Tonight Andrea von Foerster - another top music supervisor in Los Angeles (The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, (500) Days of Summer, Run's House) - spoke to our group, listened to songs and gave feedback.

Front Page Photo: (L-R, standing) Monomyth Media's Andrea Johnson, Fuze Artz' Cindy Rossman, PTEC Dojo's Eric Caver, Bees & Honey Music’s Ben Bidlack, Peter Kimmel, Planetwood Productions' Catharine Wood, Boyfriend Academy's Tony Smith, Heartsongs' Margie Hauser, music attorney Marjorie Wilkinson, Team NARIP's Kirstin Goertz, Emelie Adolfsson and Jen Kim. Kneeling (L-R): NARIP's Daniel Higgins, Mighty Generation Music's Sven Spieker. Seated: NARIP's Tess Taylor, Firestarter Music's Andrea von Foerster. Kneeling: independent artist Whitney Nichole, Fireweed Music Productions' Amber Norgaard.

Pitch Tips From Andrea

Don't put "Following Up" or "Checking In" in the subject line of your email, "it sounds too much like homework!"
"I never need press kits, and your email subject line should pertain to a specific project if possible."
"I like to know where people [who pitch] are from, I'm always working on area- and region-specific projects."
"There's more money [for synchs] in drama than in comedy."
As an example of who's doing it right, Andrea mentioned Position Music, site she likes because it has all the info music supervisors need [in an easy-to-use format].

On being a music supervisor:

"I've worked 12 years to get to the middle... music supervision is one of the most coveted and misunderstood jobs."
"There are only three jobs in this field: intern, coordinator and supervisor. That's it."
"[Music supervision] is a limited field, it's not growing and it's a labor of love."

Some feedback from Andrea to music:

"I'll be pitching that this evening for my kitchen scene," she said of Sven Spieker's 'Sidekick.' To Sven's second song 'It's Hot Hot' she said, "I'll be pitching that for the birthday cake scene."
"I really like it," she said of Whitney Nichole's 'Fight or Flight,' - "your comparison [of your music and style] to Sara Bareilles is spot-on, now I know who to come to when I need to replace her." To Whitney's second song 'Love Again' Andrea said, "It's very place-able!"
To Benjamin Bidlack's "Questia," she said, "I feel like you could do an 'Also Sprach Zarasthustra' [Richard Strauss] replacement."
"I have a Beach Boys replacement now!" she said of Marvin Etzioni's 'Summer In A Bottle.'
Of Amber Norgaard's 'One Flame' Andrea said, "Perfect for weddings, I could see that in any wedding [scene], also in soap operas."

What attendees have to say about NARIP's Music Supervisor Session with Andrea von Foerster:

Thank you again for providing one of the more professional and useful events that I have ever attended. It was intimate, precise and well-executed. The feedback was immediate and valuable. Andrea was very engaging and a pleasure to talk to. - Eric Caver, PTEC Dojo
Another successful and extremely well-organized NARIP event, please keep them coming! casino utbetalning 15 min Thank you for making music pitching easy and comfortable. Sven Spieker, President, Mighty Generation Music
Very, very informative and helpful. These are fun and the supervisors have been extremely willing to share very useful info. Catharine Wood, Planetwood Productions

Read more about NARIP Supervisor Sessions at www.narip.com, and don't miss the final session with John Houlihan (June 30).

Audio from this session can be purchased online at our Online Store.

Firestarter Music Andrea von Foerster Archive