The State of Sync Presented by Sync Summit

Synchronization continues to be an important source of income and competition has never been more fierce to secure placements. Join us for this discussion with sync music executives on the current condition of the film, tv, advertising, and game sync markets. COVID-19 shifted production schedules, causing many music supervisors to shift their music searches, resulting in music publishers, labels, and sync companies to shift the music they pitched. This panel will discuss the current needs of the sync market, production cycles, potential trends, the music pitch process, licensing rights and terms you need to know, and most importantly how to make money.

Matt Pakulski, FPE Records/ NOYZTR

Matt Pakulski is the founder of FPE Records and the sync licensing agency NOYZTR.

Matt graduated from Harvard in 1994, and is the only person with a degree in Music for Theater and Film, a concentration that he designed himself. In the ensuing decades, he ran a DIY punk label and a record store in Boston, composed music for chamber ensembles and orchestras, and toured internationally with his unique band Fat Day, blowing minds.

FPE Records was founded in 2011 with a vision to increase the amount of beauty in the world by making records For Practically Everyone. NOYZTR, the sync agency and catalog, came in 2018 out of a desire to increase the exposure of FPE's catalog, combined with Matt's natural affinity for combining the storytelling media of music and picture. Since its inception, NOYZTR has grown parallel to FPE and now represents a roster of more than 100 independent artists for placement in film, TV, and advertising.

Brandon Smith, VP of Licensing & Partnerships at Songfinch/ Founder of Brewhouse Music

With 15+ years of experience in the Music & Entertainment industry Brandon has lent his ear on creative music direction for companies like General Mills (Cheerios), The Coca-Cola Company, Nike, BMW, Nestle, and many more.

Specialties: Finding/Creating the right song . Creative Solutions . Strategic Partnerships

Celia Rose Kujawinski, What Up Pitches

Originally from Alabama, Celia Rose has spent most of her music career performing outside of the United States; in places as varied as Haiti, Israel, France, Rwanda, and Canada. She toured Africa five times as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and her songs have been included in NYTimes bestselling books as well as in TV, ads, and films. She’s completed 4 full length albums of original folk-rock songs as well as an album of songs co-written with children in Africa. Wrote the theme song for the 2020 Kraft Heinz campaign "Let's Make Life Delicious".

She has a Master’s Degree from NYU in music composition and has taught songwriting for numerous organizations including Harlem Children's Zone and Kid Pan Alley. Celia enjoys springboard diving and doing the flying trapeze with her 3 kids. And she has a dog that likes to eat shoes.

Featured Speakers:

Madeline Dowling, Senior Music Producer at Doner

Madeline Dowling is the Chicago-based Senior Music Producer at Detroit based ad agency, Doner. She is responsible for developing sonic branding for a broad range of clients/brands including Jeep, Dodge, JBL, and the Johnson&Johnson family of brands. From an early age, Madeline knew that she wanted to work in music and after trying on many hats (show promotion, record label, booking agency, music PR, talent buying, and even a stint with The Grammys) she finally landed her dream gig as a Music Supervisor in 2013. She has worked with top brands like Kraft, Disney, Cadillac, and Apple as well as on hit TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, Empire and Scandal. Previous to her work with Doner, Madeline's career included roles at creative agency mcgarrybowen (Chicago), Chop Shop Music Supervision (LA), Good Ear Music Supervision (LA), Marmoset (Portland), as well as a robust freelance career. When she's not eagerly keeping up with music's hottest trends or falling down rabbit holes from music's past, Madeline enjoys creating custom glitter graphics, picking up litter while listening to podcasts, and visiting hole-in-the-wall bars or Michelin Star restaurants.

Dave Herrero, Who’z The Boss Music Library

Raised in a small beach town outside of Tampa, Florida, Dave Herrero was introduced to both the local and national music scene early on. At the age of fifteen, he would regularly sneak out of military school to see bands like Arc Angels and Johnny Winter. On Monday nights he would play at local blues jams at clubs like the Green Iguana, where local legends like James Peterson and Lucky Peterson would frequently play.

After earning his degree in Psychology and Child Care Management from the University of North Florida in 1996, Herrero quickly began his career as a touring musician and moved to Austin, TX. It was there that he became the guitarist for Archie Bell and the Drells - who found international fame from their 1968 hit “Tighten Up.” He immersed himself in Austin’s music community as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and performed alongside artists such as Gary Clark Jr., Robert Randolph, Charlie Sexton, Lazy Lester and Marcia Ball. He also grew his business skills and co-founded the nonprofit organization “Blues Society of Austin.”

In 2004 Herrero relocated to Chicago, where he teamed up with his brother and acclaimed Hip-Hop producer, Mike Hero. Together, they founded TrackForce Productions and quickly began making music for Harpo Productions (The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Oz Show). In 2009 Dave Herrero brought on Mike Hero and songwriter Felix Reyes to release his second album, ”Austin to Chicago,” which garnered a nomination at the Illinois Blues Blast Awards for Debut Artist of the Year. He has since released three solo records and was asked to play on Playing For Change's tribute to 50 years of the Grateful Dead, "Ripple Effect" and Buddy Guy’s “Skin Deep - A Song Across America”.

Since 2000, Herrero has played on nearly thirty European tours, started the “Blues in Schools” program with Foundations of Music, and continued to share the stage with many musical heroes - including Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy. In 2011 he co-produced Chicago Blues and Soul legend Jimmy Burns’ album, “Stuck In The Middle,” and in 2013 engineered and arranged the horn parts on Nikki Hill’s debut album, “Here’s Nikki Hill” in addition to touring with her. Herrero also works as a session guitarist for the GRAMMY Award winning producer, Jake Oh, one half of the production duo, Jarami. He has also co-produced and provided instrumentation for numerous Chicago Rap artists including PsychoDrama and Ready. Herrero has recently engineered and recorded overdubs in his studio for Doyle Bramhall’s 2018 release “Shades” and for Los Lobos’ Louie Perez’s accompanying CD with his new book, “Good Morning Aztlan: The Words, Pictures and Songs of Louie Perez”.

Today, as an active member of the Chicago music scene, Dave Herrero can be found playing around Chicago with his own band, and many others like violin virtuoso Anne Harris, and is a driving force behind the creative and business side of Who’z The Boss Music Library.