THE ART OF THE MUSIC SUPERVISOR: P.J. BLOOM OUTLINES IT ALL AT THE FILM MUSIC
NETWORK
by THE G-MAN, Immedia Wire Service
The role of music supervisor for motion pictures and TV is a relatively new
career category. You did not find it in motion picture or TV credits until relatively recently. Perhaps the most celebrated individual to seek out
recorded works for a motion picture was director Stanley Kubrick on his film "2001: A Space Odyssey," back before this role was invented. Kubrick cancelled an Alex
North score in favor of the classic Ligeti, Strauss (Johann and Richard), and Khachaturyan compositions that we now think of as that movie's soundtrack. As you'll see, the music
supervision function was not properly carried out on that otherwise brilliant film.
Today, it often seems that every single person who has been laid off from a record label goes
out and prints up a business card reading "Music Supervisor," but the fact is that the job is more difficult, more varied, more full of paperwork, and more influential than most people realize.
Did I say influential? Perhaps essential is a better word. Try to imagine "Matrix Reloaded,"
"Spiderman," or "Forrest Gump" without the songs. For that matter, try to imagine Mitsubishi (or almost any automotive) commercials without the music.
Many Jobs In One.
Depending on a music supervisor's relationship with studios, producers, and directors, someone like Bloom, who is at the top of the profession, may oversee a myriad of responsibilities: hiring
composers and recording artists, overseeing recording sessions, finding songs, editing music, and organizing on-camera musicians. Of course, that's just the fun stuff.
Consider the administrative details such as calling publishers and record labels for synch and master licenses, tracking down copyright holders, writing out cue sheets, and completing a
metric ton of paperwork each year. And while it's fun to get free CDs, it becomes a bit of a chore when you receive 200 of them a week. Every week. Each one representing the hopes and
dreams of at least one musician. And each one having the potential of delivering that one ideal piece of music for the next sound cue a producer needs.
Bloom is Booming.
P.J. Bloom comes to the profession with impeccable credentials: a music school graduate, a veteran of several bands, a performing DJ, and a passion for doing everything at the highest level
of performance. His goal is not just to do his job well, but to virtually define the position of music supervisor.
His involvement with soundtracks for film and television began in the early 90s while on staff at Columbia Records and continued at Arista and at independent firms. Fittingly, he has worked
with directors at the top of their profession, including Michael Mann, John Frankenheimer, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison and many others, and currently serves as music consultant for HBO
Films. He has worked on everything from studio films "Crazy/Beautiful"), to episodic TV ("The
Shield," "Nip/Tuck"), to TV movies ("The Gathering Storm"), to independent features ("Better
Living Through Circuitry"), to video games and commercials. Upcoming credits include the Mike
Nichols screen adaptation of "Angels In America" and "The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers."
The "How To" of the Business.
Opening with a fast-paced overview of music supervision, Bloom offered a book's worth of information in a very short space of time, then threw the event open for questions. In the course
of a jam-packed couple of hours, he let the composers, songwriters, agents, and managers in the room know how to approach a music supervisor and begin a relationship; how a demo
should be packaged; how a music supervisor approaches hiring composers, songwriters and bands for film/TV assignments; how music supervisors interact with directors; how music
supervisors interact with composers; and how to approach the pricing of your work.
Whatever joy there is in seeking out and influencing the success of music in all genres, the
music supervisor's process of obtaining rights and clearances can be crucial; as has been reported on the Internet Movie Database, composer Gyorgy Ligeti successfully sued Stanley
Kubrick over improper use of his music in "2001." Kubrick was a directorial genius, and "2001"
and its soundtrack are glorious, but the production obviously would have benefited from having P.J. Bloom as music supervisor.
The G-Man
Immedia Wire Service
immedia@pacbell.net
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