BECOME A VOTING MEMBER OF BIFA

BECOME A VOTING MEMBER OF BIFA

Apply to vote for BIFA here! Deadline is Sunday 8th March 2026

BIFA NEEDS YOU!

BIFA is on the lookout for experienced filmmakers and practitioners to join their 1,500+ voting pool of industry professionals and take part in selecting the annual Awards nominees and winners. They’re particularly keen to expand their pool of regional voters, people from diverse and representative backgrounds, and craft professionals — so if you’re based outside London, from an ethnic minority background, or working in a craft role, they’d love to hear from you. You can find out more about BIFA’s voter criteria and requirements here. The deadline to apply is Sunday 8 March.

If you have any questions on the process, reach out to hello@bifa.film and you can see instructions for applying here.

Useful links:

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APPLY TO VOTE FOR BIFA

Your Voice Matters: GMS UK & EU Diversity Survey


Our deadline has been extended to December 19th!

This autumn, the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors launched its Diversity Survey, the first extensive demographic research of the UK and European sync industry. 

Open to everyone working in sync in the UK or Europe (including non-GMS members, music supervisors, rightsholders, libraries, agents etc.), the survey will help the Guild create an accurate profile of the sync industry and tailor its approach to inclusivity.

Newly appointed Head of DEI & Mentorship Isaac Allaway (he/him, Feel For Music) anticipates the project bringing visibility to underrepresented voices in the sync community: 

“The GMS UK & EU Diversity Survey feels like a real turning point for inclusion in sync. For the first time, we’ll actually be able to see who makes up our industry – and where the gaps are. Getting the survey out there has been a huge team effort (indebted to many people, namely Jumi) and an achievement in itself, but it’s really just the beginning. The real mission starts when we sit with the data, take a frank and clear look at the make-up of our industry, and start to do something about it. I’m really curious to see the results of our survey and excited to get to work with bringing initiatives to our board. My aim over the next few years is for us to nourish a more diverse, balanced industry – one that listens, adapts, and stops losing people to the same old mistakes.”

Founded in 2020 by Abi Leland (she/her, Leland) and Carmen Montañez-Callan (she/her, Independent), the DEI & Mentorship committee is an active group of 12 volunteers. The team partnered with Black Lives in Music to develop this project.

To promote the Diversity Survey, David Simkins (he/him, 45RPM) and Lauren Wilson (she/her, 45RPM) designed a sandwich board to wear at onestop music’s Vinyl Hunt.

Pictured: DEI & Mentorship Co-Lead David Simkins with D&I Committee Member Ipek Ozsoy (she/her) promoting the Diversity Survey at onestop music’s Vinyl Hunt.

Thank you to everyone who has participated and shared the survey so far. If you haven’t already, there’s still time.

Add your voice here and share with your network: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8Z828VD

Deadline: 11:59pm Friday 19th December.

David Simkins (he/him), Co-Lead, GMS DEI & Mentorship Committee

Bridging Worlds: Sync, Storytelling & Global Collaboration at the IMPF Global Music Summit – Palma de Mallorca

A spotlight feature on the IMPF Global Music Summit in Palma de Mallorca by Paul-Loup Marquise – Music Supervision, Music Rights & Sync Licensing Consultant (France), Music Coordinator for Michelle
De Vries, Publishing & Sync Agent for Extra Mile Music and Music Administration Support for Mediawan Music.

[Photo: Evening Cocktails – IMPF]


There’s a special kind of energy that happens when music supervisors, publishers, and creatives
gather in the same place to talk about how stories sound. That was the feeling at this year’s IMPF Global Music Summit, held from October 7-10 in Palma de Mallorca— four days of conversation and connection set against the Mediterranean, where the future of sync felt both global and personal.


Day 3 — “The Sync Day” — offered a comprehensive look at music supervision today and its
changing landscape: exploring the creative, technical, and cultural facets.
The day opened with a keynote from Lindsay Wolfington (President, Guild of Music Supervisors (US) /
Lone Wolf Music Supervision) in conversation with Teri Nelson Carpenter (Reel Muzik Werks).


Drawing from her experience on U.S. productions like XO, Kitty and Love in Taipei — both series
rooted in Asian settings and storytelling — Wolfington discussed how authentic representation and
cross-cultural soundtracks are redefining what audiences connect with. She also addressed how the
sync market is rebounding post-Covid and industrial strikes, with new opportunities for independent
artists and catalogues from non-traditional markets.


[Photo: Lindsay Wolfington Keynote – IMPF]


The conversation continued with “The Global A/V Music Business: Where We Are Today and What the Future Holds,” a roundtable featuring Michelle De Vries (Extra Mile Music), Alkis Argyri-
adis (Ubisoft), Nicky Bignell (BBC), Monique Göschl, and Goran Obad (Ohlogy) — moderated by Nelson Carpenter.


Across topics from AI to rights frameworks, the shared takeaway was clear: creativity thrives where
trust and transparency lead. Genuine collaboration between supervisors, publishers, and creators
will be key to the next phase of sync. De Vries summed it up perfectly — AI might offer options,
but supervisors will always be needed to bring authenticity and emotional intelligence to the
process.


Then came the Breakout Sync Sessions — fast-paced, face-to-face exchanges where supervisors and publishers from over 30 countries shared projects, pitched music, and discovered fresh connections. For anyone curious about emerging markets or cross-border collaboration, it was an unparalleled opportunity to expand networks and creative insight in real time.


The day closed with a forward-looking presentation of Europe in Synch, led by Nuno
Saraiva and Hannes Tschürtz. Supported by Creative Europe, the initiative seeks to strengthen the role of music supervision across the continent by fostering shared training, co-production residencies, and knowledge exchange between supervisors, filmmakers, and publishers. Their message resonated strongly: Europe has the creative depth and diversity to tell its own stories through music
— and initiatives like this can turn that potential into a tangible, connected ecosystem.

Leaving Palma, it was hard not to feel that sync today is less about placement and more about perspective — a space where culture, storytelling, and collaboration intersect. The conversations sparked here, under the umbrella of the IMPF Network Project, point toward a more international,
inclusive, and emotionally grounded future for our craft.

Authored by GMS member Paul-Loup Marquise for the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors

Interview: MediaTracks on Pride In Sync and inclusive production music

In June, we spoke with MediaTracks, an MCPS production music library and the organisers of Pride in Sync, an evening celebrating diversity in sync on 8th July at All Is Joy Studios. Held in association with British Film Editors and the UK & EU Guild of Music Supervisors, the event will focus on supporting trans+ creatives.

In this interview, Maria Ángel (she/her) (Operations and Partnerships Manager) and Alex East (he/him) (Sync and Licensing Manager) discuss allyship and explain how diversifying their roster created better quality music. 

Pictured left: Maria Ángel (she/her), Operations and Partnerships Manager, MediaTracks; right: Alex East (he/him) Sync and Licensing Manager, MediaTracks.

Great to catch-up Maria and Alex! Tell us how MediaTracks came to champion underrepresented artists in production music.

Alex: MediaTracks has been around since 1998, so over 27 years now. Three years ago, after the original founder, Steve Johnson, passed away, it was acquired by father and son duo Andrew and William Saunders. They wanted to find a unique way for MediaTracks to meet market needs.

Maria: We realised that our roster was very limited in demographic. For example, the only female contribution was one song written by a composer and his wife! And it’s not just our library; only 2.8% of music producers are women. Production music is anonymous, and that’s restricted access for writers from different backgrounds. As a lesbian, female-identifying immigrant, that didn’t sit right with me. So the team agreed MediaTracks would put a face to a faceless industry.

From one composer and his wife, to women, diverse ethnic, LGBTQ+ artists and more, how did MediaTracks increase the representation in your roster? 

Maria: We’ve worked with many different partners to diversify our roster, from Carousel musicians with learning disabilities in Brighton to MOBO Unsung, a development program for young and upcoming black musicians organised by MOBO (Music of Black Origin). We host regular writing camps based on sync briefs and our ethos of representation. These events are designed to challenge stereotypes and ensure musicians aren’t boxed into genres based on their backgrounds. At our LGBTQIA+ camp, we had groups writing indie, pop, glam rock, orchestral, and even Celtic music! 

Alex: We see these events as long-term investments in top-tier musicians. Participants often leave having published their first ever production track, but also armed with the royalties knowledge they need to make consistent income from their writing. Female-identifying and non-binary composers tell us they felt refreshed to focus their energy on creating music, rather than the usual pressure they feel to prove themselves. The writers build a community they can take with them, and we continue to find new ways to nurture collaborations and bring them on our journey. 

What impact have you found from having a more diverse roster?

Alex: A diverse roster doesn’t just improve representation, it creates better quality music for the productions we service. Production music is faceless, so it’s hard for editors to find tracks representative of the stories they want to tell. But so many underrepresented groups have moulded the music scene for decades, and their cultural authenticity makes them a natural choice for certain audiovisual stories. With productions being sold globally, you can’t afford to use, for example, an outdated Western interpretation of Latin music, because if your series is released in Colombia, they’ll call you out! Briefs with specific demographic requirements are in the minority, and if a track’s more functional in the context of the series, we don’t always pitch it as ‘authentic’. But the client can hear the difference, so it wins the brief. 

Maria: Also, we’re being realistic. This is a fast-paced industry. Editors like to drag and drop music. We’re not expecting them to stop and Google the artist for every track. But as a music catalogue, we know working with competitive, diverse talent will increase the quality of our tracks and their likelihood of being placed. On the back of that, we’re ethically making the money flow to underrepresented artists. When a client has a similar ethos, that’s brilliant, but everyone we work with appreciates the quality of our roster and commercially competitive music. It may or may not always be relevant that a writer comes from an LGBTQIA+ background. But they might be the best at the job anyway!

Are there any writers you want to shout out? And have the writing camps led directly to sync success?

Maria: Ahhh… we have so many writers! But I’ll shout out two that emerged in our LGBTQIA+ camp. Noëlle Vanyi (she/her) is a singer-songwriter writing in French, English, and Spanish. She’s featured on our Epic Pop Trailers album. And Benjamin David (under the alias David Fraser) (they/them) is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter featured on our Electric Soul album. Finally, I’ll shout out an artist featured on our Paralympics album. Andrés Godoy (he/him) is a Chilean guitarist with only one hand! His ‘Tatap’ technique needs to be heard to be believed. 

Alex: Music from our LGBTQIA+ camp artists will be featured in a big Netflix show this summer, so stay tuned. We’ve also done a Welsh writing camp; we found that the Welsh language is underrepresented in production music, even though Wales is an important place in the TV landscape. 24 hours after we published the album, it got synced on S4C’s Cardiff Ironman coverage. How’s that for instant demand!

Pictured: Pride in Sync 2024.

Let’s talk about Pride in Sync then. What do our members need to know?

Maria: Pride in Sync is about celebrating intersectional diversity. The concept was born when Col Goudie (they/them) (editor of Rogue One, Diversity Governor at BFE) and I connected over wanting to celebrate diversity in our fields, question the status quo, and encourage active allyship. So last year, we hosted over 80 people for an event focused on queerness in production music, with a mixture of LGBTQIA+ people and allies in the room. When an attendee asked Col, “How do you manage to stay creative when you’re so worried about keeping your real identity down?”, an ally friend of mine in the audience had a real lightbulb moment in his understanding of inclusion. And that’s exactly what we’re aiming for. Some people don’t think inclusion applies to them. The truth is, it applies to everyone. And if you give it a chance, you’ll realise that’s the case. 

Alex: This year’s event will bring music supervisors, editors, and artists together to stand with the trans community. Too often, trans people are pushed into ‘survival mode’ like “What can I wear?” or “What restrooms can I use?”. We want trans people to know they can have fun too, because if you’re not enjoying yourself, you can’t be creative, and you can’t monetise your talent. Also, the venue, All Is Joy, has a lot of history. It used to be the Warner Bros. dubbing studios, so The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones all recorded there. It allows us to have two rooms, one with the bar and networking, and another with the live performances from MOBO UnSung. Beyond the important conversations, it’s just an amazingly fun evening. 

Pride in Sync is “open to all, especially allies”. What would you say to someone unsure about coming, or with limited experience of allyship?

Maria: Pride In Sync is an event where everyone is welcome and encouraged to be themselves, including you. Often, people are afraid of saying the wrong words, but this is an open space where you can feel safe to ask questions. It just takes good intentions.

Alex: Speaking as an ally myself, I feel privileged to have learned so much from Maria and the communities we work with. Everyone’s been so lovely and I understand so much more than I did. I encourage everyone to come down, whoever you are, and just to listen. It’s an important part of our lives. Come to learn, meet people, and have fun. And there’ll be drinks tokens on the door!

Maria and Alex invite you to join them for Pride in Sync at All Is Joy Studios, Soho at 6pm on 8th July. RSVP here.

For diversity initiatives and partnerships, contact Maria Ángel, maria@mediatracks.co.uk. For sync enquiries, contact Alex East, alex@mediatracks.co.uk.

Written by David Simkins, he/him.

CASE STUDY: MUSIC IN HACKS SEASON 4

Music supervision by Matt Biffa, placements by onestop music

HBO’s Hacks has consistently used music with care. Its tone shifts from sharp comedy to quiet heartbreak in a beat, and the soundtrack helps hold that balance. In the final episodes of season 4, which aired earlier this month, the show leans on a rare kind of music: vintage, soulful, and mostly forgotten—until now. Under Matt Biffa’s music supervision, the show has always created an exciting and rich world of music: featuring legendary tracks from Queen, Gram Parsons, The B-52s, The Bob Seger System, Emma Louise, Labi Siffre and even a live performance of “I Love L.A.” by Randy Newman. When Matt discovered the funk-heavy hidden gems from licensing company onestop music, his constant pursuit in vintage funk once again led him down a path of inspiration.

Onestop music placed 13 tracks across the final three episodes of the show. These aren’t just background music, or perfect-fit-content like Spotify’s commissioned playlists. The tracks help build the emotional world of Hacks, a show about reinvention, legacy, and creative grit. The placements include funk, soul, and jazz songs from the 1960s to the 1980s—many of them originally released in tiny runs, now newly available thanks to deep catalogue work. Onestop music’s placements include Larry Saunders’ “Where Did Peace Go”,  “You Upset My Mind” by Little Tommy and “Tormented” by Jonny Holiday in the season finale, episode 10.

jkjkjThe Kingsmen Live, 1963. 

George Semper and the Soulful Roots

One of the key rights holders the company represents is George Semper, a funk pioneer from San Diego. Semper was a jazz organist, composer, and label owner whose fingerprints are all over West Coast soul and funk. His 1966 LP Makin’ Waves made him a Hammond B3 Hero. He later co-founded FUNKPROOF with Brenton Wood and Al McKay (of Earth, Wind & Fire). You can hear his influence in Hacks‘ retro cuts—warm, raw, and full of character.

Semper’s grooves echoed into 90s hip-hop, sampled by artists like Cypress Hill. Now, through the George Semper Music Archives and onestop music, these tracks are finding new life on screen.

Patti Williams

Another standout artist is Patti Williams. Her single “I’m Doing the Best That I Can” was originally released in 1970 on Forward Records and became a cult soul favorite. Produced by Semper, her voice recalls Aretha Franklin—standing out as a Female powerhouse in an era of Male dominated acts. She came up through Las Vegas stages and sang backing vocals for icons like Mary Love and Barbara Morrison. Her work fits Hacks perfectly: powerful, grounded and rare.

Making Vintage New Again

Supervisors know how hard it can be to clear vintage music. Rights can be messy and tapes missing. Most modern rights holders lack a high quality vintage catalogue. That’s what makes these placements special. These aren’t needle drops for nostalgia. They’re carefully cleared, restored, and curated. To help the story telling of these sync placements, onestop music created a limited vinyl pressing exclusively for music supervisors. It mirrors Hacks’ sound palette: soulful, witchy, and emotionally layered.

The music supervision in Hacks is a case study in how deep-catalog licensing can shape a show’s identity. These songs give the series depth without stealing focus. They also introduce audiences to voices they’ve never heard before—and maybe wouldn’t hear otherwise.

We don’t often get to celebrate this kind of detailed work in the current music climate of streaming algorithms and AI-generated music. But when a catalogue lands just right, like it does in Hacks, it’s worth pausing on.

 George Semper (right) & Jimmy Smith (left) performing live at Market St. East, 1965


To celebrate this rich musical collaboration in “Hacks”, onestop music — in partnership with the George Semper Music Archives — is releasing a limited-edition vinyl EP, which will be available to GMS members for free later this year.

Matt’s supervision on the show was also submitted for the Primetime Emmys Outstanding Music Supervision category for Season 4’s fourth episode “I Love L.A.” The live performance coordination was handled by the talented Ciara Elwis who has worked with Matt across a variety of projects, including their Emmy-winning music supervision for “I May Destroy You.”

GMS Team

GMS Members Present at AIM Sync

On Tuesday, April 8th 2025, GMS members joined the Association of Independent Music for AIM Sync, the UK’s leading global online sync licensing conference. Various members of the GMS Board featured on panels, including a strong showing from our D&I Committee.

An opening ‘State of the Nation’ panel moderated by Pam Lewis-Rudden (Plutonic Group Syncs) alluded to nascent sync DSP platforms designed to ease the music licensing process for commercial music. Independent supervisor Jumi Akinfenwa sees these platforms’ potential to add “another string to the bow of music searches”, but cautioned anyone against putting all their eggs in one basket. 

Later, a panel moderated by Zoë Ellen Bryant (Carbon Logic) examined misunderstandings that music supervisors, sync agents and creative licensing reps have to overcome. As part of the discussion, the importance of constantly re-educating producers was touched on as an important step towards upholding creativity as a music supervisor. Kadambari Chauhan (Redfive Creative) emphasised the importance of collaboration in the role:

“It’s not just about your creativity, it’s about the creativity of the people that you brief out to (record labels, publishers, sync agents etc.) because sync is a collaborative process. Look at the creative process as mining collective minds rather than putting your own personal stamp on a show. You’re one part of different moving pieces that contribute towards a bigger picture. Your passion should be not only for the job, but for the industry as well – and how everybody brings something together. Care about that and not just your particular job description – would be my top piece of advice.”

The day ended with a keynote from Matt Biffa (Air-Edel), who went into interesting depth and entertaining details about the creative process behind some of his favourite projects. This included stories of working with Jarvis Cocker for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, building character playlists for One Day, and phoning rightsholders to forewarn them about the graphic briefs he sent through for Sex Education. Matt concluded by reflecting that “success for me was always just looking forward to work on a Monday.”

Congratulations to Frederic Schindler (Too Young Ltd. & Catalog) for winning AIM Music Supervisor of the Year and to Just Isn’t Music & Ninja Tune for achieving Independent Sync of the Year. Special recognition was also given to Anjunabeats. GMS member Leo Niemi also gave a compelling market overview on Finland, discussing the different practices in the Finnish sync industry, production music rules, AV and publishing.

Thank you to the Association of Independent Music for inviting us to partner with them on this event and to all GMS members who attended and took part.

Written by David Simkins (he/him), GMS D&I Committee

Pictured: Jumi Akinfenwa and Kadambari Chauhan

GMS 2025 Board Nominations: Now Open

Nominations for our upcoming Board elections are open!


We are excited to announce that the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) will be electing a new Board in 2025!

Nominations are now officially open, and this is your opportunity to step into a leadership role within our growing community.

📈 A Year of Growth
The past year has been a busy year for GMS in the UK and Europe with Masterclasses, social events and a new initiative for European expansion and outreach. We’ve welcomed new members, launched new member resources, partnerships and discounts, brought our community together through educational programming both online and in-person.

Now, we’re expanding our leadership—welcoming new members to both the Senior Board and Full Working Board—and we want you to be part of it.

🗓️ Key Election Dates
April 15: Nominations open

May 11: Final day to submit nominations (deadline at 11.59 PM)

May 19: Voting begins

May 30: Voting closes

By June 1: New Board Members announced

🧭 How the Board Works

Senior Board

8 Seats, including President & Vice President
Provides strategic leadership on all Guild matters (Constitution, Membership, Finance, Partnerships)

Full Working Board

Supports the Guild’s grassroots efforts and subcommittees, as well as helping with member engagement and educational programming.

Members attend quarterly meetings and contribute to GMS initiatives between sessions

Composition of the Full Working Board

✅ Eligibility

In order to become a Senior Board Member, the applicants have to be previous Full Working Board members.

All GMS music supervisor members (Full, Associate, and Provisional) are eligible to vote in the 2025 elections

How to self- nominate for the Full Working Board or Senior Board (including Officer roles)

To be considered for a position, members must:

Submit a nomination form with a brief statement of interest and commitment to GMS work

Whether you’re passionate about community, education, industry advocacy, or simply want to give back to the GMS network, we want to hear from you.

🗳️ Nominations close on May 11
📬 Voting instructions will be sent via email to all eligible members
🖥️ Voting will be conducted via a secure third-party platform

➡️ Submit your nomination here.

GMS Awards in the US

We are thrilled to announce that numerous members of the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors have been honoured with nominations for the 15th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, scheduled for February 23, 2025, at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. These esteemed awards are hosted by the American GMS annually, giving great visibility to the wonderful work of music supervisors in our industry.

Here are some European Guild members and other nominees:

These nominations highlight the exceptional talent and dedication within our community. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our nominated members for their remarkable achievements and wish them the very best at the upcoming awards ceremony.

The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards celebrates excellence across various media, including film, television, games, advertising, and trailers. This year’s ceremony will also feature special mentions, with “Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz receiving the Icon Award, and music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg being bestowed with the Legacy Award.

For a complete list of nominees and more details about the awards, please visit the official Awards website here.

We take immense pride in the accomplishments of our members and their significant contributions the industry, which inspire and elevate the standards of music supervision.

Note: The information regarding the nominations was sourced from the Guild of Music Supervisors’ official announcements.

Interview: 515’s Hollie Hutton on music-first commissioning for underrepresented gender composers

This month, we spoke with Hollie Hutton (she/her), Co-Founder and Creative Director of the award-winning music supervision agency RESISTER and its sister composer agency 515, the dedicated home for women and gender minority composers. 

In this interview, Hollie challenges music and advertising agencies to be fully transparent about the composers they’re working with and to commission composers based on their music, not just their credits.

Pictured: Hollie Hutton (sher/her), Executive Creative Director / Co-Founder, RESISTER

Hey Hollie! First of all, tell us about how RESISTER and 515 came to be.

Hi! Hannah Charman and I set up RESISTER five years ago to resist the historical lack of women and underrepresented groups in music composition for all media.

From our experience of composer rosters at other agencies, we’d noticed that the majority of jobs were going to the same composers, and that most of these were male. But content creators were increasingly looking for women and other underrepresented composers to help tell specific stories and we didn’t see any composer agencies that focused on supporting and championing this talent. So we wanted to create a home where people can find that talent alongside continuing our work as music supervisors. 

Our original aspiration was to have at least 50% of our pitches going out to women and gender minority composers. While this is how we started (the company was initially named SISTER), the more progress we made, the more our clients came to us specifically for this diverse talent pool and the more things we collectively wanted to resist. Rebranding to RESISTER in 2023 allowed us to expand our mission to resist more industry norms, from a lack of transparency when commissioning composers to a lack of crediting on won jobs..

So we lifted the hood and three years later, we have a talent pool of over 300 women, gender minority and underrepresented composers and have now signed nine of them exclusively to our 515 roster. Although 515 is the ‘SIS’ from RESISTER, we wanted to separate our composer agency from our music supervision brand. We didn’t just want to sit on 300 composers or limit them from working with competing supervisors. We believe the more credits and experience the composers can get, the more we can advance composer representation across the board.

So what barriers to composer representation is RESISTER resisting?

First of all, to understand the lack of representation, you have to be able to see who is getting the work. We tried to get stats from all composed ads last year, but only some of the composers have been  credited. When agencies don’t credit their composers, we’re not even able to see how bad the problem is. There’s a real transparency issue in advertising.

But there are stats for Hollywood films, so I can tell you that when we started the company five years ago, only 7% of Hollywood film scores were composed by women. That’s peaked at 14% since. As for commercial music on the Billboard Hot 100, 2.6% was produced by women in 2019, and that went  up to 6.5% by 2023 (only 0.9% women of colour).

Even though those stats have doubled in the last five years, there’s still a huge amount of work to do in film scores and commercial music. I have no doubt the advertising world is very similar. 

Music and advertising agencies need to credit the composers they’re working with, because only then can they start to understand and address commissioning inclusively. The more transparent they are, the more we’ll see change.

There’s also an issue with the reel-first approach, where commissioners only give a composer a job if they can see that they’ve done the work before. Deadlines to deliver demos are very strenuous, so agencies are understandably reluctant to commission composers who have less experience turning something around quickly. So you find this circulation of amazingly experienced composers, but a lack of confidence to commission outside of them.

With that in mind, we listen to the music first, as opposed to reels, and try to include at least one  new composer on each of our pitches. We’re also seeing more composers blind pitching for film and TV work, which really enables them to be valued based on the music they’ve created rather than just on their previous experience (which is important too). We love taking the creative approach of commissioning talent from a certain soundworld, because their authenticity and passion pushes the creative boundaries.

You mentioned ‘authenticity’. What role does this play in the commissioning of female and gender diverse composers?

Well, I’ve seen a big shift over the past five years where more content creators are looking for authenticity. So when there is a story about a person from a particular area or marginalised group, commissioners want to bring on composers who have that same story at their heart too.

On the last three TV shows that we’ve done, all of the music has been commissioned from artists local to where the show was set. Supporting regional talent brings authenticity to the sound, opportunity outside of the ‘London bubble’ and clout from a PR and storytelling perspective. 

Five years ago, there was a flipside to this (which has started to improve) where we were being asked for female composers because it was a female-only creative, like a tampon ad. Whereas, the dark car ads or masculine action films weren’t considered something that a woman or nonbinary composer could score.

So there’s definitely a balance between being authentic with your community and limiting specific talent to specific stories. We don’t want to create a place where underrepresented genders are only getting opportunities to work on certain projects. 

So tell us more about the 515 roster and their successful sync placements.

We launched 515 a year ago with six composers. We now have nine, so we’ve had some exciting additional signings, including Shelly McErlaine, who’s one half of Alisha’s Attic, for those of my generation who’ll know them.She just wrote the theme for the Pride of Britain Awards. It’s a beautiful, incredibly powerful theme, she’s an amazing talent.

Adina Nelu, one of our original 515, and Sarah Decourcy, a new signing based in LA, both did incredible re-records last year, Adina for Dove and Sarah for Magnum (working with Iggy Pop and Siouxsie Sioux). Both were finalists at the Music+Sound Awards. Sarah is very talented in the trailer world and was also the first female composer to score a Far Cry video game.

What makes 515 different is that we have a mixture of heritage composers and emerging talent. We take that music-first approach – we don’t sign the people with the most credits, we sign the people we believe in who have a unique voice.

For example, Nailah Hunter is an incredible harpist and artist based in LA who’s looking to do more score composing. Whereas, Akiko Haruna has more of an underground, electronic sound. 

So we’ve cherry picked artists with a passion for a specific soundworld to ensure our composers don’t cross over sonically and to drive home their authenticity and specialism. That way, the roster also covers lots of different briefs.

How can our members find out more and get involved?   

Music commissioners can think of 515 as a resource to find women and gender minority composers for their projects. Emily Richardson, our Head of 515 and composer agent, represents all the composers we’ve met and worked with. She doesn’t just pitch a composer because they’re part of 515, she pitches the right talent for the job. 

For instance, we recently partnered with Wake The Town on the John Lewis Christmas campaign, representing composer and artist Laura Mvula who we’ve been working with on bespoke projects for the last two years.

So we’re very open to collaboration, both for anyone looking to commission our 515 roster, and as tastemakers for the community of women, and gender minority composers.

So come to us and ask, “Who might be good for this?” That’s a great place to start.

Hollie Hutton – Executive Creative Director / Co-Founder, RESISTER: hollie@resistermusic.com

Emily Richardson – Head of 515 / Senior Music Supervisor: emily@515talent.com

Interview by David Simkins (he/him), GMS D&I Committee

GMS Members Reunite at ADE: “Screen Soundtracks: The Power of Music Supervision”

Zoë Ellen Bryant (Carbon Logic), Oliver White (Theodore Music) and Iain Cooke (45RPM) spoke in a panel at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in October.

The event was a part of ADE 2024 Pro conference, which features panels and discussions about the business behind electronic music, the future for electronic music and the world surrounding the music industry. Buma Music in Motion (BMIM) was one of the partners of the event and supported the curation.

Music has evolved from playing a minor background role in films and series to becoming a significant component in storytelling. A perfectly placed song or soundtrack can captivate audiences and define cultural moments. Especially with the power of platforms like TikTok. This transformation is largely due to the work of music supervisors, who meticulously craft these musical landscapes in collaboration with publishers, labels and other industry partners.

The discussion explored how music has shifted from a background element to a crucial part of storytelling in films and series. It highlighted the creative thinking required from music supervisors and the barriers they face.

One attendee who is a music producer based in Berlin shared their perspective on the session: “It was inspiring to hear from Zoë, Oliver, and Iain about the challenges and creativity involved in bringing music to life on screen. I hadn’t realised just how much thought and negotiation goes into placing one song—it’s not just about choosing a track that fits, but about creating a moment that can shape how people remember a scene.” The attendee added that hearing from seasoned professionals gave them “a new respect for the craft of music supervision” and the way it bridges the gap between artistry and audience engagement.

Events like this certainly highlight the complex but rewarding role that music supervisors play in shaping cultural moments. Our music supervisor members shared their process and emphasised the significant impact of music placement in trailers, games, TV series, movies and adverts. Their work not only enhances the viewing experience but also drives substantial revenue streams for the music that is used.

ADE Pro’s programme also covered panels that discussed the power of music during times of conflict and war, as well as market spotlights on Africa’s music industry, Masterclasses from Spotify and more.

Iain Cooke, Music Supervisor, 45 RPM