What Is Music Supervision?
Music supervision is the craft of selecting, licensing and managing music for visual media such as film, television, advertising and games. A music supervisor matches songs to story and brand, negotiates sync and master licences, manages the music budget and ensures every piece of music used is legally cleared.
Music Supervision in Practice
A music supervisor is part curator, part negotiator, part translator of rights law. On a film, series, advert or game, they search for the piece that serves the story, negotiate sync and master licences with publishers and labels, keep the music budget honest and make sure every note is cleared before broadcast. The craft has moved from the shadows to the awards stage: the Guild of Music Supervisors holds its own annual awards, and in 2017 the Television Academy introduced an Emmy for Outstanding Music Supervision, first won by Susan Jacobs for Big Little Lies. In advertising, supervision is where creative ambition meets rights reality, and a good supervisor knows when a famous needle drop is worth the fee and when a commissioned track serves the brand better.
Famous Example
Susan Jacobs winning the first Emmy for Outstanding Music Supervision in 2017 for Big Little Lies
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- Shepard Tone
- Skeuomorphic Sound
- Sonic
- Sonic Audit
- Sonic Brand Guidelines
- Sonic Branding
- Sonic DNA
- Sonic Identity
- Sonic Logo
- Sonic Palette
- Sonification
- Sound Branding
- Sound Design
- Sound Effect (SFX)
- Sound Symbolism
- Sound Trademark
- Sound-alike
- Soundscape
- Spatial Audio
- Startup Sound
- Stem
- Sting
- Sung Slogan
- Sync Licensing
- Synthetic Voice
A memorable jingle is one tool within a brand’s wider sonic branding.
