The Role of Music Supervisors: How Songs Get Placed in TV and Film

TL;DR

Music supervisors select and licence music for TV, film, adverts, and games. They search sync libraries, accept pitches from publishers, and increasingly discover music through playlists and social media. Getting your music sync-ready (clean metadata, instrumental versions, stems) is essential.

What Music Supervisors Do

A music supervisor is responsible for all music in a film, TV show, advert, or game. This includes selecting songs to licence, commissioning original scores, negotiating fees with rights holders, and ensuring all legal clearances are in place.

The role requires an encyclopedic knowledge of music combined with an understanding of narrative, emotion, and commercial context. A great music supervisor finds the perfect song for a specific moment — the track that enhances the storytelling without overwhelming it, that sets the tone without being on-the-nose.

For independent artists, music supervisors represent one of the most valuable connections in the industry. A single sync placement can generate thousands of pounds in fees, expose your music to millions of viewers, and create ongoing royalty income from broadcasts.

How They Find Music

Music supervisors source tracks from multiple channels. Sync libraries (Musicbed, Artlist, Pond5, Epidemic Sound) are searchable databases where they can find tracks by mood, genre, tempo, and instrumentation. Having your music in these libraries is the most passive way to get considered for placements.

Publishing companies and sync agents actively pitch music to supervisors for specific projects. If you have a publishing administrator or sync agent, they'll be regularly sending your music to supervisors with notes about why it fits current briefs.

Playlists and social media are increasingly important discovery channels. Supervisors follow curated playlists and music blogs to stay current with emerging artists. Having a visible presence on these platforms increases your chances of being discovered.

Direct outreach can work but must be done professionally. Music supervisors receive hundreds of unsolicited submissions — yours needs to be targeted, brief, and accompanied by clean, accessible audio.

Making Your Music Sync-Ready

Clean metadata is non-negotiable. Every track needs correct ISRC codes, accurate songwriter credits, and clear ownership information. A supervisor who can't quickly determine who owns the rights won't bother pursuing the placement.

Instrumental versions dramatically increase your sync potential. Many placements require vocal-free versions for dialogue-heavy scenes. Always export an instrumental alongside your vocal mix.

Stems (individual track groups — drums, bass, vocals, etc.) enable supervisors and editors to customise the music for specific scenes. Providing stems shows professionalism and increases the flexibility of your music for different uses.

Clean lyrics matter. Tracks with explicit content have limited placement potential — film and TV have content restrictions that rule out certain language. Having a clean version available doubles your opportunities.

And make it easy to licence. If a supervisor wants to use your track, can they quickly find the rights holder and negotiate a fee? If you're independent, ensure your contact information and licensing terms are easily accessible. The easier you make it to say yes, the more likely a placement becomes.