THE DO’S & DONTS! [FROM MUSIC SUPERVISORS}
DO’S & DONTS - FROM MUSIC SUPERVISORS
name: Adèle Ho, Music Supervisorcompany: Supergroup Sonic Branding
What’s your hack for listening to blasts and getting them into your library?
The first thing I do is a quick scan to see if anything is relevant to my current projects or piques my interest. Trusted sources, the artist, or anything that fits into my current music needs tend to get my attention first.
Generally I don’t have the time / bandwidth to listen to music as soon it comes in. If it’s something that really interests me or is something that I need, I’ll stream or download it immediately. If the playlists come via DISCO and there’s the option to directly add it to mine, I really appreciate that I can easily have it go straight into my library for me to search/listen to quickly, otherwise I’ll flag the email in a folder to go back to it when I have time to listen. The playlist doesn’t have to be DISCO for me to listen to it, but it is my preferred method and I do tend to listen to it quicker because it requires minimal effort to listen or add to my library.
What type of content resonates most with you?
It varies, but I always appreciate when something is well-curated and brief but informative. If something comes off as too aggressive or not well curated I probably won’t pay as much attention to it. My priorities are my music needs and time, so generally what resonates the most is content that gives me enough details, without making me overwhelmed or underwhelmed.
I also really appreciate and take note of those that are well-curated with easy to consume information, i.e. hyperlinks (music, articles, reviews, RSVP to shows), press quotes and brief copy. I tend to pay attention and respond to those quicker. Basically anything that I can browse or respond to easily on my own time.
What’s overwhelming to see?
Too many images and lots of text. It’s not inviting to dig in if the email is visually too busy and I simply don’t have time to read all that copy or wait for the images and text to download.
Playlists with too many songs, I’ll browse through it if it’s of immediate interest and I have the time, otherwise it’s too time consuming to get to it right away. The way that I usually go through music is essentially like channel surfing.
Automatic downloads! Unless I really need it, I will typically avoid initiating it at that time. I prefer to have both download and streaming options available. Soundcloud links are frustrating because if I’m doing a music pull and want to include the music, I don’t want to have to follow up for it. Always include download options that do not expire.
Any general do’s and don’ts?
Do:
- Include references to who/what they sound like if you’re sending an artist that isn’t well known. When I scan through, this may pique my interest and I’ll have a reference in mind without having to dig deeper.
- Be clear on what you represent and control.
- Highlight tour dates and include a hyperlink to RSVP and music — make it easy to respond / listen to.
- Send newsletters regularly, but with enough breathing space and respectful follow ups.
- Be organized with files; send both main mix and instrumentals with detailed metadata: song title, artist, writers, splits, licensing contact.
- Be mindful of the day and time you’re sending newsletters. Odd late night / early morning hours and weekends can be irritating or get buried in my inbox. I also probably won’t listen as much at the end of day on Friday, but morning or mid-afternoon during the week is great. Even if I’m busy, I may have a moment to go back to it and tend to do so when I need a quick mental break from clearances, spreadsheets etc.
Don’t:
- Require logging in to access the files.
- Include anything that has clearance issues.
- Send files with bad metadata, or files that aren’t organized.
- Call, text to follow up and ask me if I’ve seen your blast, listened to anything and what I think. I’ll let you know. ;)
name: Jonathan Hecht, Music Supervisorcompany: Venn Arts
What’s your hack for listening to blasts & getting them into your library?
Playlisting regularly is super important to keep up with all the relevant music coming out. The only way I can stay on top of it is to schedule dedicated time for listening. When I receive blasts, I start by scanning the content and seeing if anything stands out as interesting, unique or relevant to a project I’m working on. Next I jump to Spotify to do a deeper listen, going further into the artist’s catalog. I come back to the blast if there’s something I want to download and use the links provided there.
How regularly do you like to receive them?
What matters most to me is the quality of the curation behind the emails. Larger labels and catalogs with heavy release schedules are likely to want to send me a lot of music, and if that comes in more frequent emails that have a degree of quality control behind them, that works. However, if the emails I receive aren’t offering me tracks consciously selected to serve content and storytelling, good music tends to get lost in the crowd.
I like the idea of the bigger companies sending me 1–2 emails per week, one showcasing their priority releases of the best 3–4 albums they have dropping that week, and the other featuring a select sampler of the best tracks and artists from their new releases. From smaller companies, I think one email per week with more of a compilation feel works best — the stuff they think rises to the top and will get my attention.
What type of content resonates most with you?
My two priorities are the artists and my time. The volume of newsletters I receive is so high that I can’t spend a lot of time with each one. I need content that gives me just enough information about each artist that I can consume it quickly without feeling under-served.
I want to hear about artists who have a point of view, both through their creative output and outside the music industry. Hearing their stories early really resonates with me, and I’ll come back to a newsletter later if other sources bring the artist/album to my attention after the fact.
I also appreciate knowing when I can see the artists live, via shows or other invitations to connect in person. Companies that include those details, especially with easy links to learn more and RSVP, make it easy for me to take further action.
What’s overwhelming to see?
With the way I use these newsletters as a resource, I need the copy to be succinct, searchable and straightforward. When I receive newsletters with copy so lengthy that it feels like entire press releases have been copied and pasted in for each album, I just don’t have time to read that.
Some of the things that overwhelm me are rooted in basic design principles. Every email should be optimized for desktop and mobile, or it’s going to be difficult to read on one or the other. The design needs to be consistent with the company’s branding and the impression they want to make.
Any general do’s & don’ts?
Do:
• Choose artwork/images that visually represent the artist & their sound.
• Include links to both main mixes & instrumentals.
• Include images, links & clear statement of artist name & song title in the file.
• Include links to both DISCO & Spotify.
• Check every link before sending the email, so you don’t have to follow up with corrected links or make me ask for them.
Don’t:
• Include the entire artist roster in the body of the newsletter.
• Include links that expire.
• Send anything that’s off the table for licensing, either because the artist isn’t interested or the samples haven’t been cleared.
• Text, call or send private social media messages to make sure I’ve seen something. I don’t like to receive random phone calls without a scheduled appointment.
name: Jess Moore, Music Supervisor
company: Level Two Music
What’s your hack for listening to blasts and getting them into your library?
When I’m sent music, I don’t immediately have time to listen so I save it to my personal library in DISCO. Then when I have time, or I’m on a specific search, I go straight there to find it. I know the music is up to date and waiting for me when I’m ready and I don’t have to spend time trying to find where I uploaded them, when I uploaded them and who it’s from — it’s all there.
How regularly do you like to receive them?
Weekly, ideally. No more, no less!
How many releases per blast?
Personally, my attention span isn’t amazing so I like short and sharp, maybe 10–15 tracks. Anything longer and I’m not listening and skipping songs so I can get to the end.
Obviously the shorter the playlist, the more likely I’ll listen to it all the way through. Those playlists stand out more.
What type of content resonates most with you?
I like genre or themed playlists. Makes the search much easier and more likely to be listened to for specific scenes. I also enjoy new releases playlists so I can be aware of what’s coming out.
What’s overwhelming to see?
Too many songs in a playlist; keep it short.
Keep the email copy minimal as well, I don’t need that much info about the playlist and the artists; I don’t have the time to read it. I like succinct, to the point facts, ’sounds like’ and a link.
Less is more.
Any general do’s and don’ts…?
• Send a personal message to me with the playlist, if you can, tell me what it is.
• Include as much info as you can about the copyrights of the list and each song. Info like:
- one stop clearance
- owns master (email address of managers)
- publishing splits
- publishing company
- master company
- release date is also very helpful
name: Michael Sherwood, Music Director company: Big Picture
What’s your hack for listening to blasts and getting them into your library?
I don’t have a particular hack. I bring what I can into my library and try to set aside anything that seems particularly useful for trailers, but I also definitely don’t get to everything. Persistent links are important, so I can come back to an email a couple years old and still download the music.
What type of content resonates most with you?
It’s different all the time, but try to familiarize yourself with the kind of music that works well in trailers. Fun, well-produced, unique (actually unique, not another quirky songwriter), or building are some aspects that can be useful.
What’s overwhelming to see?
Bad metadata. Missing track numbers or track titles. Company name in any of the metadata fields other than the Comments or Grouping. 15 keywords in the genre field instead of an actual genre. Artist names in the track title field. Bad capitalization. These are all things I have to spend time fixing and making judgement calls on.
Any general do’s and don’ts?
Do:
• Make sure your email address shows me your name. I’ve missed so many emails from people I know and trust because it’s from generic company address or something else I don’t recognize.
• A test download of your files. Throw them in iTunes or a simple metadata editor app like Metadatics to see what the metadata looks like to someone outside your company. So many labeling mistakes could be caught that way. If there’s album art, use that instead of a company logo. Your music is just a small part of the whole pile, and anything you can do to communicate its character, like album art, is so much more useful than making sure I know it’s yours. Keep in mind that your metadata is your packaging.
• Please, please, please, send AIFs instead of WAVs. They are essentially identical, but unless both the sender and receiver know what they’re doing, WAVs carry NO METADATA. You wouldn’t send a CD with a sharpie-written label and a blank sleeve, and that’s what WAVs are. #nomorewavs