December 2021 - 65
DECEMBER 2021
TAXI's Virtual Road Rally 2020
How Music Makes It Into TV and Film With
Music Supervisor Mason Cooper, Part 4
Interviewed by Michael Laskow
Michael Laskow: I've discovered over the last
couple years that if I were a songwriter, I would
be borrowing ideas from dialog in television
shows or films-the best writers in the
business. Deb and I watched Outlander. We
binged all five seasons of Outlander in about a
month-a lot of 3 a.m. mornings on that show.
There were so many lines that were just beautifully
written that it would inspire me...
Sometimes I would just sit there with a Post-It
note and write down what the actor just said,
thinking it would be such a great title or concept
for a song. Obviously, you're not going to
plagiarize or actually steal the dialogue, but if
somebody says - I don't have a great example
- , " Home is where the heart is, " and you go,
" Wow. That's kinda cool, 'Home is where the
heart is.' " Someday, when it's writing day, and
you pull out your Post-It notes, " Home is where
the heart is " ... Anyway, these are the highestpaid
writers in the business. If you're gonna
borrow concepts, grab them from the best.
Mason Cooper: Yeah, there's that sort of
phrase, you know, the old clichés. You know,
there are only X amount of topics, right?
Love, hurt, blah, blah, blah. Your job is to
find a way of telling your story. When I lived
in Nashville years ago, we used to hang out at
Close Quarters; now it's something else. The
old joke used to be, if somebody behind you
is sitting back in the chair at the restaurant
table, they're listening to what you are saying,
because it's where all the songwriters hung
out. So, if you're talking to somebody and
someone is leaning back, they're trying to
hear what you're saying to get an idea. " Oh
yeah, 'Home is where the heart is.' What he
said, I'm gonna write that song. " Someone is
stealing your words... They get the idea, like,
" Oh yeah, 'Home is where the heart is.' " So
that was the old thing, don't let anyone listen
in on conversations; they may take your conversation
and...
Michael Laskow and Mason Cooper during TAXI's Virtual Road Rally
But that's important. Don't let anyone do it
to you, but you should do it to others. Find a
phrase or some comment from a book or
from someone on the street. Someone says,
" Hey, Joe, remember me? " Well, that might
trigger, " Oh, I'm gonna write a song about
remembering my college days. " Whatever it
is, whatever triggers you to have an idea.
Keep your ears open, observe, and put it in
your phone.
I want to go back to process. We've only got
about 10 minutes left. So now I think we've covered
the whole process on TV, other than the
actual licensing, which is basically reaching out
" Avoid samples. If you can't create it,
don't use it. And don't send it to me. "
-Mason Cooper
to people, making sure that it will clear, meaning
that there are no incumbrances, like it
doesn't have somebody whose sample is on it, or
lead vocalist who is deceased who never signed
off on a work-for-hire or something-all those
little legal bugaboos that could take something
out...and they can. And you could be right up
against the deadline, you know. That thing is
going to lock-picture tomorrow morning, and
you haven't heard back from this writer.
So, I'm saying all this to let people know,
because I experience it all the time in my job,
all the time: If you see a phone call and you
don't know the number, and it's from 818, 310,
213, 212, any of the commonly used area codes
from the big production centers, you should
answer that call, because it could be Mason
Cooper calling you trying to get clearance on
something, and he's got a lock it to picture the
next day-final lock. And if he doesn't get you,
you're toast. Is that a true statement?
Yeah, and the rights will be... Know who your
co-writers are; know who your co-publishers
are, who owns and controls the licensing on
both the song and the recording. And if it's
work-for-hire artists you've got, you have to
have them sign off. I mean if I'm going to do
a license with you there's an indemnification,
you are liable, not me.
Continued on page 66
RECORDING DECEMBER 2021 65
December 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021
Fade In
Fast Forward
RECORDING’s 2021Holiday Buyer’s Guide
Arturia: MiniFuse 2
AKG: Ara Professional Two-Pattern USB Condenser Microphone
A day in the head of Still Woozy: Making modern pop and beyond
Austrian Audio: Hi-X15
Plugin Outlet: Black Rooster Audio OmniTec-67A
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Free and Entry-level DAWs
ART: Project Series USB Pre IV Audio Interface
Plugin Outlet: Reverb Foundry Tai-Chi
Audeze: Euclid Closed-Back Planar Magnetic In-ear Monitors
Session Log: The AngelHeaded Hipster, Part 12 Mastering and Beyond: The Final Steps…
Genelec 8361A
Focusrite: Clarett+ 8 Pre
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby From the Studio to The Stage
Pioneer DJ VM-80 Active Monitor Speaker
Fade Out: Don’t Wait—Create!
December 2021 - Intro
December 2021 - Cover1
December 2021 - Cover2
December 2021 - 1
December 2021 - 2
December 2021 - 3
December 2021 - Fade In
December 2021 - 5
December 2021 - 6
December 2021 - 7
December 2021 - Fast Forward
December 2021 - 9
December 2021 - RECORDING’s 2021Holiday Buyer’s Guide
December 2021 - 11
December 2021 - 12
December 2021 - 13
December 2021 - 14
December 2021 - 15
December 2021 - 16
December 2021 - 17
December 2021 - 18
December 2021 - 19
December 2021 - 20
December 2021 - 21
December 2021 - Arturia: MiniFuse 2
December 2021 - 23
December 2021 - AKG: Ara Professional Two-Pattern USB Condenser Microphone
December 2021 - 25
December 2021 - A day in the head of Still Woozy: Making modern pop and beyond
December 2021 - 27
December 2021 - 28
December 2021 - 29
December 2021 - 30
December 2021 - 31
December 2021 - 32
December 2021 - 33
December 2021 - 34
December 2021 - 35
December 2021 - 36
December 2021 - 37
December 2021 - Austrian Audio: Hi-X15
December 2021 - 39
December 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Black Rooster Audio OmniTec-67A
December 2021 - 41
December 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Free and Entry-level DAWs
December 2021 - 43
December 2021 - 44
December 2021 - 45
December 2021 - ART: Project Series USB Pre IV Audio Interface
December 2021 - 47
December 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Reverb Foundry Tai-Chi
December 2021 - 49
December 2021 - Audeze: Euclid Closed-Back Planar Magnetic In-ear Monitors
December 2021 - 51
December 2021 - Session Log: The AngelHeaded Hipster, Part 12 Mastering and Beyond: The Final Steps…
December 2021 - 53
December 2021 - 54
December 2021 - 55
December 2021 - Genelec 8361A
December 2021 - 57
December 2021 - Focusrite: Clarett+ 8 Pre
December 2021 - 59
December 2021 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby From the Studio to The Stage
December 2021 - 61
December 2021 - Pioneer DJ VM-80 Active Monitor Speaker
December 2021 - 63
December 2021 - 64
December 2021 - 65
December 2021 - 66
December 2021 - 67
December 2021 - 68
December 2021 - 69
December 2021 - 70
December 2021 - 71
December 2021 - Fade Out: Don’t Wait—Create!
December 2021 - Cover3
December 2021 - Cover4
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