Option One: One-Week Duration (Price: € 1,400)

Includes 4-Star Hotel Accommodation at the Cherno More Hotel, Varna

July 3 - July 10, 2019

 

"Locked to Picture: The Art & Business of Music Supervision"

 

Course Description

Twenty years ago, music supervision was an occupation without a pedigree, and the number of supervisors earning major film and television credit was substantially less than one hundred worldwide. Music publishing companies and record labels earned the bulk of their income from mechanical royalties and CD sales. Then came the digital age. In 2011, BMG Music Publishing, with one of the largest song catalogs on the planet, announced that for the first time, its earnings from music synchronization with picture exceeded income from all other sources. “Sync” became the new Holy Grail. Along with this shift came an exponential increase in the number of people calling themselves music supervisors, and a concurrent increase in competition. Music supervisors are, in effect, the new A&R people.

 

Independent music supervisors now function much as corporate film/television music executives once did. They operate creatively, seeking and selecting the artists and songs that will create emotional alchemy with picture, often providing new artists with their first significant commercial platform. On international co-productions like HBO’s The Young Pope, it’s not unusual to see the music supervisor serving as a kind of co-composer, tracking in hybrid and  contemporary classical selections that provide a stylistic blueprint for the original score. They also function in a paralegal capacity, ensuring that rights clearance and licensing are airtight and that the production company is left with no unforeseen encumbrances. Finally, they provide a technical capability in ensuring that all audio materials meet the specifications and delivery requirements of the production. In some cases, supervisors even assume editorial functions.

 

This one-week introductory course will offer a basic field guide to the array of skills the 21st century music supervisor must have on-hand. It will focus on the three essential elements of the craft: music search and selection; research and licensing; and delivery. This course will examine the most useful tools and technologies, search engines and software for accomplishing all three elements. The current global state of copyright law, moral rights conventions, and performance income administration will be reviewed, as well the status of new income streams that have been opened by digital platforms. Class sessions will include Skype chats with leading music supervisors and rights management experts from entertainment industry centers such as Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. Students will leave the one-week session with a sense of the full scope of the job.