Music Supervisor, Toddrick Spalding
Toddrick Spalding is a Music Supervisor and Founder/ Partner at High Bias. He has built a career in music supervision for feature film marketing, indie features, traditional advertising and television.
He got his start in the music industry as founder and drummer of Chicago indie rock band The Detachment Kit. After leaving the group he spent time as a talent buyer for Chicago punk club Cal’s Liquor, booked national tours, worked at The Metro (a major Chicago music venue), and assisted Neko Case manager Amy Lombardi at Call Girl PR.
In 2003, he moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles to become Director of Marketing for the Knitting Factory. He has since worked as Director of Music, Film, TV, and New Media at Spectre Entertainment Group and as Music Supervisor for film advertising agencies mOcean, The Cimarron Group and Craig Murray Productions; he also co-ran a tiny LA indie label called Greatminds. In 2011, he joined the team at independent publisher Spirit Music Group as West Coast Creative Director.
He has helped launch some of Hollywood’s biggest films including Cars 2, Tangled, and Toy Story 3 (the biggest animated opening in film history). The latest film he and his team have worked on is The Lifeguard, which just premiered at Sundance.
Photography provided by himself
Describe your path to becoming a music supervisor. (How did you know you wanted to work in the music industry? When did you decided to transition from being in a band to working on the business side of the industry?)
I’ve been in love with music since I was a child – I discovered Devo around 6 or 7 and it just blew me away. I started playing in bands around 13 or so. I was in a punk band, a metal band, a hardcore band, a kind of indie pop twee thing, and a post hardcore/early emo type project before I moved to Chicago in 1999 and started a band called The Detachment Kit, which got signed and did the whole touring, meetings, recording thing. Once my time in the band ended I did whatever I could to just be and work around music: booked some tours, promoted some shows, did artwork – even worked as a bouncer at the Metro. My fiancé at the time (now wife) and I moved back to my hometown of Los Angeles in the fall of 2003 and I started working in the box office of a club called the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. I worked my way up to Marketing Director when an old friend called me about an opening at the trailer shop he was Music Supervisor at as his assistant had just quit by post-it note. I had no idea what a music supervisor was or even that trailer shops existed but it sounded cool so I joined him there as an Assistant Music Supervisor. My first day I fell in love and haven’t looked back since.
What exactly is a music supervisor collective? How does High Bias Industries work?
We’re a group of three – soon to be four – music supervisors and friends who are able to work together on various projects – be it ads, films, TV shows – whatever. Sometimes we tackle gigs solo, sometimes as a group. We’re really malleable and can adjust our crew to work any sized job.
What classes/degree did you take to get ahead in this field?
I dropped out of art school to go on tour with my band. I think it’s more about passion and love and really knowing music. I don’t know that you can learn that in a class. So my best advice to anyone out there looking to work in music is to look to the words of Mr. Henry Rollins and “Get In The Van.”
What is the main noticeable difference between supervision for television broadcast, commercials and feature films?
I do the majority of my work in feature film marketing aka trailers but have worked in all these medias. The nuts and bolts of finding songs is pretty much identical across the board for me but the big difference that I’ve noticed is really about time. Turnarounds (searching, finding and sending songs to client) can be extremely tight on a trailer – sometimes like 4 hours whereas you’ll have a lot more time on a commercial or feature…
Why don’t trailers use the same music that’s on the films soundtrack?
Sometimes they do. It really depends on what the creative direction is for the marketing of a film. If the plan is to sell a darker drama as a rom com because it’s testing better that way then we’ll probably steer clear of the score and opt for like Snow Patrol or something. It’s about walking a line. You want to stay as true to the film as you can but you also need to hit certain demographics and help get people to come see the film in the theater.
What kind of music is trending at the moment?
Dubstep. Hybrid electronica. Sound design heavy stuff.
Have you started liking, or disliking, a certain genre of music since having been around it all the time?
I’ve definitely trained my ears to hear what makes something work to picture and with that comes a certain understanding or respect for the craft of writing massive top 20 hits. I can listen to Maroon 5 and Coldplay without gouging out my eyes. I totally get it now, that’s something that 15 year old me probably couldn’t do.
Is the music licensing side in step with what’s happening in the industry?
It really depends. I think it’s about 6 months to a year behind. I think the majority of Music Supervisors are totally in step with what going on – but sometime you need some time to convince your client that something is actually good.
What has been your most memorable musical placement job?
My favorite is placing Chicago Underground Duo in the Levi’s Commuter Jeans campaign. But maybe my most memorable projects were Tangled and Toy Story 3 while I was still working at mOcean/CMP+, just because they were so involved and massive. Oh and also working with my friend Zach on Wilfred Season 2 was a ton of fun.
What do you look for when trying to place music? What is your routine?
I’m looking for something that feels amazing. My routine is to talk to my client and get an understanding of how they want to sonically define their project. When I can I like to watch a cut or dailies or whatever I can. If it’s a trailer I read up on the film. I’ll watch the trailers for what kinds of music finished on the filmmakers previous features. I take a lot of notes and then I do a first search from inside my head – any songs that pop in there that seem like a good idea at the time. Then I’ll reach out to some of my trusted sources – labels, publishers, managers, libraries, etc. and out of those I’ll narrow down a first round to send to client. Based on what they say after that I’ll go back into and start again. Until I hit it.
What do you think the biggest misconception is about being a music supervisor?
That anyone can do it and it’s easy. I mean it’s not brain surgery either. We’re not saving lives. But it’s in no way easy. Its high pressure, you have to manage a ton of egos (including your own). You need to be organized. You have to KNOW music. It’s not just making mix tapes. You have to be aware of budgets and rights and most importantly work hard and have an ear for what works.
What is a trailer(s) or ad campaign(s) that you’ve seen that you really admire? Why do you admire it?
I loved the Heineken ad with Jaan Pehechaan Ho from the Gumnaam Bollywood score. They used that song in Ghost World too. Just amazing. The last trailer where I was just mega jealous was the Hesher trailer with Metallica “Battery” from Master of Puppets.
What’s a good way for a musician to pitch you music? What tips do you have for publishers?
Musicians are hopefully not pitching me music. I recommend finding an awesome 3rd party licensing company to rep your stuff. Focus on making rad music let someone who is already tied into the community deliver your stuff. My only tip to publishers is if you are going to keep buying each other, could you keep the creatives on the ground around? You know the people who actually know the catalogs?
What have your latest projects been and what are you working on in the coming months?
We just wrapped a feature called The Lifeguard that premiered at Sundance that we’re very proud of. The music and score really came out great. I’m looking forward to working on director Mike Ott’s next feature as well.
How is the poor state of the economy affecting the music licensing world?
It’s definitely squeezed budgets across the board. But I’m hopeful that it’s turning around.
What’s the biggest surprise about working in this field? Was it what you thought it would be like?
I really had no idea this job existed before I was in it. So I never had any preconceived notions on the job. I will say that I learn something new or discover music I never heard before everyday which is really exciting.
How do you think being a music supervisor now, in this age of social media, differs from before?
I guess more people are aware of it now. I don’t think you’d see interviews and stuff with nerds like me before. So I guess it’s moved us out into the open. I’m not sure it’s a good thing though – I guess we’ll find out!
Lastly, what advice do you have for aspiring music supervisors? What classes/degree should they get?
My advice is to be nice to everyone, work hard, and really LISTEN to music!
