attend industry conferences like the Research. Guild of Music Supervisor Conference or SyncSummit. ● Music supervisors often are high-stress people. Make their job easy for them. Metadata & ● Make sure your metadata is airtight. Licensing is not a field organization you can participate in if you do not have attn to detail skills. is key. ● Use tools like Airtable or Disco to manage your metadata and music catalogue. ● Organize your catalogue so that songs are easy to search for ● Include keywords to help music Metadata & supervisors search for your music. ● Include lyrics and genre. organization ● Include lyrical themes and moods. ● Include all basic information such is key. as: ○ Contact information ○ Songwriters, PRO affiliations, publishers and IPI #s ○ Title and Artist of the song ● To get a better chance for a response, make sure to indicate “one-stop” and “non-union” in One-Stop & your email subject lines (if, of course, it is true). Non-Union. ● Many music supervisors prefer non-union artists because union fees are likely high for sync. ● If you’re a composer (strictly for film and TV), you can find an Consider agent to represent you and find you work. getting an ● If you’re in a band, you can find a agent. publisher or a licensing representative to pitch & plug your music. Pitching Strategically Best Practices
● The best way to familiarize yourself with the music supervisor’s work is to watch and analyze their work in films, TV shows, ads, etc. ● Use Tunefind to quickly gauge whether the show historically relies more on score or on song placements ● What types of uses are you observing? How is the music contributing to the scene, episode, or ad? Artist Mapping Strategy
● STEP ONE: Select 3-6 artists that you sound like or fit the same “vibe” as your music. ● STEP TWO: Do research on placements that these artists have had in the past. ● STEP THREE: For each placement, determine the following: ○ What type of media was the placement? (Film, TV, gaming, etc.) ○ What genre is each artist you selected? ○ Which songs were placed in which media program? ○ What genre is each media program? (Drama, comedy, reality TV, etc.) ○ Who were the music supervisors/music supervision company for each program? ● STEP FOUR: Analyze any trends that you notice. Focus your pitching based on those trends.
Useful tools: Music Map // Tunefind // IMDB // Wikipedia Identify Artists that Sound Similar
Kehlani
Jorja Smith Lauryn Hill
Artist X
Normani H.E.R.
Jhene Aiko Identify Past Placements by Artists that Sound Similar
Artist X
Lauryn Hill Kali Uchis
Being Mary Jane Queen & Slim (Film) Insecure Euphoria Season 3 (TV) 2019 Season 3 (TV) Season 1 (TV) Drama Rom Crime Drama Comedy/Drama Drama
Music Supervisor Z Music Supervisor Y Analyze Trends
Artist X
Lauryn Hill Kali Uchis
Being Mary Jane Queen & Slim (Film) Insecure Euphoria Season 3 (TV) 2019 Season 3 (TV) Season 1 (TV) Drama Rom Crime Drama Comedy/Drama Drama
Music Supervisor Z Music Supervisor Y Trends in this Example
● 4 out of 4 of the programs were dramas ● 3 out of 4 of the programs were TV shows ● 3 out of 4 of the programs were music supervised by Music Supervisor Z ● 4 out of 4 of the programs had strong Black female leads or characters Analyze Trends
Artist Y
Fiona Apple Shakey Graves
The Handmaid’s Mr. Robot Season 3 Fargo Season 2 Brave New World Tale (TV) (TV) Season 1 (TV) Season 3 (TV) Crime Drama Drama Crime / Drama Sci-Fi / Drama
Music Supervisor X Music Supervisor XX Trends in this Example
● 4 out of 4 of the programs were dramas ● 4 out of 4 of the programs were TV shows ● 3 out of 4 of the programs were music supervised by the same person ● 2 out of 4 of the programs were produced by the same producer ● 2 out of 4 of the programs were crime dramas Personalize your pitch - keep it short & sweet
SUBJECT: Sounds like Lauryn Hill, Kali Uchis for Truth Be Told [One-Stop]
Hi Music Supe X,
I’m [YOUR NAME], an independent artist who sounds similar to Lauryn Hill & Kali Uchis. I saw that you work on a lot of dramas that have strong Black female leads such as Insecure and Being Mary Jane and have used music by both Lauryn Hill and Kali Uchis in your projects before. If you’re ever looking for anything similar to these artists, please let me know. I have made a DISCO playlist for you here [link to your sampler/playlist].
If you only listen to one song, I recommend the first song on the playlist titled “XXX.” {{Describe the song briefly.}}
Thanks for your time.
[YOUR NAME] Things to mention
● Specific character names ● Specific usage comparisons to “X” by X ARTIST ● Why you think the artist or song would be a good fit ● Certain trends/artists/genres that you have noticed Quick Q&A!
Pop your questions in the chat! Or email [email protected]!