Music Supervisor
Web: theraedio.com
Most Recent: One of Them Days
Sarah Bromberg’s journey into music supervision began unexpectedly while working at an indie record label in the early 2000s at a time when the rise of digital piracy and decline in album sales forecast a bleak future for the industry. “I had never heard of a music supervisor, but one of the bright spots I could deliver for artists was a sync placement, which opened that world up to me,” Bromberg says. “I ended up having the opportunity to work with [music supervisor] Stephanie Diaz-Matos. Music supervision is definitely an apprenticeship job; you really have to work under one to learn the ropes and develop the skills.”
Bromberg says working on a project that doesn’t have the right budget is the most challenging kind, but she loves working across film types and genres, and constantly strives to broaden her musical knowledge. “There are lots of playlists that I follow and always check. I follow a ton of different music blogs, journalists, and accounts to discover music. [Music finder] Shazam is my friend, because I’m always listening, and if something catches my ear, I can easily find it.”
She also enjoys working on projects that require diving deeper for the right music, which comes with unique rewards. “That’s when we turn to our partners at label and pitching companies describing what we’re looking for,” Bromberg says. “It’s rewarding when there are songs that never got to shine when they were created that are available for license today and get to have their moment.”
For her most recent film, One of Them Days, Bromberg said she was involved early in the process. “My initial conversations with the director were around making a timeless soundtrack – something current but that also stands the test of time using old and new tracks. Los Angeles is very much a character in the film, so we highlighted L.A. artists and, in particular, female artists,” she says.
