Kategori: SPOT+ NEWS (ENG)

For the coming 7th edition of our highly coveted Meet The Music Supervisor-session @ SPOT+, we’re very proud and pleased to announce the first three music supervisors who will be coming to Aarhus this year.

The music supervisors in place are Thomas Golubic (US), Todd Porter (US) and Silje Katralen (NO). Read more about each them below here and stay tuned for more info about SPOT+ 2022.

Thomas Golubic

SuperMusicVision, Los Angeles

Thomas Golubic (US) is one of the top-level music supervisors within music and TV-series. He is responsible for the music for ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘6 Feet Under’, ‘The Killing’, ‘Better Call Saul’, ‘Halt & Catch Fire’ & ‘The Walking Dead’.

Todd Porter

Hated Industries, San Francisco

Todd Porter has been working in advertising for the past 20 years. He’s placed many of his favorite artists in commercials and also produced a few campaigns for the Super Bowl. He’s partnered with his clients to create music content, working to place music in the Crash the Super Bowl campaigns and booking artists for the Doritos stages at SXSW and E3.

Silje Katralen

Ohlogy, Oslo

Silje has a long-standing industry background as a sync & supervisor for e.g. Waterfall and Snaxville, and now working for Ohlogy in Norway. She graduated from Berklee College of Music, and her primary focus area is TV series, but also deals with the advertising part of sync. Among her work as a music supervisor, you can find TV-series such as ‘No One Dies in Skarnes’, ‘Atlantic Crossing’ & ‘Heksejagt’.

By Henriette Søvsø Szocska

After more than a year and a half of waiting it was finally time for the first SPOT+ session since 2019. And to start off the programme was an exciting panel session with four competente debaters who would give their take on the sustainable future for the music industry. The panelists were William Skeaping (Extinction Rebellion), Linnéa Elisabeth Svensson (Greener Events), Nicolaj Holm (Aalborg Kongres og Kultur Center) and Martin Thim (Northside and Tinderbox // Down The Drain Group).

Moderator Anne Jensen found it fitting that this session was the very first at this year’s SPOT+. Something that the attendees agreed with her when Anne Jensen explained it with sustainability being one of the most important problems as of now. American William Skeaping was very active in the debate and started by outlining the climate problem that is present in the music industry. 

“Right now we are in a slow motion catastrophe. The worst possible scenario is unfolding,” said William Skeaping. The rest of the panelists agreed with him and acknowledged that we have to see it as a collective problem which can also only be solved as a community. The panelists ment that festivals and venues carry a lot of the responsibility to promote a sustainable future for the industry because they gather many thousands of people and by that they create a huge consume and a visible print on the environment. 

“As a part of reducing our climate footprints we have festivals without available parking spots. It bugs some of our guests but at the same time it forces them to use public transportation such as bus or train,” told Martin Thim and the rest of the panelists agreed that actions like that can make a bigger difference in the end.  

The closing argument from William Skeaping was: “The problem can only be solved if everybody take part in the solution and make some radical changes in their cultural and economic habits”

Photo: Allan Niss

The small room filled quickly and people were standing along the walls. The panel forms an almost ceremonial half circle, the silence spreads and moderator Jakob Sørensen (The Bank) is ready. 

The session ‘Let’s Talk Germany’, we are about to witness, is about the German music market. Moderator Jakob Sørensen closes his intro with the words: “We don’t talk about Germany so today we do that.”

The point of this seminar is to talk about the unused potential of the German market. If you set out the time, money and focus to give it a go south of the border it can really pay off. Tom Weber (Radio PR) explains how Germany is a different market. A market which is divided into regions which have an impact on how to approach it. Weber emphasizes that it is a big market but that you can break it down if you understand the network of radio stations. 

“Even though radio is old school it’s still very much used in Germany,” tells Weber and follows up with a statistic that shows that 94 pct. of all Germans listen to radio everyday. It means that it can be important to get on a playlist or in rotation so the artist can reach about 3,5 million listeners everyday with one single hit.

It is not an easy task, though. It’s a long journey and Christoph Pancke (Selective Artists) emphasizes: “It takes three to four years to establish a career in Germany.” And with that said, it took Tina Dickow nine years. 

Pancke points out that you need to understand that the German market is focused on import. Germany doesn’t use the energy to export German music to other countries – they focus on getting music from other countries into the German market. And this is where the opportunities arise. 

Jan-Erik Stig (Warner) says that their interest in Germany started because they saw an opportunity – and grabbed it. This has resulted in more artists playing concerts and getting success in the country and Stig tells us it is all about building a trust between nations. “If we can run the first miles they [edit. Warner Germany] are willing to run the rest of the marathon”.

Moderator Jakob Sørensen playfully closes the session with the words: “If you get success in Germany you can get a comeback”. Here he refers to artists like Dua Lipa and Rag’n’Bone Man who didn’t get a breakthrough in their home country first but came back strong after a breakthrough in Germany.

In the Danish music industry there is 43 % women and 47 % non-binary who have experienced discrimination. In itself the numbers are disturbingly high and compared to the 9 % of men who have experienced dicrimination, it doesn’t get better. No matter if the statistics are categorized by ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation – it is always the minorities who are overly represented.

The music industry has to seek out information from scientists and organizations like Another Life. Representation is not some god given right – it is something we need to work at together. And it is something that the panel at the seminar ‘How do we change the representation’ points out multiple times: you have to change a lot to make sure that you have a balanced representation of employees. 

The room was filled and most of the audience were young people. In a matter of only 45 minutes the panel ranged wide and far and noted that as a community diversity and representation is a complex affair. But that shouldn’t stop us from talking about how we improve the industry. 

The organization Another Life are the ones behind the seminar. The two founders, Sofie Westh and Rosa Lois, launched the project in March 2021. At the seminar Sofie Westh told about Another Life’s rapport: “There are structures which don’t accommodate minorities in the music business. We’re talking about an existing toxic culture.” The entire room nodded recognizing and the debate turned to what concretely can be done in a fluffy and fleeing industry. 

Tess S. Skadegård Thorsen is a scientist and has among other things looked into discrimination in the film industry. She explained that in Denmark there is a tendency to understanding discrimination in a way where is it up to the individuals to lift the challenges in the industry. We think that we have to be more empathetic but it is more about understanding the power positions that decide and act. You have to investigate who decides what and which positions in the industry they have. 

All panelists agreed that change needs to happen from the top. The genre organization SNYK and the business Live Nation make actions and educational processes towards information about discrimination and how to avoid it. But if change is to be made it is important that the leaders in the industry also participate. 

In the music industry most employees work their way up which also means that when you one day reach the top, you don’t have an actual leader education. So you can consider whether it would be smart to set up some sort of mentorship program or continuing education – just to point out a few suggestions from the debate. 

And as a closing thought it was funny that when you think about how male dominated the music industry is, you wonder where all these men are when a theme like this is a topic at the only music conference in Denmark.

Photo: Malthe Roland

Spotify’s 10 year anniversary in Denmark was celebrated at this years SPOT Festival with a seminar where the business gathers to discuss the streaming service’s effect on the industry, the listeners and the music

The seminar on Friday was yet another crowded room where the music business gathered around to discuss Spotify on the occasion of their 10th Danish anniversary. The focus was on the money and how Spotify has changed the music industry.

There has been a change in the music industry and moderator Jesper Bay presented some hard numbers which showed that today’s digital turnover constitutes 92,7% of the Danish music market (IFPI, 2020). Spotify has had a massive influence on the users music consumption and the music companies turnover. Their income is halved in relation to what they traded for 20 years ago. The decline has forced the business to rethink distribution, how music is created and how it can be sold. 

“Spotify has changed everything about what music is – or they are changing it now. Today there’s a new way of creating music,” said Anders Reuter, Ph.D in Music Science and explained further how digital platforms do so the music is never really finished. You can always correct, re-upload and so on. 

This also means that you can test the market in a different way than before. An album doesn’t have to be complete and to be sold physically. Today we see Kanye West releasing an album from one day to another while he continues to edit the music. There can always be an extra artist added to give the song new life – like Beyoncé does on Megan Thee Stallions  ‘Savage’ and Ariana Grande on The Weeknd’s ‘Save Your Tears’.

Spotify and the streaming services have had an immense impact on the industry and Reuter further elaborates that “there has been a change in the way we listen to music. We don’t listen to specific genres anymore, we listen after the connection.”

The change has happened along with the music being more accessible. We listen to music all the time. While we walk, ride our bikes, are at a restaurant and so on. That is why we chose a playlist which matches our activities and mood. And by that Spotify also has the power to choose which songs get on which playlists – and thereby who get the opportunity for success. 

Photo: Allan Niss

By Amanda Büchert

Founder and CEO of the organization Complete Music Update (CMU) Chris Cooke invited the audience into the “podcast studio” Friday during SPOT 2021 to discuss five selected stories from the music industry. To discuss the stories of the week Chris Cooke had brought a proficient panel consisting of Maria Borg (Disco:wax and Sony Music), Helienne Lindvall (Novello Awards), Daniel Nordgård (University of Agder), Josh Greenberg (Green Mountain Lodge) and Stein Bjelland (Music Norway). 

To get behind the scene – or rather, behind the recording – is always great. It gives a completely different experience when you’re witnessing the dynamic between the participants and to see their reactions and facial expressions in real time. The vibe in the room was great and relaxed, neatly facilitated by Chris Cooke who eagerly presented the stories and together with the panelists helped us get more knowledge about the complicated, business specific problems.

Today’s subjects ranged far and wide. We learned more about why Epic Games has sued Apple and the fight against the so called “Apple tax”, how Portishead’s cover of ABBA’s ‘SOS’ has achieved an earning six times higher than the normal, the future politicizing of streaming services, and what the panelists actually think about award shows. It was exciting to get a glimpse of a business which can be unmanageable for an outsider.

If you want to listen to the conversations from that day it was lucklily recorded and can be found on completemusicupdate.com. 

Photo: Allan Niss

To pitch your music to a panel of professional music supervisors and afterwards getting feedback in front of an audience, mainly consisting of other people from the business, sounds quite nerve wrecking. But on the contrary ‘Pitch Your Music to Music Supervisors’ was a light and joyful session.

By Amanda Büchert

‘Pitch Your Music to Music Supervisors’ is a returning concept at SPOT+ which purpose is to give aspiring musicians and producers a possibility to learn from professional business people and to build a network. The session was in the afternoon, Thursday during SPOT 2021, where a panel consisting of Samuel Diaz (CBS), Megan Barbour (Buddha Jones), Milena Fessman (Cinesongs), Jesper Gadeberg (Musicstylist.com), Yvette Meltoyer (Sounds in Color Music) and Bobby Gumm (Trailerpark) was presented with seven tracks selected by a “mysterious group of people”.  

“We don’t know who they are, but they clearly know something about music,” as moderator Pam Lewis-Rudden jokingly proclaimed. The great vibe in the room was instantly established then and it mostly reminded of a relaxed feedback-session in a school or at the university. 

One by one the songs were played after which the supervisors gave their feedback. A lot of concrete advice was given regarding how to sell the songs in the music industry. The learning potential was high, not only for the artists who was selected to pitch, but also the audiences who got tips and tricks 

But it was especially the networking part who drew others to the session. Three years ago the musician Nanna Prip was there to pitch one of her own songs at a similar session. She said that she was back again in the audience because she was curious to hear what’s going on in the business but also to mingle with the participating supervisors. That this was the purpose for many of the audiences present was quite obvious when the official part of the session was done and the audience quickly gathered around the panelists for a chat. 

‘Pitch Your Music to The Music Supervisors’ fully lived up to its purpose. To give aspiring artists the opportunity to learn and create a network with some of the most seasoned profiles from the industry. 

Photo: Allan Niss

The speed meeting koncept was a part of SPOT+ for the 7th time and the participants waited with excitement outside the double doors. The Music Supervisors were already in the room, ready to get some new contacts and find talents. 

Small, tall cocktail tables filled the room, everybody standing, ready on their feet. Each 15 minutes a bell would ring and half of the people in the room would move on to the next table and the next opportunity. 

The dynamic was of course different from table to table since each round was a new setup of people with new things to bring to the table – a real speed date situation. But the common thing in all the meetings was great respect for each other.

Terese Gustafsson, Creative Manager (Pusher), works closely with Music Supervisors. Marcus Faal (One Seven) played 30 seconds of a number and Terese Gustafsson commented with “cool bass”. In the matter of a few minutes they knew what each other stands for and what they can offer. Their meeting ended with an exchange of emails and a deal to meet in Copenhagen the following weekend. 

It’s a bit like a speed date. They take turns presenting themselves, what they do and what they seek in a potential business partner. Most meetings end with an exchange of emails which is probably the reason why this session is so popular year after year.

Lynn Fainchtein, Music Supervisor (casete.com), had one of her meetings with Jeppe  Kaltoft (StereoRoyal). She doesn’t like to listen to the music in the busy room where the buzzing sound of talk fills every part of the soundscape. 

“When I listen I like to sort the music into files, use them later and have it in the back of my head,” said Lynn Fainchtein. She elaborated that it doesn’t make sense for her to listen to music in the moment because she will forget it in the sea of other songs. The primary reason though is because she wants to use the music she listens to, and adds: “If I like it, I download it immediately,” Lynn said with a smile while you’re not doubting whether she means it. 

They end up agreeing that Kaltoft should send her two albums which she will listen to. After this Kaltoft said that it’s not always you end up with something concret after a 10 minute meeting. “But it maybe indicates that it could be a great match,” said Kaltoft. 

Photo: Malthe Roland

At this year’s Academy Award the Danish film ‘Another Round’ brought home the golden statue for Best Foreing Film. Not only is it an award-winning movie but the soundtrack has also gotten quite the buzz – especially the single delivered by the Danish band Scarlet Pleasure. 

By Henriette Søvsø Szocska

The small room is filled with people excited to hear more about the award-winning movie and the thoughts behind the choice of music. Editor Anne Østerud, Producer Kasper Dissing and Music Supervisor Mikkel Maltha worked closely together with director Thomas Vinterberg on ‘Another Round’. And now they are at SPOT+ to tell about the music behind the movie. 

If you have seen the movie or listened to the radio, you probably already know the song ‘What a Life’ by Danish pop-trio Scarlet Pleasure – a song which features in both the trailer and several times in the movie. The song was found after many months of searching through thousands of songs from all different genres. 

“We had to find a song that matched Mads’ (edt. Mikkelsen) ecstatic dance scene and the mood of the movie. It had to be perfect,” said Mikkel Maltha and continued: “It wasn’t actually us who found the song. It was Vinterberg’s wife.” 

Originally it wasn’t ’What a Life’ that was intended for the iconic dance scene at the end of the movie. On the contrary it was more likely to end with a number from the American singer Billie Eilish but that project crashed quickly. “We actually did get the green light from Billie Eilish to use a song from her but the budget wasn’t cut for that,” said Anne Østerud with a smile. 

But luckily Scarlet Pleasure was more than ready to let their song be a part of the movie. They allowed the team to modify and play with the song so it would fit perfectly into the scene. “It ended up being the absolutely closest creative work we have ever had with an artist,” said Mikkel Maltha in the closing sentence of the session.

Photo: Allan Niss