Music Supervisors are the Roots of Good Music

Music supervision stands at the center of the two strong groups in the music industry. These are the creators of the music and the film and TV productions that rely on music to sell their story to the general public. A music supervisor is primarily concerned with selecting songs to be placed in the soundtrack of a film or music album or a television show.

The job of a music supervisor is highly dependent on the industry and the project in which he is involved with. One important function of the music supervisors is music licensing. After they are given a budget, the music supervisor selects appropriate music for a project. He does it either by licensing existing songs or by creating new songs.

While using pre existing songs, the supervisor’s duty is to focus on the legal and financial aspects of licensing and negotiating. It is being said that around 30 to 50 percent of the job of a music supervisor revolves around just music clearance.

Other Duties

The job of a music supervisor starts with breaking down the script and discussing the ideas of the director. He makes the director get in sync with his vision by selecting the right song for a particular scene based on the mood of the situation, tone and style. He makes the director fall in love with his dream cast of tunes. To settle both the producer gripping the purse strings and the director with a dream, the supervisor needs to skillfully scour the catalogs of publishers for a suitable and more affordable replacement. This situation comes when the producer breaks the bad news that the production cannot afford a master recording.

Apart from shopping for recorded material, a music supervisor:

• Oversees all kind of music related business on a project
• Assists with the budget
• Works with the director to find the right composer and music editor
• Coordinates soundtrack releases with the record labels.

A music supervisor is a fighter and a facilitator who puts together all those who are involved in a production’s musical backdrop right from songs to score and soundtrack. As for music supervisors it is said that creative ears are great. It is all about the innate skill to be able to distinguish the “wow” factor of a song and aptly match the tune to the visual medium.

Music supervisors can work as independent freelancers or a full time employee of film studio, television Production Company, and advertising agency or can work in many other disciplines. It is all about aspects that will maintain the integrity and quality of the project.