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Music supervisors can only deliver if agencies trust their experience and let the creative process flow.
Music is an integral part of any audiovisual experience. It guides us on how to feel and how to interpret images, and that is why getting the music right is so important.
Before I started Native, I spent six years as the head of music at Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R. One of the biggest projects I worked on during that time was BBC London 2012 with Elbow. It involved a large team of hugely talented creatives, planners, account directors and other stakeholders. The process started more than a year in advance and the music strategy was at the heart of the campaign. I was involved from the conception of the idea to the final mixes, doing anything from suggesting the right artists to booking the orchestra, and generally being the point of contact between artist and agency throughout.
I mention this because I think my part in BBC London 2012 sums up the role of a music supervisor. Music supervision is not just about placing existing music in commercials, films and TV shows. It's a catch-all term that demands the experience and knowledge to deliver the right music solutions that fit the creative brief and maximise the on-screen experience. This could entail finding the right composer or finding the right track. In either case, it means managing the...