One of the best developments in the music industry over the past decade has been the proliferation of music placements on television shows — music not only from major label artists, but also from indie and virtually unknown musicians.

As an indie songwriter, getting your music placed on TV can be a great source of income, and help to boost your name recognition and credibility. It can also expose you to new audiences and help you build your fan base. These days, television can often make an artists’ career.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, you’ll need to work with a music supervisor in order to get your music on TV. It’s often not easy or fast, so before you approach them, be sure you do your homework:

• Research: If you want to get your music placed in TV, do your research in order to determine what shows are in the pipeline. Check out magazines like Variety or Hollywood Reporter or IMDB.com to find information about shows in the works that might be a good fit for your music. Then do your best to track down the music supervisor for those shows. Find out what their needs are and how you can help them find the music they’re looking for.

• Be prepared: Make sure the legalities of your music are in order prior to reaching out so the process of licensing your music is fast and easy when the time comes. When you’re ready to contact a music supervisor or send a disc, be sure to highlight the genre or emotion or type of scenes that your music would fit best for. Be specific. What is the general feel of the show? Does your upbeat pop music fit with a depressing zombie drama? Perhaps not.

• Follow Up: After you’ve gotten to know what shows might be a good fit and you’ve sent your disc with information about your self and your music, remember to follow up. Drop the music supervisor a line via phone or email to see if they’ve received your disc and if they’ve listened to it. Remember that many musicians vying for the same placement, so you have to do your best to follow up and build a relationship.

Overall, the research that you do about shows that are going into production and the relationships you develop with music supervisors are key to getting your music placed TV.

Tell us what you think! Have you had your music placed in a TV? How long did it take? What was the process like?

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The SongCast Crew