Find films to submit your musical works to. Find the names of cast and crew listed in publications like “The Hollywood Reporter" and "Variety," which list movies in production, pre-production and post-production. Buy a current issue of one of their industry directories. Cost can be as much as $400, or pay a monthly access fee for a cheaper rate.
Contact a music supervisor. Send a polite letter explaining who you are. Ask the music supervisor is there any particular sound or style of music he is looking for at the moment.
Read the film script if it is available to you. Learn all you can about the production. Interview the director or the director’s assistant.
Register your music with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) to give you more access to music professionals, and you will have advocates to work on your behalf to collect the money for using your music. Apply online as a songwriter or a publisher. Pay the $35 fee. List information about your music and your band.
Submit your music on compact disc. Print all the contact information about your band and the record label. Include the genre of the music that you have submitted. Submit only the music you’ve been asked for.
Include a cover letter reminding the music supervisor of who you are and of his request for your music. If you are submitting your latest album, put a post-it-note on the CD to tell her which songs you think she’d be interested in for her production.
Discuss licensing options. If the production company wants to load your song on to a soundtrack CD and sell it, then sell them the mechanical license. Offer a step-up agreement if the filmmaker can’t pay your regular rates now, but can use the earnings from the film to make payments to you later.
Hire a lawyer to review the licensing agreement before you sign it to make sure that your rights are protected. Return the licensing agreement.
Request a cue sheet from the production office. Cue sheet lists how the music was used, for how long and for what purpose in the film project.