A music supervisor for film and TV, Alison Rosenfeld thrives in the realm of the eclectic and up-and-coming. Over her 6 years at Aperture Music, Alison has placed songs by dozens of indie acts in TV shows including Girls, Goliath, New Girl, and Good Girls (as well as projects that don’t have “girl” in the title), and films including Trainwreck, Blockers, and Neighbors. She is one of the international speakers at this year’s Going Global Music Summit in Auckland and Anzel Singh asked her a few questions for us.

What is the best way for are an artist without a publisher to approach a music supervisor in order to get a sync placement?

It can be challenging to get your music heard by supervisors, especially without a publisher. We receive a ton of music every day, and it is impossible to listen to all of it, even though we want to! The best way to get music to supervisors is via a sync rep, whether that be a label or a 3rd party representative. If you don’t have representation, getting a write-up on a music reviewing site can be effective. I scour blogs regularly looking for unsigned bands.

Where should musicians aim to promote their music if they want to be discovered by a music supervisor?

I have discovered a ton of bands because they opened for another band I like, so playing shows is a great way to get noticed. All music supervisors find music in different ways, so there’s no one best or right way to promote. Do everything you can: maintain a social media presence, try to get write-ups from blogs or journals, and network within the local music scene.

What mistake can be the difference between an artist getting a sync placement or not?

The fewer approvals a supervisor has to get, the more likely it’ll be that a song will be used. If there are five writers on a song and I need to reach out to 5 different people to get 5 approvals, I might be forced to move on if I’m short on time. Regardless of how many approval parties there are, getting your songs registered with PROs, having writer and publisher splits determined, and being able to provide all information regarding song ownership is a great place to start. It’s also a good idea to have instrumental versions (as well as non-explicit versions) of your songs available.

What difference can getting a synch placement make to an artists career in your opinion?

The result of a sync can vary greatly, depending on multiple factors. The best case scenario is that the song gets attention for the use, becomes a hit, and promotes the artist; however, a sync could also end up being just an upfront license fee without longterm effects. Of course, the dream for both bands and supervisors is to create an amazing music moment that gets the band worldwide acclaim!