Music Supervisors Gain Emmy Respect, Yet Still Face ‘False Impressions’ About Soundtrack Work

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“Music has always been a part of the storytelling process,” she points out. Even in the broadcast era.We may not remember these moments because, in many cases, songs that aired on TV episodes then were cleared for one-time use and stripped out of repeats.

Sadly, I was too young to remember “WKRP in Cincinnati” during its original CBS run, but I will never forget the tearful scene where the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” played on ABC’s “The Wonder Years” in 1991 or Billy Vera and the Beaters’ “At This Moment” punctuated a key romantic moment on NBC’s “Family Ties.” More attention was paid to the role of TV series music supervisors during the 2000s, with shows like “The O.C.” on Fox elevating the visibility of this unsung, yet crucial part, of the show-making process.

Studios realized it was important enough to license those tracks in perpetuity. And of course, social media has further helped create a dialogue about music on TV — and the artisans tasked with making it all happen.“It’s so much more part of the conversation,” Malone acknowledges.

And yet, it’s been a long road for those in the field to get to Television Academy and Emmy recognition: Music supervisors only gained entry to the org’s music branch in 2015, and finally got their own category in 2017.Even then, it came with a bit of controversy: With no policing over who could be nominated in the music supervision category, showrunners who contributed musical ideas to their shows began popping up in the field.