27
A DAY IN THE LIFE
A typical day for Art Ford begins
with phone calls, an average of 50
e-
mails, and a half dozen packages of
music sent from the territorial
offices
around the world. Often he will have
an
early morning meeting or conference
call
with a director, producer, or
music
supervisor, and lunch with a music
supervisor or client. Ongoing
projects
include sending out music or
negotiating
a deal for a film or commercial,
coordi-
nating monthly marketing mailers,
and
working on special projects like
events
for the Sundance Film Festival.
Each
week, Ford's staff meets to listen to
new
music that has come in and the
singles
they publish that are entering the
charts.
When writers and artists are in town,
he
meets with them about their catalog and takes
them to meet film and television
people who potentially could use their songs.
In between, Ford has inter-company
duties such as budgets and other
paperwork.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
"Find a way in. Even if you can start interning
with a company, you can see how
the business is done and learn who the players
are. If you get an assistant position,
"This business is about rela-
tionships and being trusted."
People need to feel confident
that the information you are
giving them about a song is
accurate and that they can trust
you will follow through on the
promises you make for its use.
Study film and television
soundtracks to learn the names
of supervisors, composers,
writers, and others in the busi-
ness. Become familiar with who
wrote, published, produced, and
recorded songs you love.
CAREER
TIPS
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"The administrative side of the job, which I
find a way to delegate and
oversee as much as possible."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"The short attention span quality of this
business; I love the speed that it
runs at. I like things that either pay off or
don't pay off and you can move
on quickly. I love that we make money for our
songwriters and we defend
their rights. I love being able to take care of
my clients, which for the most
part are my friends."
VOICES
OF
EXPERIENCE
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