What’s Up with MXSups? Interviews with the Purveyors of Cool

Abstract

I've just finished watching my favorite nighttime drama Grey s Anatomy1 and am again astounded by the amount of amazingly cool independent music placed in the show. Anyone s Ghost by The National, Abducted by Cults, Chameleon/Comedian by Kathleen Edwards, Hit It by Miss Li, and Echoes by Mostar Diving Club.2 My husband and I are rabid fans of indie music and consider ourselves tastemakers in locating barely broken indie artists on sites such as www.gorillavsbear.net,3www.newdust.com/ www.stereogum.com,5 or www.indierockcafe.com/ but I have to say I am continually blown away by the selections music supervisors make in today's hit television shows.Week after week these women seem to have the uncanny knack for selecting uberhip, underground artists barely breaking the film of the jellied mass of independent music consciousness. Women like Alexandra Patsavas of Chop Shop Music7 known for her work on Grey s Anatomy/ Andrea von Foerster of Firestarter Music9 known for her work on Modern Family10 and Lindsay Wolfington of Lone Wolf/1 known for her work on One Tree Hilf2 are not only outstanding entrepreneurs, they are purveyors of musical cool. How did they get to this coveted position-doling out delicious and delectable delights of divinely inspired discs?I was lucky enough to interview several of these women and delve into the minds of these modem day musical mavens. These ladies know how to get their work done with finesse, and I wanted to share their expertise with those of us peeking in from outside the frosted glass.MXSup is the slang industry term for Music Supervisor, a person who finds and licenses music for media vehicles such as films, television, video games, or advertisements. Music supervision began as early as the turn of the twentieth century when silent films were all the rage. At that time, organists accompanied the film and the supervisor indicated at various places on the score where traditional or classical themes were to be played. Today, music supervisors select music for critical points in film soundtracks to increase the drama of the content on the screen. Think about it, where would the movie Jaws be without its critical musical theme ba-dump, ba-dump...ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!. The music leads the audience members down the rosy path and heightens their anticipation (and fear) before the critical action takes place. What would the shower scene be in Psycho without the stabbing violins? Rocky, without the theme song as he climbs the stairs in Philadelphia while preparing for the fight of his life? Most importantly, how would we know the villain is going to appear in Star Wars without the dum dum-dum, dum, dum-dum dum-dum dum-dum?Music supervision licensing requires clearing two sides of the copyright (the recording, and the underlying composition). Although, a legal background is not a prerequisite for doing this work, it is necessary that one understand the rights of intellectual property holders and the terms of their copyrights. Music supervision and licensing is often a long process that takes careful consideration and attention to detail. An interview with Lindsay Wolfington,13 music supervisor for One Tree Hill and the Ghost Whisperer outlined the following steps for clearing a license.1. She begins licensing after the spotting session. A spotting session is when the music supervisor along with the producer, director, music producer (who generally picks the music), and music editor go through the script and highlight areas that require music,14 e.g., in the script you may see Jim driving to Malibu to find his ex-girlfriend. On the radio he hears a song that reminds him of her. This song coming from a source (i.e., the radio) must be integrated into the scene with a synchronization license. She begins licensing at this time because the picture is now locked to the music in a final versionand thus she only has to do her paperwork once.2. Next, she sends out the quote request to see if the publishers are willing to agree to the rate she suggests. …