This was a very interesting lecture, and also a great insight into what a music supervisor is and what their role is in film. Lol has been working in the industry for 14 years for a company called Vertigo Films. He was originally a DJ running clubs in Brixton. The company is quite large and there have been many blockbuster films directed by them. Lol has worked on films such as: Football Factory, Bronson, Monsters, The Sweeney etc. So he has a lot of experience in choosing the correct songs for film.
To get the right song for a film they sit in a studio, watching the film with no music coming up with different tracks which could go there, and when they present to the director there should be about 3 or 4 choices. So in this role it is very important to be creative. It is a job which is all about good relationships with everyone they come into contact with, they can’t be too pushy while negotiating.
The music supervisor is involved in a lot of the work with the Director to put songs into film and most of this music is paid for. Prices for songs vary but the most expensive examples of artists are: Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Pet Shop Boys and Michael Jackson with prices from £500K+ a side! (A side means that £500K will go to the record company and 500K will go to the publishing company). However this can only be used within context of the film. If they want to use this song in a trailer, opening and ending credits the price can go up drastically! This is the most extreme example, usually songs go for 1.5K a side.
The music supervisor must track down the people who published a song and the people who own the rights to a song in order to use it in a film (this is where the bartering happens). Sometimes if an artist wants their work to be in a film they can call their publishers and tell them to reduce the price for the film company. It is a bit different with composers, here the music is a lot cheaper and they can negotiate the price more. When the music supervisor gets permission to use a song they get it either ‘for the world’.