I’m Still Busy…

Yes it’s true, I keep very busy and this is why my Wednesday blog is being published on Friday.  Consistency is important to me but there are times when things happen.  I just pulled out my “films in production” list and started making notes.  It’s kind of a make shift to-do-list. For a list of the films I’m working on, you can visit my IMDb page.

Last week I gave details on what I do.  This week I’ll talk about the films I’m working on.  I balance the work load to minimize the amount of multi-tasking that’s required.  On some films the ball is in the publisher and record labels court.  I’m waiting for their quotes so I can either accept them or start negotiating.

“Conflict of Interest” just wrapped filming on Wednesday.  Post-production has commenced and I’m looking at some rough cuts of scenes that I’ll be placing music in.  I’m also dealing with composers.  There’s still some time before the composer gets involved as we’ll need to work with a locked cut.

I received a newly edited cut of “She Pedals Fast (For a Girl)” last week.  There have been several song replacements and I’ve started the clearance process on these new songs. 

I’m still looking for songs for the documentary, “Light, Bright Damn Near White.”  With the low budget situation, it’s been a challenge getting the songs that the director originally wanted to place in the doc.  I’ve been out searching for new material and have found some interesting songs that seem to work well in the doc.  I’m getting all of license agreements for these unsigned artists and songwriters drafted and signed.

“The Kings of Texas” licensing is in progress.  We are also working on a soundtrack album.  There’s a lot of work to go on this film as we are trying to release the CD as a companion to the DVD.

“Misunderstood” and “MANchild” are both being produced by Scenarios USA.  These two films were written by high school students and directed by Clark Johnson and Rawson Thurber respectively.  These students were given the liberty to select songs for these two films and I’m looking at songs from Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, The Temptations, and Usher.  It’s a very ambitious list of songs with the likelihood that I will not be licensing these songs for these two films.  Unless the publishers and record labels agree to support the program that Scenarios USA has with these kids, I’ll have to find replacement songs.

The animated feature film, “Mars,” is using only one song.  It’s a cover version of Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love.”  Lou has final say over any licensing of his music so we’re waiting on his permission.

“Gretchen” has been complete since 2006.  It now has a distributor and we have to get the music cleared before the distributor can rightfully distribute the film.  I’m still working with the producers and distributor on budget issues.

Documentary “Year at Danger” is still in the licensing stage.  I’m waiting for licensing quotes to come back with one record label from an old 1960’s recording of “Little Bitty Pretty One” still in limbo.  This film has been a challenge as it was financed by film maker Steve Metz hazardous duty pay.  As a result, there’s very little money available in the music budget.  There are plans to raise more funds to cover the licensing fees.

Original music for “Lovely, Still” is currently being recorded.  The licensing fees for Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Frank Sinatra’s “Let It Snow” came in too high.  The synch fee alone for “White Christmas” came in at $25,000.  Once the new recordings are done, I’ll be working on the final agreements for these songs and the rest of the songs in the film.

A huge licensing issue with “Harmony and Me” is causing grief for the director and producers.  Elton John’s “Harmony” is coming in at six figures.  I’m trying to negotiate a step deal with the record label and publisher.  Not sure yet if these quotes will come in more affordable.

Outside of my music supervisor role, I’m working with my wife on getting our film “The Funeral Singer” out to festival.  We’ve just met the deadline for the Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany today.  The film has already been selected into South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, the Chashama Film Festival in New York and the Michigan Womyn’s Music and Film Festival which starts August 5^th.

I’ve got more work pending and I look forward to the completion of these films and a whole new slate of films, documentaries and TV pilots.

I’m Just Busy…Here’s A Quick Summary Of What I Do

I’m juggling a lot of balls right now. My current list of films in production adds up to 10. It’s tough, but I really enjoy the massive multi-tasking that’s required to perform as a music supervisor. I’m working with different directors, producers, composers and songwriters. I’m listening to music, drafting license agreements, preparing cues sheets, reviewing license agreements, and submitting license request forms.

My day starts with checking e-mails for any updates from those I’m working with. I’ll reply as needed. I then look over my to-do list. I check to see what films need to be moved to the top of the list and what I need to do with them. I then follow up on license requests that have been pending too long. This is something that requires a lot of attention. The publishers and record labels that I’m dealing with are extremely busy and will put the big budget films at the top of their priority list. Periodically I have to report to the director and producers with any new developments with the licensing fees.

When I’m not working with the music publishers and record labels, I’m drafting license agreements with songwriters and updating cue sheets. Depending on what stage of production the film is in, I could be screening potential composers or working with a composer on the film score.

As the day progresses, I’m on the phone or communicating through e-mail with directors discussing the musical plan and how things should progress. I’ll discussing the feasibility of certain songs and if we should scrap it now or try to see if we can afford the licensing fees. Sometimes we’ll discuss recording a cover song with local bands to save on money.

When there is a song change, I have to start the research all over again. I have to find out who owns the publishing? Who owns the master recording? What are the songwriter royalty splits and are they affiliated with ASCAP or BMI? Once all the details have been iron out, I’ll either draft the license agreements for the indie songs or submit a license request form with the major publishers and labels.

There’s a lot to deal with when clearing a song. It may sound hectic and tedious, but for me I enjoy every minute of it. Working with indie songwriters is a lot of fun. I like when I can offer them a fairly decent licensing fee and make the deal happen. It works out great for the songwriter and the film. When I get a small budget of about $5,000 to work with, I know that I can get some good indie songs at a good price. These unsigned artists are eager to get their music in a film.

When I get the big music budget I can go for the more popular songs. Just waiting to see how the licensing fees come in is a rush. I wait and hope that the fees will be within my budget so I can report good news to the producers. Many times it’s bad news. That’s when there’s silence for a few days or even a week or so. They’re regrouping and trying to figure out what to do budget wise and possible song replacements.

Negotiating is a key function of the music supervisor. My goal is to get the fees low enough to fit within the music budget. If a quote comes in too high, I have to discuss the budget situation with the publisher and/or record label. It’s tough convincing them to lower the fees especially if the music budget is ridiculously low. If they do not lower the fees, I’ll have to discuss reducing the rights that are being requested with the director and producers.

As my day comes to an end, I check to see if there’s any west coast publisher or record labels that I need to contact. Since they are two hours behind me, I can get a little more work accomplished before everyone shuts down for the day. There are many days I keep working so I can have things ready for the next day to start. New York is an hour ahead so I can get the ball rolling again at 7:00 AM CT the next morning.

There’s really no set routine to my job. Each day is a mix of everything and anything could change by a single e-mail or phone call. I guess that’s why this blog posting is so erratic. No real continuity.

It seems that there’s never an end to this job. As I’m working on these films, I’m still seeking new film opportunities. I have a TV pilot possibility and a couple of documentaries. I’ve also contacted several feature films that I’m interested in and three more already slated for later in the year.

You can check out my IMDb page for more details on the films that I’m working on. If you’re a musician or composer, you can find out more about my music needs by visiting my Music Supervision website.

Music Clearance – Now or Later…

The old saying, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” can apply to music clearance as well. I’ve been told many times that my music supervisor services are not needed until post. I guess when it comes to music clearance; we can say “What should come first, the music supervisor or post?” I hope to clearly unscramble this.

In the beginning, the screenwriter writes specific songs in the script. This is not a good idea. There should be a reference to music but nothing specific. Now the director reads the script and start forming his/her musical vision without considering the level of the music budget. Filming starts and the dailies are ready to view. In order to better realize their musical vision, the director has the editor drop in some of those pricey songs.

These songs now get tagged with a term called, “temp music.” Now everyone feels warm and cozy when they watch the scenes. It’s getting harder to imagine any other song for those scenes.

Now post comes along and I get the call to clear these expensive songs with a budget that’s too small to cover one song let alone all of the songs. All the hard work that went in to editing around these wonderful and expensive songs will have to start all over when reality forces the need for replacement songs.

I now proceed with reluctance as I already know the outcome. In these situations, I always make a point to include a disclaimer in the license request forms when I submit them. I let the licensing reps know that I’ve already informed the director and producers that the music budget is not sufficient enough to cover the potential licensing fees. I have a professional reputation to uphold and I don’t want any licensing rep to think that I’m an inexperience music supervisor.

Once I get the quotes back from the publisher and record labels, I report back to the director and producers and sadly inform them that the license fee for the “big” songs have exceed the entire production budget.

Had I come on board in pre-production and was given a copy of the script and a list of the songs that had already been selected, I could have given my professional insight on the availability to obtain the rights to these songs. In the early stages of production, this gives enough time to find a replacement song that is more affordable.

Many films make it through the festival circuit with un-cleared music. It’s a sad and unfortunate reality. The festival producers really do nothing about it and the filmmakers know it. The day they get the call from a distributor who is interested in their film, is the day they panic and call a music supervisor.

Having a distributor interested in your film is an awesome accomplishment. Everyone is excited and celebrating. The party ends when the distributor asks for the deliverables and there are no signed license agreements and no cue sheet. It’s back to the drawing board with no money in the music budget and a tight deadline to meet. The only thing that I can do is proceed and do my best to negotiate with the music publishers and record labels and hope that the producers can raise enough money to cover the licensing fees and the cost to re-edit the film with replacement songs.

If you are a filmmaker in the situation that I’ve written about above, I strongly recommend that you revisit your music choices and budget. If you have songs in your film that you’ve heard on the radio or even oldies that your parents used to listen to, I would get a music supervisor involved to help you get a realistic financial picture of your impending licensing fees.

I guess it’s clear to say that the music supervisor should come before post. Unfortunately, the film community will continue to wait until post and play with big songs and a very small music budget.

“Let’s Just Talk” on the Radio

“Let’s Just Talk” is the name of Kathryn Raaker’s talk radio show on WCVX Victory 1050 out of Cincinnati, Ohio where I was a guest on her show this past Saturday morning. We talked about films, music supervision and other film and music topics (to include the 100+ degree weather here in Texas).

It was an interesting morning as I was a bit nervous to say the least. Not knowing what was going to come my way on live radio was what bothered me the most. I felt confident in my abilities to answer any question regarding music clearance but not sure if my delivery was going to be “radio ready.” I guess the “no time to think” was what bothered me most.

The relief came when I realized that my preconceived impression of the show was all wrong. I prepped myself to talk about the technical end of music licensing. What I learned as the show progressed was it took on more of an entertainment angle. Kathryn’s long career as a radio personality helped guide the show in a way that engaged the listening audience and not me talking about the legal and administrative side of music clearance. If her audience had been primarily involved in the film and music industry, I’m sure the presentation would have been more of my initial, technical approach. As I began to relax and feel more comfortable, my segment was quickly coming to an end.

Kathryn and I met at a pre-production meeting in Kyle, TX for the film, “The Lights.” We talked about respective careers. We exchanged business cards and then never spoke again until earlier this year. I contacted her to find out if she knew anything about her very small appearance in the film and if there was any music associated with her scene. As that scene had not been edited in the film yet, I was clueless.

After we reconnected, Kathryn asked if I’d like to appear on her show which I accepted. For about three months we jockeyed for a spot and finally landed May 31, 2008. It came and went with an invitation to be on her show next weekend which airs out of Phoenix, Arizona. This appearance has not been finalized so it may change by the weekend. I’ll update this in my next blog.

In the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to have a call-in talk show where I can address music clearance and licensing issues with filmmakers and those in the music industry. It seems like this may start to evolve if I continue to make appearances on the radio. I just might get the “radio bug” and who knows where things will go from there.

The show will be archived and available for the public to listen to. I’m sure there will be some interesting information about music in films, but more about me and what I’m doing as a music supervisor. When I do get that call-in talk show, I’ll let all of by blog reader know so they can send e-mail questions which I can answer on air.

Until then, keep coming back to my blog as I’ll keep writing about music clearance and licensing and some real life experiences that I’ve dealt with while working on all these films. I’ll also post the link to my website where you can listen to the archived radio show.