The California Copyright Conference’s first panel of 2012, “EARGASM”: The Explosion of Music in TV, Film and New Media”, was an exciting night with over 150 people in attendance. Moderated by CBS TV Studios’ Associate Director of Music, Robert Linden, the diverse panel shared their experiences about creating music for all media.
The panel tackled the topic of social media and discussed the impact of staying connected with fans. Composer Jim Dooley talked about how he effectively uses Facebook and and Twitter to reach out and keep his fans updated with the latest project news and releases, while driving online purchases. The strategy for modern composers is not just creating film and TV music, but for video games, libraries, etc. “It’s selling arms to all sides”, said Dooley.
Cecilia Harvey, Manager of Film and TV, New Media at Warner/ Chappell, handles music placements for video games. She stressed the importance of getting more songs into a game rather than focusing on charging higher upfront fees. Her team is more flexible with fees and compensation structures nowadays when working with game music departments.
PR specialist Chandler Poling talked about the significance of planning when approaching the press about getting articles written on a new album or client. He explained it takes at least 3 months to get articles completed. When it comes to PR timing is everything.
Composer Leo Z was energized by smaller companies with A&R that has vision and helps artists. Ideas, passion and real input set them a part from the bigger companies.
– Allison Wright Clark
Head of Development