Question 1

What is the single biggest suggestion you would give to someone wanting to get into this career?

Mike Turner · Accepted Answer

“Start working at a music publishing company, even an independent one. Learn about music copyrights. It’s important to focus on what IP is, rather than a physical product. Recordings are one-dimensional items while the intellectual property of a song has many applications and can be exploited in multiple ways.
“Publishers can be a lot more dynamic than record labels just because of the nature of the copyrights they work with. It’s a place to learn a lot more about the backbone of music industry work.
“It’s complicated to become an effective Music Supervisor and it might be easier to get an internship at a music publishing company than a music supervision company. Most Music Supervisors work alone unless they’re huge and even then there are only a handful of music supervision companies. Get a foot in the door and work on independent productions where the stakes aren’t as high before starting your own company.”

Question 2

What’s the #1 mistake people make when trying to get into this career?

Mike Turner · Accepted Answer

“There are so many ways to get a production screwed. Lots of legal traps are everywhere, especially when involving public domain. There’s a lot of misinformation about what public domain means and is.
“Don’t believe anything on the internet. Very little music is public domain. Unless it’s a classical piece from the 1700s, don’t assume its public domain. It’s a lesson you’ll learn hard as soon as it happens to you. So beware of legal traps in contracts and especially those involving public domain.”

Question 3

What is the question people should ask about this career but rarely do?

Mike Turner · Accepted Answer

“What’s the business side of music supervising like?
“Music supervising is very contract oriented and transactional. The biggest thing that can affect a Music Supervisor that Directors and Producers often don’t understand is that you must back your creative into your budget and not the other way around. It is counterproductive to spend a bunch of time just imagining cool songs that might work for a scene and without understanding the rights situation on them. It becomes a large game of whack-a-mole to do it that way.
“The best thing to do is understand the budget and do a conservative music breakdown on the script (meaning always overestimate music costs). Then go to your label and Publisher contacts and say, ‘Here’s how much money I have and here’s the type of music I’m looking for.”
“Having them pitch to you means there’s less haggling and you’ll understand the clearance issues so that you can advise the production properly. From there, the Directors and Producers can evaluate and decide.”

Question 4

What is one thing I should have asked which I didn’t?

Mike Turner · Accepted Answer

“Any other lessons?
“Don’t pitch what you can’t clear. A Music Supervisor needs to get a pre-clear (whenever possible) and figure out what a song will cost. Never put anything in front of a Director unless it’s been verbally cleared.
“Record labels and Publishers will actively pitch the Music Supervisor. They pitch songs based on your budget and songs that WANT to be placed. Those licensing conversations are much easier to have than when you come begging for a favor, which you will have to do plenty of anyway.

Question 5

If you could describe in one word what makes you successful, what would it be?

Mike Turner · Accepted Answer

“Suppressing rage. Everyone assumes that they are an expert. The business of music supervision is separate from music knowledge.”

Question 6

Do Music Supervisors get paid well?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

In a word, yes. However, the salary of a Music Supervisor is dependent upon multiple factors such as their professional experience and the budget of the films they work on. The salary range for Music Supervisors can fluctuate greatly from just under $16,000 in a given year to more than $400,000 in the same timeframe.

Question 7

How do you start a career as a Music Supervisor?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Beyond more obvious needs such as having a strong work ethic and organizational skills, successful Music Supervisors must also have a proficiency for networking with others and acclimating to sometimes intense work hours. Having the ability to hustle for that next gig will also be a defining trait that will help a Music Supervisor not only start their careers but also maintain their longevity over the course of it.

Question 8

What skills do Music Supervisors need?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Music Supervisors must have a rounded out set of skills to be successful at their jobs. While having a strong sense of what works well musically for a film or other project is critical for this role, they must also be able to communicate clearly and respectfully with a host of others in the industry, such as the Director, Composer, and other relevant professionals.

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