Music supervisors are looking for songs that they can use as is, without re-editing. The quality of your songs, production wise, should be what is considered "broadcast quality". Broadcast quality songs are higher quality than demos, but not necessarily as good as a professional recording. Home studio recordings are fine, but they need to be well produced. All of the songs I have had placed were done in home studios, and most of them were recorded in Pro Tools.
One of the publishers I've worked with has suggested that the quality of productions is as important, if not more important, than the actual song itself. The TV/Film niche of the music business is certainly easier to break into than the recording industry, but it is still competitive. Like in any competitive industry the highest quality product tends to rise to the top. So be sure that the songs you are submitting are well produced.
If there's one thing that I see holding songwriters back from successfully licensing their music more than anything else, it's music production. When supervisors pass on music they won't usually tell you exactly why, but it's safe to say that often times it's simply due to poor production. Even if a song is great and perfect for a scene in every other way, if the production isn't up to industry standards it's not going to work.
November Music Licensing And Production Workshop
If you want to work on improving your productions while learning how to get your music in tv and films at the same time, you'll want to sign up for the new November Music Licensing and Production Workshop.
This new workshop is a 30 day long program that lasts throughout the month of November. This program will focus on both how to improve your productions and how to get your music in tv and films.
The Music Licensing and Production workshop includes one on one coaching with me and producer Gary Gray, 30 daily tutorials related to both music production and music licensing, the programs "The A To Z Of Music Licensing" and "How To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed And Make You Money" and much more.
Check out all the details and sign up here. The course starts on Thursday, November 1st and there are limited slots.
