Music Supervision Mastery: JuxMusic Licensing Agency — Part II

MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN: In Part I of his interview for SonicScoop’s “Music Supervision Mastery” series, Brandon Mason of JuxMusic Licensing Agency surveyed recent changes in synch licensing for TV programming, film, and commercials. Now find out how he picks his roster of artists to represent, and why music supervision matters to producers, engineers and studios.

More mega-nuggets of wisdom from NYC's JuxMusic!

Do you have sense for how the proliferation of licensing resources — like increasingly sophisticated online search tools, libraries and artist rep firms – are affecting original music houses and individual composers?

Jingle houses will always have their role, but right now my perception is that their environment is more competitive than ever before. Licensing pre-recorded music by real performing artists is now major competition for composers of original music.

One music producer at an advertising agency told me that ten years ago they licensed pre-recorded music 20% of the time and created original music for 80% of their productions. Now they’re licensing pre-recorded tracks about 35% of the time. That’s a pretty substantial change when you factor in all of the other technological shifts in music production that have caused the pool of composers to grow and the effect that this increase in competition has had on rates for original music.

Also, my impression is that the deals that jingle houses are making with their staff composers are not conducive to loyalty from their composers and long-term improvement of quality and growth… Many composers are opting to go freelance and/or start their own production entity after getting a certain number of high-profile projects under their belt. They leave their jingle house so they can get a larger percentage of the revenues that they feel they are entitled to.

We hear a lot about how music supervision relates to artists. But why is this a field that also affects producers and engineers, and is important for them to understand? In ways that may be obvious, and also perhaps not so obvious?

What’s obvious is that producers and engineers must print instrumental mixes. As underscore, instrumental tracks of real songs are, in my opinion, so much more appealing than production music.

What may be less obvious, is that producers and artists might want to factor synch placements into their decision-making process while they are making their records. If synch placement is a real priority, it is just a matter of asking yourself along the way, “What would make this work in a film, on television or in a commercial?” For instance, if a song starts with a psychedelic freak-out intro that is two minutes long, it might be a good idea to consider printing an alternate mix sans freak-out to present for synch opportunities.

Beyond considering this surface-level of decision-making, I wouldn’t advise that they let this thinking guide the process. Don’t let the unique original integrity of the production be compromised. Originality, authenticity and quality are what matters the most.

How do you decide which artists/labels to represent via Jux Music?

There is more music readily available for synch licensing than ever before.

The problem this presents to music supervisors searching for new music is that outside of what is available to them via labels and publishers, the massive pool of independent music out there is difficult to navigate within the time constraints of the deadlines they have to meet.

JuxMusic is a filter for them — our clients come to us with an idea in mind of the kind of sound or feel or mood they are looking for and they know that they can, at the very least, expect to receive music from us that actually matches their search criteria, and that the selections are of the highest quality in every way.

The writing, performances and production of these songs are all on par with what they might get from a label or publisher, and they all have a strong sense of their own musical identity and an obvious artistic statement that is unique…. We receive many, many music submissions from artists all over the globe, and these are the elements we’re listening for.

The Stripminers don't just feature Brett Anderson of the Donnas on vocals -- they also work with JuxMusic to get their tracks synch licensed.

When you choose to work with someone, how are your deals structured between Jux and the rights holder?

Our negotiable standard, non-exclusive, one-year agreement is a 50-50 split of upfront licensing fees and backend royalties on synch placements that JuxMusic secures only.

JuxMusic only gets paid if we do our job effectively – this ends up working well for everyone because rights holders continue to own their copyrights, and the compensation structure fits our strategy because a lot of placements that have low upfront fees yield decent royalties when a program goes into syndication all over the world, while other types of placements that pay well upfront often rarely yield backend royalties.

This allows us to go after a lot of different types of placement opportunities in all media sectors of the market.

How are recent developments affecting the overall value of the music that music supervisors or creative directors work with?

Financially, the value of music has been declining due to increased competition. However, according to the market analysis reports I’ve studied, the demand for music in synch is expanding and the number of placement opportunities is projected to grow each year for the next five years.

On a creative level, the value of music in synchronization with visual images has been increasing because the overall emotional impact of almost any type of production can be made so much stronger with the right music.

Overall, that sounds like good news. What do you think artists/composers/publishers/libraries can do – if anything – to protect the value of the music that they create, or own rights to, that gets used in visual media?

Rates are declining for two reasons working together:

1.) Music supervisors are accepting the “no budget” circumstances that their producer/clients are handing them.

2.) Reps/artists are agreeing to accept less because, “Hey, it’s better than nothing, and we need the exposure.” This is the strategy that most musicians have learned and adopted throughout their business lives.

Anyone that represents music needs to aggressively protect their artists from declining rates. I admit that this is easier said than done. You have to be willing to say no to placement opportunities that offer terms that are below your business model’s minimum, without compromising opportunities for future growth.

Beyond this, music placement clients need to understand too that they have to exercise their influence within their organization and work for/negotiate/demand the resources they need to elevate the overall quality of their productions.

In many cases, the music supervisor should be pulling out their calculators and spreadsheets with their producer/ clients and working on a music budget strategy together that makes sense for the scope of their productions. I get the sense that a lot of music supervisors with impossibly low budgets are reluctant, or don’t know how to do this.

The Original Funky Drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, is on board with JuxMusic.

You’re right a lot of this is easier said than done, but it doesn’t sound impossible. How is Jux Music dealing with the shifting landscape?

We’re nimble and far-reaching in our areas of expertise, we have a growing number of accomplished and talented artists because we offer terms that are very favorable, we have a loyal client base that is expanding every day because we establish genuine face-to-face relationships with our clients, we work with our clients to deliver great results, and we keep our operating costs down.

The biggest challenge is breaking in with clients that sign blanket deals with music licensing companies that think it is OK not to require — and then consequently not pay their artists — upfront master use and synch licensing fees. That one is pretty frustrating.

In light of that, what is Jux Music doing to improve your odds?

Many of the artists whose music we represent are very successful in the music industry. Some of these artists are also accomplished composers of original applied music.

We’re working with these artists on a freelance basis to offer custom commercial and long-form original music composition, sound design, sonic branding, music editing/ conform to picture and sound-alike production services to our clients. This means that when we receive a call for music, we can offer great artist-created releases AND artist-created original music. We’re providing a more meaningful alternative to big indie music licensing companies as well as jingle houses.

Is there a good example of that in action for you?

We recently received a call for pre-recorded tracks for consideration as the main title theme for a pilot demo for an unscripted program on a national cable TV network. We submitted ten selections, five of which were from our JuxMusic Collection, five more were original compositions — the client only needed 30 seconds of music, so two of our guys were able to craft some options pretty quickly.

One of the original compositions was selected. The catch was that the placement was for a demo pilot so the client couldn’t afford to pay much now but that we would negotiate a proper license if the show got picked up. I agreed, as long I could take the EP out to lunch!

At that meeting I was able to start a solid relationship with the EP, and persuade him to bring us on board as their music department for the series if the show got picked up. Well, the series was picked up last week and we’re providing all the music for the first season.

Well played – lunch is EVERYTHING. Lastly, what do you see on the horizon? What will music supervisors need next, and who will be best positioned to thrive in that environment?

As I stated earlier, synch is a growth sector of music publishing… We’re going to see a tremendous number of business models emerge out of this growth potential. Some of these models will be very useful to the field of music supervision, but most won’t.

— – David Weiss is the Co-Founder/Co-Editor of SonicScoop.com, and Co-Author of Music Supervision, The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for TV, Movies, Games & New Media.

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