Music Business 210: Planning For Success with Gregory J. Gordon
As an on-going component of our curriculum, Pyramind founder and CEO, Gregory J. Gordon, draws upon his substantial Rolodex of friends and associates in the industry to join him in his advanced Music Business class. Aptly titled “Planning For Success”, Greg both interviews and moderates a class led presentation that takes us on a journey through the careers of successful audio professionals from all walks of the industry.
Brooke is a music supervisor and rights executive who created The Rights Workshop after running ESPN’s music department. Prior she was a rights consultant to TechTV, Arista Records manager of A&R Administration and a former radio host. She produced numerous critically acclaimed recordings and won a Billboard Award.
The wealth of her contacts, combined with her knowledge of international music, launched Seven Seas Music in 2015. A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia Business School, Brooke brings over 25 years music business experience to the Bay Area.
The Important Role of the Music Supervisor
Music supervision is one of those coveted jobs by individuals who are passionate about music and who sense they can match songs with images. Driving in a car listening to the right soundtrack is sometimes no different from being in a movie theater. Unfortunately, only about a third of the job is creative; the other two thirds is administrative, made smoother by relationships built up over many years.
Most music supervisors service directors by helping them match a post-production budget with the appropriate music to parallel the directors’ sensibility and the scene’s required mood. Documentarians often get stuck with a scene where the music is built-in, and they then have to clear the particular song heard in the scene. Yet music is expensive, and because it is copyrighted, permissions must be granted, making the process long and arduous. READ MORE
Music Rights Unveiled A Filmmaker’s Guide to Music Rights and Licensing Published by Focal Press Music Rights Unveiled provides an inside look at the complex world of music rights for film and video and includes step-by-step guidance to navigate these tricky waters. Authors Brooke Wentz and Maryam Battaglia share their decades of expertise in this user-friendly guide, designed specifically with filmmakers and producers in mind. The book provides a brief history of the pricing of music in film, television and digital media markets, and explains the process by which music is licensed or acquired for films, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and strategies for success. BUY NOW
Part 1
00:00:08 – Getting Started in NYC Radio
00:07:57 – Green Street Recording Studio NYC
00:11:4 2 – A&R Admin -Arista Records
00:12:22 – Relaxation Company – Mediative & Spiritual Music Comps
00:15:45 – Music Director for ESPN
00:18:50 – Direct Source Licensing – Public Performance Rights
00:22:35 – Sync Performance License
00:24:07 – Netflix & Video Game Licensing
00:26:02 – Spec Deals and Kill Fee
00:27:18 – Libraries and Theme Music
00:29:15 – Residuals over Upfront Composer Fees
00:32:22 – Moving to San Francisco – The Right Workshop
Part 2
00:00:40 – Bill Gram – Music Promoter
00:02:16 – The Right Workshop –
00:04:15 – “Get the Clearance”
00:7:01 – Copy-writes of a Song
00:8:20 – Who do you ask for clearance?
00:9:58 – Clearing Music for Documentaries
0:13:22 – Deals with Writers, Publishers & Labors
00:14:24 – Recording Sound a-likes vs. Paying Artist directly
00:18:40 – Seven Seas Music – International Music Licensing For TV & Film
Music Business 210: Planning For Success with Gregory J. Gordon
