Can a newsletter even call itself a newsletter before it has 30 issues? Before I reached the big three-oh myself, I would've said that this elitist attitude was arbitrary gatekeeping by an arrogant old guard hell-bent on maintaining control over the quickly democratizing newslettering community, but now, in my 30th issue, it makes total sense to me. All those other sub-30 "newsletters" are really just emails with different fonts - what a joke! 

 

Take it from a bona fide professional, one who has attained mastery of the newslettering arts — this edition will touch on all the essential pillars of the craft: News, Recent Work, Trends/References, and the Q&A. 

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News

This month we're so excited to introduce the latest addition to the SAS family, Jessica Makhlin. As a member of the creative team, Jess will be focused on pitching your music and managing custom music projects. Jess had this to say about joining this team -

 

"My name is Jess and i’m SAS’s newest Creative Manager! My background is in all things music with a focus in radio broadcasting and supervision. Very stoked to be joining the team and continuing bringing stories to life with SAS’s amazing roster of composers."

 

She's talking about you folks!

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Recent Work

The official trailer for Amazon Original Series Breathe - Into The Shadows features a tense and dramatic cue off of composer Dan Rosen's latest trailer album,"Substansia Innominata," released in early February. 

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This upbeat, fun indie-rock track by Brennan Aerts is helping Pizza Hut spread the word about their contactless curb-side pickup. 

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Trends/References

Apple's "The Whole Working-From-Home Thing" ad features the hilarious return of 2019's "The Underdogs" adapted to 2020's new, weird world. Both spots feature a fun, upbeat, percolating, quirky, eclectic, percussive, modern orcherstral track that is easy to drop in and out of the spot to punctuate the comedy on screen. It has an almost mechanical rhythm to it that sounds like the gears of progress turning. 

 

Submit ideas inspired by this ref HERE with playlist name "#30 WFH"

Khruangbin is a group that has been popping up in our inboxes quite a bit for their laid-back, funky, vintage-sounding tracks that pull from a wide variety of multicultural influences. Fresh but nostalgic, relaxed but dance-able, these songs feel simple and effortless despite the virtuosic performances and genre-bending compositions. 

 


Submit ideas inspired by this ref HERE with playlist name "#30 Shredder"

Sub Urban - Cradles - This unique blend of sleek, hip-hop production and macabre toned-percussion feels edgy and exciting but still catchy and approachable. The dramatic drops and chops give an editor plenty to work with while the loosely timed melodic elements give the track just enough tension to be intriguing without being alienating. 

 

Submit ideas inspired by this ref HERE with playlist name "#30 Rural Bulbs"

The Irrepressibles - In This Shirt - This song was originally released in 2010 but is getting a new life on TikTok with its dramatic string performances and melancholy vocals. It feels elegant and intense without needing a huge build or massive percussion, and has a heart-breaking quality to it while still feeling energetic. 

 

Submit ideas inspired by this ref HERE with playlist name "#30 Pressed Pants"

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Q&A

"Once the exclusivity period is up on my track, am I free to send it to other companies and/or pitch it myself?"

 

The short answer is yes, but the real answer is a little more complicated.

 

Lately we've seen an uptick in clients requesting some form of exclusivity with their licenses. This means that in order for us to quickly and effectively pitch your music and execute on those terms, we need to know the full and complete license history of any given piece of music in the catalog. Obviously this isn't possible if there are multiple entities all pitching and licensing the same track. Because of this, it's important that we are the exclusive reps for each and every song in our catalog. 

 

So, when a track's exclusivity term is up, you're absolutely free to send the track elsewhere and to pitch it yourself, we just ask that you give us a heads up beforehand to make sure that there are no conflicts. 

 

"How do I get an album featured on the front page of your public catalog?"

 

The first step here is pretty simple: Make an album! Obviously we love getting one-off submissions and tracks based on our searches but if you're looking to have that little bit of extra visibility, a small album is the way to go. 

 

Albums typically range from 5-12 tracks (5 for longer, trailer tracks, up to 12 for shorter, ad-focused tracks), they have a name, some album art, and a specific theme, style or genre that ties the whole thing together. We swap out our featured albums often, so we're usually able to shine the spotlight on new releases,

 

We are always down to brainstorm ideas and check out WIPs so please don't hesitate to reach out!

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30 Newsletters. You guys believe that? I've never done anything 30 times in my life. That's so many times to do something! Imagine doing one push-up, right? And now imagine doing 29 more. Impossible! What're you, a gorilla? I've tried googling "how many push-ups has The Rock done in his life" and while most people agree that it's a lot, nobody is guessing 30. And he's The Rock!

 

Happy Scoring everybody!

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Los Angeles, CA 90025

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