Sync Music

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

There are moments, in film or TV that become iconic, timeless, and at the same time, reshape the zeitgeist, sometimes, forever. Music Directors, Supervisors, Composers, Songwriters, receive “The Brief” and when they truly understand the assignment, magic happens. Sometimes, it’s a fluke. Sometimes, its the perfect blend of the right scene, backstory, composition and performance coming together to make magic. Sometimes, it’s just the right song, in front of the right person, at the right time.

I have written about my love for soundtracks before. I will try not to repeat myself.

Confessions Of A Soundtrack Junkie

What I will endeavor to explain is exemplary sync music, why it’s challenging, why composers and songwriters chase these elusive opportunities, and why it is so damn hard.

I have been chasing this opportunity since 2019. My only success so far? Placement of an instrumental version of a song I wrote with Jay Nash that made it into the Dutch documentary “Divided States.” This does not really count. Why? No $$ and Jay was hired to score the thing, so we had an inside edge. I have had a couple of close calls. One for the CW reboot of Nancy Drew and one for an Indie film. But, alas, it didn’t happen.

The cold hard reality of today’s music business is that film scoring, TV theme composition, and the elusive sync placement (when an existing song just happens to fit perfectly what a music supervisor is looking for) are some of the only ways left to make any money in music, unless you are a big deal, dedicated to touring, or some YouTube or TikTok phenom. And, of course, this is now all under threat from AI.

I won’t bore you with the details of building connections to music supervisors, film makers, sync publishing firms, music libraries, and the rest of the behind the scenes grind. Trust me, it’s grind. There are other smaller opportunities for short pieces of music - 30 or 60 second spots, tension queues, etc, but they typically don’t pay particularly well, unless it’s for an ad.

Back in the day, this was big business. Just look at the track record of Mike Post. It’s bonkers what he has accomplished. I read somewhere that it’s estimated he has over 7000 hours of music in TV and film. You read that right, 7000 hours. But what I want to talk about in this post are the songs that cross over to the charts. By way of example, here are Mike’s:

Charting singles

The following singles credited to Mike Post charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart^[18] and/or on the Adult Contemporary chart:

• “The Rockford Files“ (number 10, 1975; AC number 16)

• “Manhattan Spiritual“ (number 56, 1975; AC number 28)

• “Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)“ (number 2, 1981; AC number 3)^[19]

• “Hill Street Blues“ (number 10, 1981; AC number 4)

• “Magnum, P.I.“ (number 25, 1982; AC number 40)

• “Theme from L.A. Law” (AC number 13, 1988)

Once in a while, something so extraordinary happens that it leaves us all speechless. Eminem truly had a once in a lifetime opportunity to write the theme song for the movie about his rise to fame. He crushed it. We remain in awe. When it comes to sync it’s all about not missing opportunities. So, this seems appropriate to make the point.

Behind the scenes, there are hoards of musicians “building their catalog.” We are writing from lived experience, obviously, but through the lens of emotional impact. We write, and write, and write some more. My catalog is tiny, which means my odds are also tiny. At this point, I have probably written 60 or 70 songs. Think of those as lottery tickets. Keep in mind, professional songwriters probably write that many song in a year. Some, many more.

In my humble opinion, Brenee Brown’s Atlas of the Heart is a seminal reference manual for songwriters - really, any writer. This graphic helps illustrate why. Think about the music you really love and look at this list. 💡

Let’s look at the theme to Cheers - first, this was a bit of a fluke in terms of how it came together, nobody could have predicted how this show would take off, and here we are almost 45 years later with the lyrics still just as relevant. Listen, and then look at the box for Searching for Connection. Pretty sure this lyric captures everyone of those emotions. You may not care for this song, but it’s a perfect example of using specific images to evoke emotion. Throw on top of that the ensemble cast of the show, the iconic “Norm” shout and it all just dovetails together to create something that met the moment. That’s a good sync song. (Apologies to the younger crowd for this old reference.)

Another classic example is Iris, by the GooGoo Dolls. City of Angels is about an angel that falls in love with a human (not allowed). You don’t need to know that to appreciate the song, but when you do, sitting there in the theater, hearing this song rips your heart out and stomps on it. After that, you will never hear the song the same way again. That’s a good sync song.

Whether you like the GooGoo Dolls is irrelevant, what is relevant is that they crushed it in terms of delivering exactly the right song, for the right scene and making us lose our minds. The City of Angels soundtrack is filled with amazing examples this and sync placements.

Was this tied to commercial relationships? Absolutely, but that did not stop the GooGoo Dolls or Alanis Morissette (Uninvited) from coming through with flying colors on their original compositions for the film. Danny Bramson was the music supervisor for this film and if you click the link and look at his IMDB credits, you will see, he is one of the best in the business. (Apparently this is age restricted due to a surgery scene…wtaf? Hopefully the link works.)

Another one that has an interesting backstory, which I was fortunate enough to hear from the artists themselves (songwriting workshop) is 1000 Years by Christina Perri and David Hodges.

To hear Christina tell it, this was a dream come true. She was already a huge Twilight fan when she was asked to submit a song about the love affair between Bella and Edward. She teamed up with David Hodges, a powerhouse musician and producer. David revamped some Mendelssohn (The Wedding March) and they were off.

Confession, I have never seen any of the Twilight movies or read any of the books. It doesn’t matter. This song was only used for the closing credits of the movie. Imagine having just watched the movie and then this comes on…bet you stay for the credits.

This song has over the years become a top wedding song. As of this moment, this video alone has over 2.7BILLION views. That’s not counting all the other streams, any physical sales, etc. Talk about right artists, right time, right brief - voila, magic. The fact that this song is about the love affair between immortals - you guessed it, irrelevant.

And then there are the times, when an existing song gets the perfect sync placement. There are too many of these to mention, and it’s not really the point of this post. Probably the most jaw dropping example is I Will Always Love You covered by Whitney Houston from The Body Guard. Honestly, someones should make a documentary about this song. The stories behind it are legion.

But if we are talking pure “resurrection” factor, I can’t think of one bigger than this.

My songs that got consideration for sync are:

Whole Damn Fire (For Nancy Drew reboot by CW) — Performed here by Emma Rowley.

She Whispers Now (Indie Film, where the lead character is broody, and happens to play Flemenco guitar)

I have written about these in previous posts, again, I won’t repeat myself.

I keep chasing the dream of a placement. Looking for my “one shot, one opportunity,” but I am skeptical. I know my limits. The songwriters and composers behind the selections I have featured here are legends. That’s not me. Lately, I have been more focused on protest songs.

However, writing for sync is what saved me as a songwriter. I was burned out. I tried country songs and songs about myself. I got sick of all of it. Songs about emotions though? Imagining new characters, creating backstories for them, picturing the kind of scenes the songs would be perfect for, that is what brought me back to writing.

When I get stuck, I look at the 87 emotions, how they apply to a lawyer, doctor, detective, parent, child, athlete, actor, writer, musician, nurse, family, etc. I reflect on the 7 Archetype stories: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. And then, I try to tell a three minute story set to music that will make you feel something.

I try to remain true to the goal of being one of “The Keepers Of The Time.” When all is said and done, all this is just a legacy I suppose. It keeps the creative juices flowing, the connection to dear friends and collaborators, and it makes me happy. After all, that’s what music is all about - making us feel something. That’s sync music.

Maybe if I keep working hard and get very lucky, there will be a sync in my future. If not, maybe I can at least earn myself a spot in Rock N Roll Heaven.

This post could have easily turned into a book. Hell, someone’s probably already written one. Hopefully, I gave you a little behind the scenes look at sync music. The examples that I site in my early post about soundtracks are worth a look if you missed that or decided to skip ahead.

Need a writing prompt? Look at the chart again.

There’s a fun list from Billboard if you want to know about TV themes that actually charted.

Here’s the one that prompted the idea for this post. This song perfectly encapsulates the story arch of Holly Hunter’s character in this TV show. Everlast was an interesting choice for this, but again, nailed it.

Now it’s your turn. I would love to know your favorite TV themes, song placements that moved you (TV or movies), soundtracks. Get in the comments MusicStack let’s rumble.

Peace,

Taz

Coda: I am a Highlander nerd. I admit it. The movies and the TV show. Judge away. But I dare you to tell me this didn’t nail it. Matt Thompson - I am sure this is in your gaming music arsenal.

Honorable mention for best closing credits. It Goes On from the movie 12 Strong. A fabulous film, based on a true story. I wept listening to this at the end of the movie. This is Zac Brown’s alter ego Sir Rosevelt. Sadly, seems utterly appropriate for the moment. Please keep our deployed service members in your heart. They don’t make the decisions. Let’s pray this does not go on and on.