Filmmaker Spotlight: Laney McCormick

Welcome to our Filmmaker Spotlight series, where we're shining a light on the incredible women who support Women in Film -- and are doing cool things in the industry!

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Laney McCormick, Music Supervisor and co-founder of Scene Support Music answered some of our biggest questions about sourcing music for your project, as well as the biggest challenges she sees for women in our business.

Tell us a bit about you and your role in the film industry:

Six years ago, I didn’t to know that Music Supervision was a job. My husband, Matt, and I were the music department at a private high school in Cincinnati. Through attending SXSW, Matt figured out how to license his own band’s music to a couple of TV shows. Those opportunities grew into the Scene Support Music catalog, where I represent around 400 artists for placements in film, television, advertisements, podcasts, and video games.  

Shortly after opening the business, I began working with indie filmmakers in need of music supervision and rights clearance -- which includes music and copyright searches, license negotiation, and cue sheet assembly. Basically, I bridge the gap between musicians and filmmakers, helping creatives find and license authentic, affordable music to help bring their projects to life.

As someone who focuses on sourcing music for film – what is one mistake you see your partners and clients make? 

There are two main issues that I see constantly:

1) Waiting until the last minute to budget for, begin searching for, or start licensing music. I encourage all creatives to set aside 10 to 15% of their overall production budget for music. Many catalogs, like mine, can license in a matter of minutes. If you want a song from a record label or publisher, they take some time to clear the rights and issue a license.

2) Approaching an artist after a show to ask about using their music and taking their response as gospel without researching the songs, recordings, and who owns them. "Handshake Sync Deals” are never a good idea. 

What advice would you give filmmakers for selecting music for their projects? Anything specific for new filmmakers? 

“Temp love” is absolutely a real thing.  If your overall production budget is under $1 million, don’t temp in a Beatles song. You’ll fall in love with it and you can’t afford it. Also, if you have a specific song written into a scene in your screenplay, please contact someone and clear the rights before shooting. You’ll save yourself a ton of time and money in the long run. 

What do you feel are the biggest challenges for women in the industry? 

I feel like the biggest challenge facing women in the industry is simply to be taken seriously. I’ve experienced this on both the music and film sides of the industry. As a vocalist, the guys in every jazz group I sit in with assume I don’t read music when I have more music degrees than any of them. On the film side, I’ve been asked “Is there a Music Supervisor attached to this project?” when reaching out to rights holders. Yes, I am the Music Supervisor, which is why I introduced myself as such in the email they’re replying to. I get it, nobody is reviewing my resume in these scenarios, but I’d love to have the benefit of the doubt be standard practice. 

Why do you feel it is important to bridge the gender gap? 

It's important for us specifically to work toward closing the gender gap now so that women in the future are able to better support themselves through creating amazing art. Dang, wouldn't it be awesome to only have one job, doing exactly what you want to do, allowing you to be creative in any way that you wanted to be, that would also facilitate paying rent and buying groceries? Maybe that’s  a pipe dream for everyone in society right now, but when I look around at my friends and colleagues, it's mainly the ladies that have multiple jobs. Maybe that's a pay thing, maybe that's a work ethic thing - I don’t know, but I do know it shouldn’t have to even be a thing.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given in the film industry? 

The best advice I’ve ever been given in music and the industry in general is to surround yourself with people who are better than you, people who you strive to be like. It feels good to be the top dog in any situation, but you don’t learn anything new that way. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add or share? 

I’m very excited to be involved in WIFKY and look forward to getting to know everyone. Please reach out if I can help you find and license great music! 

Interested in getting in touch with Laney?

Email her at Laney@scenesupportmusic.com or reach out to WIFKY to get her phone number.