Guest Post by Laura Katz
When I was a child, I met a woman sitting in a wheelchair in a hospital elevator with a nurse. The woman thought I looked a little sad (and I was, because I was a child with the flu!), and so she sang — well, scatted — to me “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” When I got off the elevator the nurse asked my mother: “Do you know who that was?” It was Ella Fitzgerald! It was a transformative moment at an early age, and I became obsessed with music. That’s how I got the music bug.
Later on, I interned in quite a few different facets of the music industry. My fourth internship was at Sony Pictures in the Music Creative Affairs Department, which gave me my first real insight into this field. After college, I got an internship at Cutting Edge Group, where I was able to grow the internship into a part-time position and then a full-time position, where I worked almost seven years, eventually heading up their Los Angeles Music Supervision division before creating my company, Supe Troop.
Happily, music supervision as a field includes many women and there are a lot of really phenomenal ones I look up to! Here are some tips for those who are looking to join the fun and break into the business.
- Be music obsessed. There is no music knowledge that will be wasted. You never know when you’ll need to know something super specific, and while you can always do research, it’s even better to know an answer and be the expert! I like to always be learning. Read memoirs and music blogs, watch music documentaries, go record shopping, and get other people’s opinions. As they say, knowledge is power.
2. Follow the directors and producers you want to work with. Keep informed about what they’re working on and what music is in their projects. When you get to the point where you are going after projects to supervise, it’s helpful to have that head start of being familiar with what kinds of music they’ve used in the past. Plus, it helps you have that first conversation with them.
3. Intern. It can sometimes be a drag to intern. You might get stuck making people coffee or delivering paperwork. But it is also hands-down the best way to get your foot in the door, to do real work, and to learn your trade. Also, don’t confine yourself to interning for music supervisors directly. It’s helpful to see all sides of the business — music publishers, record labels, producers, etc. Not only will that give you insight into the other side, you’ll gain valuable contacts for down the road.
4. Prove your worth. When you’re doing those internships, or those first jobs, do everything you can to make yourself valuable. Do all the tasks that you are given thoroughly, correctly (to the best of your ability), and efficiently. Don’t just sit around if you have nothing to do. Ask for more things and if there just isn’t anything for more for you to do, spend your time reading up about relevant news.
5. Be thorough. The mistakes you can make in clearing a song are many! So keep a sharp eye on the details. Here are just a few examples of the never-ending possibilities! If someone tells you a song is public domain, don’t just take her word — do your own research and find proof. Try to double check that a rights holder actually has all the rights; if you find an additional publisher later on, it can throw off your budget completely. Make sure that the location of the licensor matches the address of the licensee (i.e. if you are working on a British film, make sure to go to the British offices of the licensors you’re working with). Plus, confirm that the license covers the world. The best way to avoid the pitfalls is to be very detailed and prepared!
Laura Katz is the founder of L.A.-based music supervision company Supe Troop. At Supe Troop, Katz specializes in music supervision services for all types of media. Prior to launching Supe Troop, Katz led Cutting Edge Music Services’s Los Angeles music supervision team for feature films, TV shows, and other visual media projects. Katz’s notable film credits include “The Grey,” “That Awkward Moment,” “Stuck in Love,” “Their Finest,” “The Yellow Birds,” and “Gemini” (in competition at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival March 2017). You can follow Supe Troop on Twitter @supetroopmusic.
