Tracie Butler

Market Analysis

Introduction
When films are made, two things are most memorable; the plot and the soundtrack. Finding a
good soundtrack for a movie not only helps to increase the movies success but also garner more
attention for the artists featured on said soundtrack. The job of finding that soundtrack belongs to
one called a music supervisor. A music supervisor is a qualified professional who oversees all
music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and any other existing or
emerging visual media platforms as required.1 California, Los Angeles more specifically, is a
well saturated area mainly in regards to the entertainment industry. There is a lucrative business
in both film and music, especially in Los Angeles where the two so often interact with each
other. However, there is also a lucrative business within advertising, video games and television
when it comes to incorporating music. The various executives in these sectors of the industry
know their market well. They know how to market their products as well as make money for the
artists who contribute to the soundtracks featured on their respective products. In the Los
Angeles area in particular, there is indeed a market for music supervision. Many independent and
major companies exist in the area providing an array of services for people looking to place their
songs in film, TV, video games and advertisements.

Location
Music supervisors have the privilege of being able to find work in most cities in the U.S.
However, because Los Angeles is the area in which most supervisors work, that privilege
becomes somewhat limited. That does not go without saying that there are music supervision
companies located in other cities densely populated with musicians looking to place their music;
it simply means that Los Angeles is the primary market in which music supervisors base their
work. Below are a list of the following cities where there is a market for music supervision.
1. Los Angeles, California
2. New York City, New York
3. Nashville, Tennessee
There are several music supervision companies in each of the cities listed above. However, the
majority of the companies were focused and based in Los Angeles or somewhere in California.
The amount of companies in California compared to the other two cities listed above does not
indicate that there are more musicians in these areas. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the geographical area with the highest employment level of musicians is actually New
York, with California coming in at a close second.

Definition provided by Guild of Music Supervisors

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It does not go without noting that California, and more specifically speaking, Los Angeles have a
higher amount of music supervision companies than anywhere else. Therefore, my primary focus
will be in Los Angeles, California. This is an area where music supervisors are very consistently
in the presence of TV, film and video game executives who need music for their various projects.
The music supervision companies, to list a few, which are located in Los Angeles are:
1. The Agency Group
2. Chop Shop Music
3. Clearsongs (Office in New York)
4. Antic Inc.
5. Air Edel (Office in London)
6. Artists In Motion
7. Bulletproof Entertainment
8. Creative Control Entertainment
9. Beta-Patrol Productions
10. BME Brewman Music &
Entertainment
11. Evolution Music Partners
12. Hit The Ground Running
13. Format Entertainment

14. Fusion Music Supervision

15. Go Big! Entertainment
16. Inaudible Productions
17. Playback Music Supervision
18. Neophonic
19. Syncalicious
20. TLS Music Services
21. Vidsyn
22. Stef Angel Music
23. SuperMusicVision
24. Woodwyn Lane Music

Demographics
According to the U.S Census of 2010, the population living in Los Angeles, California was
3,792,622. The Census Bureau also reported that of the estimated 1,628,085 civilian employed
population 16 years and over worked in arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation
and food services. 457,287 of them lived in the Los Angeles area.

Trends in the Market for Films

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Although the film industry has been steadily ebbing and flowing over the last decade,
with the highest ticket sales being in 2002 with 1.58 billion, ticket sales from 2014 into
2015 have risen from 1.27 billion to 1.29 billion.
Filmmaking costs have also risen in the past few years. The average cost of producing,
marketing and advertising a film in todays industry exceeds over $75 million versus the
figure in 1980 that was $16 million.
According to ASCAP, in 1976, only one film had generated over $100 million in U.S.
and Canadian box office receipts. By 2000, approximately 200 films had reach the $100
million mark.
Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy was the top film of 2014, making $332,862,030 dollars
and selling $40,741,986 tickets. The soundtrack also topped the U.S. Billboard Charts at

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number 1 and has stayed in that position for 26 weeks and has been certified platinum by
the RIAA.
Being responsible the creative process for a film can be a hard task to accomplish. Specific
genres of music garnered towards certain films require very different negotiations, contracts and
considerations and produce different backend royalties once the film is released to the public. In
film, music also has a very definitive place. Recent articles have been published stating the
importance music has in films. In an article written by composer Robin Hoffman, he describes a
comprehensive list of the functions music has in films. For example, Hoffman lists commenting,
illustrating movement, creating plot relationships, creating atmosphere, portraying emotions and
social, cultural and geographic references as some of the functions music serves in a film. More
evidence has been provided through two experiments done to examine the effect of music in
films. In Experiment 1, the participants watched short film with the original soundtrack or with
the soundtrack muted. In the second experiment, a musical soundtrack was added to a film that
had originally been produced without music. The findings concluded that the participants felt a
great transportation into the film and a greater agreement with the films beliefs when a
soundtrack was present and congruent with the story. These findings also might give incentive to
music supervisors to choose the music they put in their films with even more thought. Although
the importance of music in film has been made clear with these studies, even more opportunities
have opened up in the world of television, advertising and video games for music supervisors to
have a creative hand in.

Trends in the Market for Video Games

According to a report done in 2011, the worldwide video game industry was poised to
exceed $70 billion by 2015 considering the combined growth of console, portable, PC
and online video games. As this industry continues to grow, it gives musicians a chance
to have their music licensed.
Game developers, producers and publishers have begun to recognize the publics growing
interest in game music. Online retailers like Amazon and well known stores like Best
Buy have begun selling gaming soundtracks once these stores realized there was a market
for these soundtracks.
In 2005, Video Games Live was launched. It was an event that featured some of the
worlds best orchestras performing the worlds most popular video game music.
Gaming has a core demographic includes a large percentage of the younger generation
and as of recently, an increasing portion of the previous generations which leads to
marketing companies tailoring the soundtracks to games specific ages.

Music has become an important aspect of video games. For example, in the 2013 video game
release The Last of Us, many reviewers felt the game was impeccable but also praised the
soundtrack for its grasp of musicality within the context of the videogame narrative. Music is
what helps define a game whether its the tone or the setting. It allows the player of the game

Tracie Butler
really immerse themselves in the experience. The psychological effects of music in video games
really does take a toll on the viewers. A study was done showing that music indeed does
influence moods2, more specifically different types of music influence our moods. When youre
playing a video game, you might not notice the psychological or physical impacts the story
accompanied by the music can have on a gamer. One gamer reported feeling very intense
feelings while playing and indie game called Hotline Miami. A good game soundtrack is an
integral part of a video game and the video game experience. This kind of responsiveness to
music in video games will give music supervisors the incentive to create dramatic, happy or
solemn soundtracks to their respective video games.

Trends in the Market for Television

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In 2006, The O.C. used a song by Death Cab for Cutie that not only caught the attention
of music supervisors in the business but also helped skyrocket Death Cab for Cutie to
fame. This was also true for a number of other indie bands, creating a demand in the
dramatic genre of TV paired with indie music.
Recent polls have found that people are paying more attention to soundtracks on their
television programming. Out of 1,870 voters, 362 voters (20.34%) gave the opinion that
the CW show Supernatural had the best soundtrack.

With music supervisors realizing there is a market for soundtracks in TV shows that have the
ability to capture peoples ears, there is definitely a market for bands trying to get their foot
in the door. Success stories from bands like Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, and Imogen
Heap to name a few should inspire more music supervisors to use indie music in their
projects. Also, music supervisor Chris Mollere (music supervisor for teen shows like The
O.C. and Vampire Diaries) tweets out the song list at the end of each episode. This kind of
accessibility to new artists and songs helps define a market for up and coming bands.

Trends in the Market for Advertising

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A study was done by psychologists to find out what lyrics stick with them when they see
a particular brand on TV. This shows that there is a clear parallel between the melody of
a song used in commercials and their memorability as well as the lyrics ability to relate to
the commercials content.
o The Budweiser commercial that aired during the Super Bowl about a puppy losing
its way from home was backed by a mellow rendition of The Pretenders song
Im Gonna Be (500 Miles). It not only sets the tone for the commercial but
relates to the imagery very well.
Music analyst, co-founder and CEO of Next Big Sound, Inc. made a point to say that
brands need to stand apart from each other. Having a good song choice that will help that

Listening to classical, pop, and metal music: An investigation of mood Christopher Rea, Pamelyn MacDonald,
Gwen Carnes
2

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brand stand apart and perhaps reinforce the message of the commercial, will help convey
and demonstrate a brands personality.
A theory called The Idea of Musical Fit was proposed by MacInnis and Park in 1991 that
states music has a positive effect on consumer attitudes if the music fits the
advertisement. This should entice music supervisors to pick fitting songs for their
advertisements to increase retention of the commercial as well as brand loyalty.
In 2009, Coca-Cola released a global marketing campaign entitled Open Happiness.
The music played an integral part of the campaign, with Coca-Cola reaching out to artists
like CeeLo Green, Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco, Patrick Stump from Fall Out
Boy, Travie McCoy from Gym Class Heroes and Janelle Monae to record a song called
Open Happiness. The idea behind this campaign was to enforce the idea that drinking a
coke with friends would indeed open up some happiness as the song states.

According to the studies done in the last few years, music influences more than brand loyalty
among customers. Music that is congruent to the mood and message of an ad or commercial
helps to enforce that brands specific beliefs on a consumer. It also helps to enforce a positive
attitude about the brand as well. This kind of research should give music supervisors the
incentive to choose their song choices carefully and even commission songs they feel would
have a positive impact on their advertising ventures.

Conclusions based on Trends in the Market and the Music Industry

The information gathered provides an analytical look at how the music industry is shaped by not
just album sales but from other areas of entertainment. A music supervisor should feel comforted
in know their job opportunities are wide in such areas like film, television, video games and
advertising.
Music licensing has come to the forefront as another revenue stream for the music industry as its
become more apparent that there is indeed a market for it. Artists can not only make money by
licensing their music to video games, advertising ventures, mobile apps, indie and blockbuster
films and many other media outlets, but they can also gain a wider audience to market their
sound to. A good placement on a popular TV show (like Death Cab for Cutie on The O.C.), in a
film, or a well-advertised commercial like the 2009 Open Happiness campaign by Coca-Cola,
and that band can be seeing money for years to come. This should comfort people looking to go
into the field of music supervision because many industry professionals have recognized this fact
that a well-placed soundtrack get generate a steady revenue stream; and not just for the artists.
Industry professionals will look to find creative and innovative minds who know the market well
and can therefore find songs and artists that fit their niche.
There is also a lot of evidence of psychological effects that music has on different forms of
media such as TV, film, video games and advertisements. The music entices a certain mood and
response from the viewer which could include brand loyalty or an immersion in the story. The
kinds of studies that have been done in recent years to measure these kinds of responses should
entice music supervisors to pay even more attention to the music selections they use for their

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films. People will definitely take notice of the films that have, in their own opinions, the best
soundtracks.
Overall, the market for music supervisors is well saturated and is definitely a multi-faceted
environment where people who are more adept to video games and mobile apps will have a place
or people who are more inclined to go towards the film & entertainment route will, for lack of
better words, have a place in the job market. There are many roads one can travel down in
regards to music supervision. This should be a comfort to people who are looking for a market
that is specifically tailored to them as an individual within the music industry.

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Works Cited
Brabec, Jeffrey, and Todd Brabec. "Music, Money, Success & the Movies: Part One."
Www.ascap.com. N.p., 2007. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.

"Domestic Movie Theatrical Market Summary 1995 to 2015." The Numbers. N.p., n.d. Web. 31
Jan. 2015

Spicer, Nathan. "The 20 Best Songs in Videogames." Pastemagazine.com. N.p., 14 Jan. 2011.
Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

Vass, Lachlan. "The Role of Music in Videogames." The Artifice. N.p., 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 01
Feb. 2015.

Highfill, Samantha. "'Vampire Diaries' Music Supervisor: How 'The O.C.' Started a Trend That
Could save Indie Music." Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. N.p., 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Feb.
2015.

"USD POLL : Which TV Series Have the Best Soundtrack?" SpoilerTV. N.p., 02 Oct. 2014.
Web. 01 Feb. 2015. <http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/10/usd-poll-which-tv-series-havebest.html>.

Naish, Jenny. "The Role and Impact of Music in Advertising." N.p., 07 June 2014. Web. 01 Feb.
2015

Giles, Winston. "An Insight Into Current Trends In Music Licensing." Dotted Music. N.p., 07
Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

27-2042 Musicians and Singers." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 25 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 May 2015.

Music Supervisors Directory." S-Z. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.

http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/music-supervisors-directory-sz.htm

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Hoffman, Robin. "What Is the Function of Film Music?" Robin Hoffmann. N.p., 05 Nov. 2011.
Web. 03 May 2015.

Costabile, K. A. & Terman, A. W. (2013), 'Effects of Film Music on Psychological

Transportation and Narrative Persuasion', Basic and Applied Social Psychology 35 (3) , 316-324