Michelle Macedo and her identical twin Melissa perform together as Macedo. Together they’ve re-released Michelle’s second album Flags & Boxes mixed by Justin Gerrish (MGMT, Vampire Weekend), mastered by Fred Kevorkian (Regina Spektor), and re-mastered by Randy Sharpe (Dixie Chicks).

How did you get your start in songwriting?

I have always kept a journal since about 3rd grade. As long as I can remember I’ve just written everything down, which has evolved into an obsession with documenting everything! I started writing poetry with no intention of showing it to anyone. The first person I showed it to was Melissa and she was so encouraging that I just kept going. Then around 6th grade we both realized we loved to sing but again would not sing in front of anyone. It was really supporting each other and being supported by our friends at the all girls high school we attended. (more…)

In a landmark ruling, former lead singer of the Village People, Victor Willis, has won the right to reacquire and administer works such as Y.M.C.A. Willis invoked a provision of copyright law called “termination rights, which allow songwriters to reclaim signed-away copyrights after 35 years.

EMI Music Publishing could likewise lose its right to The Pink Panther Theme, as the iconic song’s publishing company, Northridge Music Inc. filed a claim seeking more than $1.35 million in unpaid “net profits”.

With the music industry still mourning Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, the Beastie Boys have been hit with a lawsuit for copyright infringement relating to samples on License to Ill and Paul’s Boutique.

Popular AMC series Mad Men reportedly shelled out $250,000 for the use of The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. To clear the use, Lionsgate needed to license publishing rights from Sony ATV Publishing, and the rights to the master held by EMI.

Mad Men's Don Draper listens to The Beatles 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. The license cost $250,000.

Having recently posted about getting music placed in video games and advertising, it’s high time to discuss the same process for film/TV. The latter of which can be especially fruitful for songwriters, who can earn meaningful performance royalties from the use of their songs on TV.

To find out more, we spoke with Jumee Park from premium licensing agency Downtown Music Services.

What is the process for placement of music in film/TV?

Once a music supervisor or music department at Film and TV studio decides what they need, they will being the search by sending out music search briefs to labels, publishers and music placement reps. As a publisher /music licensing rep, if I have music that’s appropriate for the search, I’ll email a playlist of music.

From there, the supervisor and other decision makers pull what might work, and then test it in a rough cut of the scene. If it works, then then we’ll get a request for more information on the song, a quote and approval.

Which genres/ types of music get placed in film/TV most often?

The great thing about music licensing is that it isn’t specific to any genre or style. The music is there to help tell the story, so the type of music that gets licensed depends on the production and the creative direction of that production. A film about present day teenagers living in rural Missouri will likely have music that is different from a film set in 1970s England.

Having said that, current trends in film/TV licensing are: hip indie rock, hip-hop, dub-step, upbeat pop-electronic hybrids, and singer-songwriter/acoustic. For trailers and promos, well-known artists and songs tend to have the advantage.

How can an unpublished songwriter get considered alongside the big boys for placement?

Do your homework. Know what kind of music is getting licensed for different TV shows. Find out who supervises those shows and their submission policies. For example, some supervisors don’t accept unsolicited material, so you might need to find a licensing rep to pitch on your behalf.

But overall, continue to put yourself and your music out there – keep playing shows and keep your websites/networking pages updated with media. Good music will always find its way to supervisors.

How much can film/TV placements pay upfront?

Fees can depend on a number of factors: how the song is used, how prominently the song plays in the scene, the popularity of the song, the artist, and the budget of the project. I’ve seen fees that can range from $500 – $35,000 for TV and from $1,000 – $150,000 for film (this is all-in, meaning for both master and publishing).

Which directors / TV channels / shows are your favorites for music supervision?

Mad Men and Treme are great as historical/regional snapshots. The shows on CW and MTV are fun to watch since they tend to use what’s current, so it’s a good way to find out about new music. In the film world, I love how the directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese use music in unexpected ways.

Todd Goldstein is the guitarist for New York indie rockers ARMS. Having garnered critical acclaim in his previous guise at the axeman for Harlem Shakes, Goldstein returns with Summer Skills - his first record under the ARMS moniker.

How did you get your start in songwriting?

I began songwriting, more or less, right when I started playing guitar–both of which were around age 13. It felt like the most natural thing for me: guitar was a tool on which I could write songs. Though I definitely got intensely nerdy about the instrument itself–gear and guitar heroes and learning solos wholesale, etc–I was also completely fixated on the idea of writing the best pop songs I could muster.

My first band in high school had four songs and a singer whose voice, I was convinced, sounded just like Ed Kowalczyk from Live. I was obsessed with surf-rock, and forced him to sing a very silly song I wrote about being a secret agent. It’s been downhill from there, pretty much. (more…)

After his first US #1 with Somebody That I Used To Know, Australian artist Gotye leads the nominations for APRA Song Of The Year. New Zealand chanteuse Kimbra (above), who features on the smash hit, this week also topped the International Songwriting Competition with her song Cameo Love.

The record industry is back on the war front with radio broadcasters. Unlike music publishers, record labels are paid no performance right from plays on terrestrial radio. That is, songwriters get paid – artists do not.

In Brazil, 15 directors of local Performance Rights Organizations have been indicted for fraud. As part of the Senate inquiry, new recommendations have surfaced that would help Brazilian songwriters earn more of their fair share of royalties.

The Ghana Association of Phonographic Industries (GAPI) is said to be in the midst of tabling a $400M lawsuit against the Government of Ghana for the use of works without paying royalties.

Songtrust has uncovered over $2,000 in publishing royalties for independent songwriter Daniel Snyder. These royalties were collected from the Harry Fox Agency, which Daniel had previously not been able to collect before joining Songtrust.