really need to talk, you just fax them back the
information." Next, Merrill makes phone
calls to people with outstanding quotes, asks
them to respond, and generally puts out
any fires that have arisen. "A lot of times I'll
get calls from people who are desperate.
They're out of time and they need to get a song
cleared." She receives an average of 50
CDs a week and generally listens to two or
three songs from each, so throughout the
day, she is constantly listening to music. In
between, she may offer clients suggestions
of music to use, work on budgets, or invoice
clients.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
A position as an assistant or intern to an
independent music supervisor is a good
way to gain a broad understanding of the
business, both from a creative and business
point of view. Working for the clearance
department of a film studio, or a music pub-
lisher, is another way to gain
experience.
KATHLEEN MERRILL, PARTNER, PARKER MUSIC
GROUP
Kathleen Merrill grew up in the San Francisco
Bay area and learned the craft of
deal making by licensing commercial real
estate, before switching to music. "Pieces of
music are like any other kind of property. They
are intellectual property, and when
you want to use them, you have to license
them." On a temporary basis, Merrill set
aside real estate to handle music licensing for
Randy Parker, whose partner had
become ill. When the job ended, she went to
work in the legal department of Princess
Cruise Lines. Later, when Parker formed Parker
Music Group, he invited Merrill to
join him on a permanent basis. "We enjoyed
working together earlier. We comple-
mented each other in our skills and our music
knowledge."
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"When some of the people who own music try to
back out of the quote
they have given, because they have something
better that has come
up."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"Looking at a tape of a scene. It doesn't
matter what it is--a commer-
cial, television show, or film segment--knowing
the demographic that
my client wants, and coming up with great ideas
for music. Then,
negotiating and getting the use for the music
they want, and having
the client just thrilled about
it."
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