Web: brandxmusic.net
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Often cited as the premiere music library for film and entertainment advertising, Brand X Music in the past year named Alicia Richards as the company’s new Head of Creative Sync. As such, Richards oversees the sync department, development of the company’s catalog, and placements in films, TV, advertising and other content for an in-house library of over 8,000 tracks, 115 albums and 55 original songs.
“I think the most challenging part of the job is always finding the exact right piece of music for what the client needs. It’s being able to understand what they’re looking for, figure out what’s in their head and what music matches that,” Richards says.
Before Brand X, Richards ran her own firm and worked in executive sync posts at Warner Bros. Records, Sony Music Entertainment and Disney Music Publishing. She found her way into the sync world working at a boutique record label, Outpost Recordings, where she wore multiple hats—including learning how to get music placed in films and television. “I had a friend working at a big company in sync, took him to lunch and asked for 101 advice, and I just started doing it.” Richards says she tells young or aspiring sync professionals they can find their own path into the business through multiple jobs within the entertainment industry, and to not be intimidated.
“It’s something that definitely can be taught, but you also kind of have to have an innate ability to understand the feeling or mood in a visual, and the feeling in music, and get those to match,” she says. At Brand X, Richards plans to broaden the company’s client base, and find great placements for its song catalog. “Whenever you secure the placement of some music, it’s so exciting. No matter how long you’ve done it, when you hear it in a film, on TV or in a trailer, you just get so excited and feel responsible for getting someone’s work out there.”
