Recording - March 2012 - 26

It’s a people business Put on the charm, and be a diplomat. Bring fun gifts. One of my friendly contacts is the V.P. of Music at a major network, and we hit it off really well. She was so nice taking the time to chat and help me upon my first meeting with her, I decided to send her a box of caramel apples from Colorado as a thank-you. Little did I know that caramel apples were her favorite thing in the whole world. That small thought has now gone a really long way. You need to stand out. If you’re not a people person, become one, because if you can’t get people to like you for one reason or another, forget it. Get aggressive, but not to the point of being annoying. For film and TV, you can’t beat Los Angeles. One has to be there often for mingling, or even live there. It’s a must. There is a book that someone gave me years ago called Life Is A Contact Sport, by Ken Kragen. Personal connections are the only true way to build your contact list. If they like you, they’ll consider you. If they don’t, you’re done. Networking, whether it’s at advertising agency conferences, or the Billboard Film & TV conference, and so on, is essential. Attend and absorb as much as you can. If you can’t go it alone If you’re a behind-the-scenes songwriter not attached to an artist persona of sorts, chances are supervisors won’t want to pick you for a major film or TV spot. The reason being that they want something cool, up and coming, or a name artist for that big film, and have no interest in an unknown songwriter... unless of course it’s something completely out there that already has some great buzz on it.

to clear the work. If you read the December 2011 issue of Recording, you may have noticed a 5-page story on my group Electrons (www.electronsmusic.com). The group is comprised of myself, guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Duran Duran), afore-mentioned multiplatinum producer Anthony Resta (Duran Duran, Blondie, Collective Soul, Elton John, Megadeth, etc.), drummer Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), and synthesist Roger O’Donnell (The Cure). The article mentioned a track we remixed, which was originally produced by director David Lynch, and one concern that I have heard from more than one music supervisor is, “How difficult is it to clear?” The answer supervisors always want to hear is, “We are a onestop-shop. All rights can be cleared, all at once, through us.” Be a one-stop-shop, make clearance easy, or supervisors will move on to another artist. Produce your own Now most people may not have the budget to hire a heavy hitter, so what does one do? Do it yourself. If you decide to work towards bigger placements, also work towards getting that huge sound. Then again, something quirky and original can succeed also. My first tracks licensed to TV were for two shows called Sorority Life and Fraternity Life on MTV. These songs were recorded on a borrowed 4-track recorder while I was undergoing chemotherapy, and they still get used over and over again today. Very lo-fi, abstract, and licensed because the supervisor liked the sound. So there’s hope, and you don’t have to spend a ton of money.

I have found that most supervisors do not particularly like talking to artists—way too much “Hey yo, check it out, this is killer” with no salutation or anything. Present yourself as a company, with a memorable name, it’s much more credible.
If as a behind-the-scenes songwriter you want to penetrate some more high-end commercial placements, but don’t have the image for it, you may be better off finding some cool band to record your tracks, and work out some split with them so that they become a vehicle to your writing. Even then it’s difficult because if the song isn’t that great, or the master isn’t burning out of the speakers, the first impression to that supervisor could potentially be the last impression they’ll allocate time to! Only the best-sounding masters get placed in the top echelon of film and TV placements, so unless you are a recording wizard who can make your master sound like it deserves a $150,000 placement fee, go to a producer who is well versed in everything, understands the commercial and indie markets, and is proven. Many name producers today have lowered their rates, but may not have all of the above. Don’t be fooled into getting a crazy discount, because you may end up with discounted quality as well! If you have a proper budget and plan to go big, the only guy whose skills I would consider is multi-platinum producer Anthony Resta. Look him up, he’s a genius. If you create a work with some heavy hitters, some supervisors might be concerned of the cost and trouble needed
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Cable shows like that don’t pay the fees that bigger network shows or big features pay, so you have more of a chance to get played on these shows from a sound quality point of view. Still, of course there has to be some standard of quality. Don’t be lazy with your audio. If you are limited, get creative. Learn on the job; do what my wise old professor Maurice Oberstein (an industry legend and former CBS Records and Polygram Records head in the U.K. who signed acts like The Clash, George Michael, etc.,) told me when I was in graduate school at the University of Miami School of Music: “If someone asks you to do something, say yes... and then figure out how to do it.” Ready for anything As a songwriter who wants to focus on just licensing, one must be as diverse as possible. By diverse I mean, being able to compose and record on the spot for whatever the job is. Not just musically, but lyrically, too. I was asked to come up with a hip-hop track for a Jack Nicholson film some years back. I was told about it at 4 PM one afternoon, and they wanted it by 9 AM the next day. Worse, they wanted a knock-off of Nelly’s “Hot In Here”. I had never done anything with hip-hop, so I gave it a go.

http://www.electronsmusic.com http://www.electronsmusic.com

Recording - March 2012

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