What is a Music Supervisor?

(Christina Morillo / Pexels)

Have you ever watched a romantic sequence in a movie and thought, my ballad would be perfect for this scene? Or maybe you have an intense rock song that would be amazing for a chase scene in a TV show. Well, the truth is, you can make that happen. All you have to do is make the producer or director decide that they want your songs in their film. And to make this happen, you will need the help of a fairy-godparent called a music supervisor. 

Music supervisor is one of the people who’s responsible for music in visual media. Think films, TV shows, video games, ads, movie trailers. If you hear music in all of those, you know there’s a music supervisor working behind the scene. But what exactly do they do? Well, they pitch songs or scores to be used in the media. Usually music supervisors will sit down and talk with the director and producer to discuss the film that they are making. Music supervisors will need to know what kind of music they want, how many songs they need, and the music budget for the production. Then, music supervisors will look at all the available music, and pitch some songs to the director and producer. If the director and producer like the songs and want to use them, the next step is to clear the songs. That means music supervisors will have to do all the administrative things to make it legal to use the music, including getting the license and making sure that the artists behind the songs get paid.

(Karolina Grabowska / Pexels)

Music supervisors have the power to get your songs into films. So if that’s one of your goals as a musician, you have to make sure that you are in their radar. If they like your music, they can pitch your songs to a director or producer. But how do you make sure that they listen to your music? Well, I can tell you that’s probably the biggest challenge. It won’t be easy, however, music supervisors always want to know new music that they can use in their next projects. So, they would love to meet new artists who just released their music. Do your research, go to music or industry events where they might go, and try to introduce yourself. Make yourself known, and with a bit of luck, you can be on their list. 

Good luck connecting with music supervisors. I hope you’ll get to hear one of your songs in the next major blockbusters. That’ll be so cool!

This article was published on Evolution website, November 17, 2023