A Music Supervision Mood Drop Listening Session @ Kimmel Center, October 23, 2009
A Music Supervision Mood Drop Listening Session @ Kimmel Center, October 23, 2009
Moderator: Dan Lieberstein, Music Supervisor and Editor
Panelists:
Karimah Day, President/COO, Sir Groovy, Inc.
Anna Lascurain, Search Party Music
Nathan Nelson, Manager, Licensing/Digital/Publishing, Stones Throw/Miserable Beast
Sean O’Neal, Film/Multimedia Sync/A&R, Missing Link Music
Aspiring singer-songwriters and bands were given a rare opportunity to get their music heard by some key decision makers on Friday. Music supervisors are the ones who place music in film, television and advertising, and in a post-iPod Feist world, everyone wants to get their tunes on “Grey’s Anatomy”. Audience members were asked to drop off their finished masters into four “drop boxes” labeled with the different moods: happy, sad, quirky and serious. The panel listened to a number of songs, and gave their honest critique of the music. According to the panel, the overall quality of the music was surprisingly good, as many of them stated, they “get a lot of really bad demos” into their office. Nelson credited this odd quality to CMJ and the caliber of artists the CMJ Music Marathon draws. The music we heard ranged from your typical singer-songwriter fare, to 60s funk throwbacks, and a bit of electronica thrown in for good measure. The panelists often said, “Oh this could be a good Feist replacement” and “I could definitely see this placed in an ad”. Once in a while, after a song, the silence would stretch, while the panelists tried to articulate their thoughts on a piece. Awkward? Sure, but that’s the truth in having your music picked apart by industry leaders. The Mood Box listening session was a unique way to see how music supervisors think, and if you were one of the lucky ones, get your music heard.
-Michelle Lee
