A good music supervisor is in a powerful position—the right music cue can help catapult a film or television show to greatness, and the songwriter or performer to acclaim. Berkleemusic’s Professional Certificate in Music Supervision gives you the skills you need excel in the field—how to work with songwriters, producers, artists, publishers, directors, and performance rights organizations; how to know whether a given piece of music would fit a mood or scene; and how to navigate the statutes that govern who gets paid for what when a piece of music is licensed for use in film or TV. This 5-course programs explores the ins and outs of legal issues, copyright, music supervision, publishing, and songwriting so that you will be able to function effectively on either side of a licensing transaction – from the position of an artist or as a music business professional.

In your first course, Legal Aspects of the Music Business, you will gain a high-level understanding of the legal issues artists, musicians, engineers, and producers face when building their careers, and examine the important legal changes that have evolved to meet recent changes in the music business. The course takes a real-world approach to explaining the legal issues individuals working in the music business deal today, including how to read and understand contracts, how recording and publishing agreements are structured, digital rights management, and more.

Next you will dig into Copyright Law, to examine in detail what copyright is and what it protects, and how copyright is used to monetize artistic works. Through analysis of real-world cases and copyright laws passed in the United States, you will learn what you need to know to successfully protect your own works and avoid infringing on others’ copyrights, as well as the ground rules of copyright, from how to register one to how to protect your works overseas.

In Music Publishing, you will take a step-by-step approach to setting up a publishing company, administering copyright, dealing with performance rights organizations (like ASCAP and SESAC), and even how to pitch your own lyrics and demos.

Next, you will explore the ins and outs of Music Supervision. This course progresses from a basic introduction to what a music supervisor does, to how to approach a project creatively or negotiate a complicated series of clearances. Through course materials including exclusive interviews with music supervisors, sound and music editors, and other industry players you will gain insight into the past and present of the job, and learn how to work as part of a production team, license music, stay on budget, make a piece of music work in a production, and much more.

Finally, you will learn how to write your own music for visual media in Songwriting for Film and TV. The course explores the techniques of writing music that will appeal specifically to music supervisors, editors, directors, and producers across any number of different genres. You'll gain the knowledge and tools you need to create songs ready for placement in a movie or television series. You'll start thinking more like a director and gain the skills to write songs that will enhance the overall production.

With what you learn from Berkleemusic, you will be ready to launch a career in music supervision at any level, from a local film production to a Hollywood blockbuster, as well as understand what music supervisors are looking for from a placement standpoint.

(Please note: Music Production Analysis will be an acceptable substitution for Songwriting for Film and TV)