How do editors and music supervisors search for music?

Finding and licensing the right piece of music is a critical part of an creating an ad, trailer, TV show, movie or even internal corporate video. Sometimes, this is one person's entire job, like a music supervisor for a trailer house, ad agency, or TV show. Other times, this role will fall to the editor or producer.

Where do editors/ producers / music supervisors go to search for music?

There are plethora of sources of commercial music- it really depend on the project. Sometimes, a show will contract with a single music library. The editor would then search within their catalog to find the cue, then license the cue at a contracted rate. Alternately, a project such as a movie trailer could have a set budget, and the editor/music supervisor is free to find any cue from libraries or labels that would fit the budget. In this case, they would be searching through a vast collection of music, housed in iTunes or Soundminer or another software. Sometimes a music supervisor would reach out to a library or label with the project parameters, and ask to be sent a playlist with appropriate cues.

What search terms are used in music searches?

Editors and music supervisors typically search using film/TV terms vs. music terms. The job of the music cue is to help create/ reinforce the "feel" of a project. For example, if they were looking for music for an Avengers trailer, they would use words like "epic, superhero, action, driving, huge" vs. musical terms like "fortissimo" or "crescendo" or even "horns". Some editors will even type in "Avengers" to see what comes up! This is why it's so critical that your music descriptions include "genre" words like "procedural" "adventure" "thriller" "reality TV" etc that describe the specific placement of the music cue.

What is the search process like?

It's usually very, very fast. A music supervisor will quickly pull up a search by typing in 1-2 keywords like "dark, procedural". Then they will scroll down the tracks, listening to maybe 5-10 seconds of each track. Any tracks that they feel might be a fit go into their folder of possible cues. These cues are then provided to the editor. The editor then might try a handful until one seems to be fit. If they don't find anything they like, they go back to the search with different terms- they might try "crime, thriller" or "mystery, piano" to see if they can get different results. Having the right keywords ensures that you show up in these initial searches for consideration.

How long does it take from the initial search to a final, licensed cue?

When I worked as a music supervisor in theatrical trailer advertising, it could take months to find the right cue for trailers for Iron Man 2 or Jennifer's Body. Alternately, some projects are under intense time pressure and need cues found and licensed the same day.

How can you ensure your music shows up in searches?

Assuming that your music is "in play" at a network, trailer house or ad agency, tagging and embedding your music with descriptive, appropriate keywords is the best way to ensure that your music can be found.

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