Question for movie industry people

The producer and director hire an actual composer to write the music for a film. Have you never heard of John Williams? Jerry Goldsmith? John Barry? Ennio Morricone? Bernard Herrmann? Elmer Bernstein? Henry Mancini? Nino Rota? Alan Silvestri? Film composers write music cues to fit each scene of the film.

It is very rare for a film to use other people's music (you have to get permission, pay royalties, etc.). Some exceptions include films like The Sting, which featured only music by Scott Joplin (I believe all in the public domain by that point).

R1 but lots of movies have songs by others featured. When the credits rolls you can see the artists they've used.

I've wondered about that too. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Dumb and Dumber, and Baywatch featured a lot of music by various obscure singers/bands that were absolutely perfect for the scenes they were used in. Who picks the music that's used in a scene? How did they find out about it? In figure skating it's called 'music farming', and it's either done by the skater, or the coach or choreographer. Michelle Kwan's choreographer Lori Nichol said in an interview that she'd spend $2000 on CDs and not find anything good to use for skating. She'd listen to the music all day while going about her other activities.

Movies and TV shows have a score which is done either in house or is purchased through various scoring companies. Popular music that is licensed and used on TV shows and movies is done by either the music coordinator or sometimes they will use services such as Monster Sector.

[quote] It is very rare for a film to use other people's music (you have to get permission, pay royalties, etc.).

What? It happens all the time. Depends on the budget.

You're talking about the Music Supervisor, OP.

To answer your question; They have BOTH a special knowledge of music and have a vast bank of it. Here's how the Berklee College of Music describes it --

[quote]A skilled music supervisor might choose the perfect song to enhance a dramatic television moment, help an advertising producer make smart, inspired music choices, or find a cost-effective workaround when a film's plot requires a particularly expensive, hard-to-license recording. Music might be selected based around a central guiding aesthetic, a sense of how the music would complement a specific scene, or knowledge that a certain new track is well positioned to succeed.

There's original music commissioned for a film (as R1 educates us), and there is pre-existing music selected for a film (featuring strongly in Tarantino films, for example.)

I could be wrong, but assumed OP might mean the latter, wondering if there were specialists to call upon to match pre-existing music to scenes and make suggestions to the director.

I used to know an editor of the snippets of music that punctuated some NPR news programming, a "dream job" every said that required a knowledge of a wide array of music and the ability to pair music with a story theme and to make some connection or progression one piece to another.

I have wondered what the process is like for some films where the selections of pre-existing music are esoteric, apt, and advance the story in a clever easy. It first seem like an easy or widely held skill.

Sorry R6, I saw your post after I finished mine.

Molly Ringwald was responsible for exposing John Hughes to many of the songs he then incorporated into his films. One of the actresses on Pretty Little Liars introduced the show creators to the song that became the show’s theme song.

Funny you mention Tarantino, R7 because I was just about to post about this about his his first Music Supervisor. We seem to be on the same wavelength today.

There's a successful Music Supervisor (now exec) named Karyn Rachtman who famously worked with Quentin Tarantino's on his early films. Notably she's the sister of 1980's MTV personality Riki Rachtman.

Here's how she got her start with Tarantino:

[quote]In 1992, producer Stacey Sher introduced Rachtman to Quentin Tarantino, who was working on his feature-length debut, Reservoir Dogs.[1] He was determined to use the Stealers Wheel song "Stuck in the Middle With You" for a pivotal scene, and the music supervisor on the film had been unable to secure the necessary rights. After a complicated negotiation, Rachtman acquired the song, and Tarantino hired her as the music supervisor for Reservoir Dogs.[12] Rachtman brought the soundtrack album to MCA, and the resulting record deal paid for the music that was ultimately used in the film. The music used in Reservoir Dogs—particularly "Stuck in the Middle with You" -- "would change cinema thereafter.

[quote]By the end of the 1990s, Rachtman had music supervised or executive produced soundtracks for Clueless, Get Shorty, Basketball Diaries, Romeo + Juliet, Grace of My Heart, Boogie Nights, Bulworth and The Rugrats Movie, among others. She had worked closely with Amy Heckerling, Baz Luhrmann, Paul Thomas Anderson, Warren Beatty, Allison Anders and Robert Rodriguez, and become one of the most sought-after music supervisors in the film industry

^^ Oops forgot to sign my Rachtman/Tarantino post to let R7 / R8 know that I'm R6

Baywatch had excellent music supervision. The audio and video become one in my favorite music montage from the show:

David Chase did all the music selections for Sopranos. He said he had a large budget for music.

TV shows seem to use artists that are connected to the parent company in some ways as a sort of cross promotion. They already own the content etc…

I am not an industry person, but am actually a friend of Mick Jones from The Clash, the writer of Should I Stay or Should I Go.

Probably one of the main reasons music supervisors are now being discussed and recognized more. The use of that song on Stranger Things seemed to light a fire under the industry.

Friends with MJ, but not like i have his # and can call him.

So, I had binged that 1st season of ST like the first month —— hard to believe it, but —— there was a time where no one knew wtf was Stranger Things. Really strange to look back on that now.

Anyway, I then asked my friend (who does have MJ’s#, ) right after I binged it, how did Netflix get use of his song for Stranger Things? ! He told me it was a VERY long process (see link…) The Clash are very very protective of their work.

And, He said, MJ hasn’t watched it yet, i just gave him a copy on dvd today because he doesn’t have Netflix. LOL.

I love that. He is a rock icon but watches his TV / movies on dvd because he doesn’t have streamers.

Anyway, this link and another I will post after are kind of interesting. And will explain a little bit why MJ and The Clash said yes to Nora Felder.

R15 again, with another link

Almodovar's movies have always had fascinating music tracks in them. Both the pre-recorded stuff that is used, as well as the music written specifically for the films.

[quote] It is very rare for a film to use other people's music (you have to get permission, pay royalties, etc.).

Way off

I recall reading that much of the Reservoir Dogs budget was securing music rights.

There are music producers like Mark Mothersbaugh on the TV show "What We Do in the Shadows" who are knowledgeable about a vast array of genres and styles and songs, and use that to help create a soundtrack. There was a team at MCA who worked with Tarantino on "Pulp Fiction" to get the songs he wanted for the film, which he used in lieu of a traditional soundtrack composed for the film.

I worked on a project in the 1980s using Mannheim Steamroller music, it was a charity project and they allowed use for just $1, because it wasn't going to be reproduced or distributed in any way, but we had to go through ASCAP (I believe) and the process took forever.