What lessons have you learned from 2021 that you will apply to 2022 and/or what processes and practices necessitated by the pandemic will continue even when the pandemic is (hopefully) over? (Remote work, use of Zoom enabling more people to be involved in the creative approval process, etc.)
There are a number of lessons learned in 2021 that we will take over into 2022. One thing that came out of the pandemic, that I actually loved, was Zoom. I am aware this is not a popular answer, but before the pandemic I questioned a video call, and now, I’m so disappointed when it’s just a regular phone call. Because music can live in a bubble, I never really knew who I was working with and now, I can see their faces, and it’s really quite refreshing!
For mix and sound design, I think remote work is really difficult. Even when we are all listening in the same room people are hearing things differently. With remote work, people are listening on different speakers, they are being pulled in a million directions and it’s brutal.
How do new technologies, markets and platforms figure in your creative/business plans in 2022? For example, with NFTs gaining momentum, do you foresee related sound and music work resulting? Same for VR/AR? Will increased content spurred on by the emergence of additional streaming platforms open up music and sound opportunities for you? Any growth prospects in the advertising and/or entertainment industry?
I have never actually had a business plan, we always move organically and as a need comes up. While VR is gaining popularity, it’s not exactly a new medium, we have been working with it for years. Long form, which we have never pursued, found us in 2021 and we did the music, sound design and mix for the documentary, LFG on HBO Max where we were nominated for a Critics Choice Award for best score. So, it looks like we could be venturing into that medium as well!
How has your role–or that of your business or company–evolved in recent years? What do you like most about that evolution? What do you like least?
We have opened a NY studio at the height of the pandemic and it was incredible to watch it grow in spite of everything. All of the people we have known and loved there are now starting to come in for mix and sound sessions and it has been a blast. I love having people on both coasts so you aren’t stretched so thin working east coast and west coast hours. In building those studios it taught us about more efficiencies we can be taking in Los Angeles and we have upgraded and made everything flow beautifully between coasts.
The hardest part is of course that frightening overhead that comes with gorgeous space in the Flatiron.
What was the biggest creative challenge posed to you by a recent project? Tell us about that project, why the challenge was particularly noteworthy or gratifying to overcome, or what valuable lesson you learned from it.
We did a project where we tried and tried, but we could not connect on a direction with the agency. It’s very rare but it does happen. We both tried to force it to happen, but at the end of the day, sometimes, it’s not a great creative match. I hate to even say it because those moments are so few and far between, but it does happen. What I learned was that sometimes, it’s ok to walk away. It’s not only best for the project but best for the mental health of everyone on the team.
What recent work are you most proud of and why? Or what recent work (advertising or entertainment)–your own or that of others–has struck a responsive chord with you?
One piece of work I am incredibly proud of, is the LFG documentary. It was absolutely out of the box for us, and we created a lot of the cues off of commercial demos we had written and used those as inspiration. Which was fun and hilarious, because it’s the opposite of how things are normally done. Everyone aspires to be in film and they make that their inspiration, but we were able to flip the script and use the undervalued commercial medium as inspiration for cues on a film that was nominated for best score. We also wrote the end credit song with Charm La Donna for the film. The goal was to create a powerful sports anthem for girls, and that was exactly what we did.
Our entire team had to reach beyond their comfort zone and learn how to be film music editors, mixers, make cue sheets, do all the dialogue clean up. It was a huge undertaking we did alongside our regular commercial work. Our EP Ashley came through in the clutch on that one and the Fines, who brought us in had an unbelievable amount of trust in us.
A growing number of superstar artists and songwriters have been selling their music rights/catalogs in megabuck deals. What will be the ripple effect of this on music creatively and from a business standpoint relative to the advertising, film, TV and streaming platform markets?
Typically, selling a catalogue makes it more accessible. Corporations are buying the rights so they can license the work, so a song that felt impossible to get before because the artist has a certain emotional pull, is now possible. You hope the original intention of the work doesn’t get dumbed down, but of course that is uncontrollable, and also probably none of my business. Ha.
What are the implications of emerging dynamics such as the pandemic and relatively new markets like NFTs, podcasts, streaming platforms, etc., on the music library business?
This is all incredible for the music library business. There are so many avenues to collect revenue, and no one wants to pay much for music so that is oftentimes library music is the way for someone to go.
With music streaming platforms I have realized that there is an entire generation of people who have never gone to a record store and invested $20 to buy one album. They have every piece of music imaginable for $9.99 per month and as a result, the value of music is so much lower, it almost feels like a right that you should have the music you want without paying much because that is their reality. It’s a shame, but also the way of the world now and music libraries can give them music that exists without the hit to the budget that custom or a license will require. Also, I just realized how old I sound but I am sure former latchkey kids everywhere will relate.
