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Navigating trust and transparency between licensors and music supervisors
Amanda Krieg Thomas
(Neophonic)
Morgan Thoryk
(Good Ear Music Supervision)
Brittney Ramsdell
(Def Jam, Island, Republic, & Verve)
Jonathan Leahy
(Aperture Music)
Moderator
Sarah Smith
(Bank Robber Music)
In a world full of urgent searches, deadlines, fee negotiations, priorities, copyright co-owners, various tech platforms, and unpredictable behind-the-scenes challenges, how can music supervisors and licensing representatives build confidence in their collaboration? What tricky considerations do licensors face that music supervisors are not always aware of? How do licensors approach low fee requests when it may set a dangerous precedent? Two supervisors, same search, two different fees, what do licensors do? Two licensors, same song, each says it’s a one-stop, how do music supervisors handle it? How binding are the rates on a pre-cleared pitch? This panel will give a voice to both sides to discuss the unique creative and administrative intersections, parallels, and divergences of these two roles.
TYPE: Moderated Panel
ROOM: TAPER HALL 301
(173 Seated)
TIME: 4:00pm - 4:50pm
Amanda Krieg Thomas is a Music Supervisor at leading music supervision company, Neophonic Music & Media. She is currently working on The Politician (Netflix), a new satirical comedy from creator Ryan Murphy starring Tony Award winner Ben Platt, as well as new seasons of the hit series 9-1-1 (FOX), American Horror Story: Apocalypse (FX) and Life In Pieces (CBS). Recent credits include wicked summer sensation Claws (TNT), critically-acclaimed espionage drama, The Americans (FX), dance musical Pose (FX), lauded anthology series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX) and tech thriller Reverie (NBC). Amanda began her career in the music department at Lionsgate, before moving to Reveille (now Endemol Shine North America), where she music supervised unscripted shows Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings (IFC) and One Born Every Minute (Lifetime). She then joined Format Entertainment in early 2012 as Music Coordinator on projects such as Pitch Perfect 1 and 2 (Gold Circle Films/Universal), Beyond The Lights (Relativity/BET), The Other Woman (Fox) and ABC comedy, Trophy Wife. Additional music supervision highlights include indie features Girl Flu (starring Katee Sackhoff and Jeremy Sisto) and French Dirty (Homegrown Pictures), Grace Stirs Up Success (American Girl/Mattel) and performance competition show Fake Off (truTV). Amanda is on the Board of Directors for the Guild of Music Supervisors and a proud member of the Television Academy.
Amanda Krieg Thomas (Music Supervisor, Neophonic)
Morgan Thoryk is inspired by the expanding boundaries of pop music. As a Music Supervisor and Partner at Good Ear Music Supervision she curates music for brands across the globe. Previously she was Senior Music Supervisor at TBWA\Media Arts Lab, where she worked on award-winning global campaigns since 2015. In addition to Supervision she’s worked with composers at Comma Music and as licensing director at Capitol Records - giving her an in-depth understanding of music marketing, production, composition, and negotiations.
Morgan Thoryk
(Music Supervisor, Good Ear Music Supervision)
Brittney Ramsdell is an industry executive who secures placements for Island, Def Jam, Republic, & Verve at the world’s leading music company, Universal Music Group. Her position touches on every aspect of synchronization, including identifying and brokering licensing opportunities, on-camera performances, and custom and original recordings. Her recent highlights include Lorde’s “Green Light” in an HBO image campaign, a Superbowl spot for World of Dance featuring DNCE, a Samsung ad for Bishop Briggs, and countless others on celebrated TV shows like Insecure, Silicon Valley, 9-1-1, Grey’s Anatomy, The Bold Type, Empire, and more. Prior to joining Universal, she held positions in sync at Warner Bros and Atlantic Records. Aside from the endless search for the best latte and the perfect mixtape sequence, she spends her time as an insatiable traveler and unabashed horror film lover.
Brittney Ramsdell
(VP of Film & TV Synchronization, Def Jam, Island, Republic, & Verve)
Sarah Smith is Head of Creative, West Coast for Bank Robber Music, a licensing company that represents the catalogs of a number of independent labels for film, tv, and commercial placements, along with sister company Rough Trade Publishing, a boutique music publisher that represents over 300 artists including The War On Drugs, Grizzly Bear, Future Islands, Against Me!, Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Superchunk.
Prior to her positions at BRM and RTP, Sarah spent 7 years in artist management, working with clients including The National, Spoon, The Decemberists, and Okkervil River.
Sarah Smith
(Bank Robber Music)
Jonathan Leahy is a film and television music supervisor best known for his work on the HBO series Girls, Ryan Coogler’s debut feature film Fruitvale Station, LeBron James’ original series Survivor’s Remorse and the USA show Mr. Robot. Additional credits include Good Girls, Camping, The Guest Book, Community, New Girl, Togetherness, Love, Neighbors, Trainwreck, and Preacher.
Leahy is also an award-winning composer and producer, scoring director Daniel Stamm’s A Necessary Death and providing theme songs for The Millers (CBS) and Mountain Movers (National Geographic). He has recorded and mixed live performances for an impressive list of artists including Rick Ross and Janelle Monae, and recently co-produced Wait. Think. Fast.’s 2017 album “Dale Tiempo." He runs a private recording studio in the heart of Hollywood, and oversees Aperture Music’s catalog of independent recordings.
