Behind the music: The power of synchs Nov 13 2008
"Music Week recently reported that Staten Island artist Ingrid Michaelson has sold more than 250,000 copies of her self-released debut album and nearly 1m copies of her first single, highlighting a perfect example of the opportunities that have opened up for independent artists through synchs.
A synch (meaning a synchronisation licence) is when music is used in TV shows, movies, advertising or computer games. After Michaelson set up her own label - Cabin 24 Records - to release her music, she was discovered on MySpace by film and TV licensing company Secret Road. Through them, four of her songs were featured in Grey's Anatomy, and Old Navy (the Gap clothing store offshoot) used her debut single in their American advertising campaign." [Guardian]
Movie tunes move away from marketing: Many soundtracks are better suited to an afterlife Nov. 17, 2008
"Tracking soundtracks and their potential in the iTunes age has started to feel like spinning the big wheel on "The Price Is Right." One season it lands on major studio labels, the next year the indies hit the jackpot, and the next the whole thing is dead -- and then there's always the fluid issue about cost.
This year the soundtrack leader is Rhino's "Juno" album, which has moved 1 million copies since its release Jan. 15. That record, dominated by songs from Kimya Dawson, who wrote one track specifically for the film, stands as an anomaly in a year that has been good only for musicals, Disney products, TV-based pics and holdovers such as "August Rush," which was still in the top 200 a year after its release. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," which has sold fewer than 50,000 copies, demonstrates that not all indie compilations are equal." [Variety]
Websites showcase new performers: Portals aim to do heavy lifting for music execs Nov. 17, 2008
"It can be a time-consuming task seeking out the next hot new music act to plug into a project, with music supervisors having to spend hours inside cramped clubs or listening their way through stacks of CDs sent by band reps. But an increasing number of websites are doing some of that heavy lifting, showcasing up-and-coming performers looking to land a big break.
Among them, Yahoo Music's Who's Next regularly spotlights new acts that have crossed over and struck a chord with mainstream auds. The series, which reaches Yahoo Music's more than 20 million visitors each month, kicked off in 2004 with a performance by My Chemical Romance. Soon after, the young goth-rock band landed several major tours, saw their album go platinum and earned a Grammy nom." [Variety]
Fall Film & TV Music: Penny serenade Nov 12, 2008
"Resourceful composers are adapting to shrinking music budgets, but the bleak economic reality is affecting everyone from engineers to musicians. When Jan Kaczmarek was asked to score last year's indie release "Evening," he knew exactly what he wanted.
"It was a really complex story," he explains, "but it also had something in it which called for a very lush sound. That smoothness called for a large ensemble of strings with mute -- with the musicians on violins, cello and viola putting a small piece of rubber next to the bridge, which makes the sound less bright. The musical term in Italian is 'con sordino.' I needed this extremely smooth, extremely precise sound."
But to achieve that, he also needed to work with musicians who could pull it off -- and that meant recording in either London or Los Angeles, the two capitals of film music. The problem was, the movie could not afford it." [HollywoodReporter]
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