Rough Trade And Feel For Music MD Celebrated At AIM Sync 2023
Rough Trade’s team awarded ‘Independent Sync of the Year’ for Peaky Blinders series finale track placement
Feel For Music’s Ben Sumner wins ‘Music Supervisor of the Year’ for championing independent music in prominent game releases
Online event attended by hundreds of music businesses and sync professionals, with Silvia Montello delivering first address as CEO
AIM Sync, the UK’s leading global sync conference and marketplace hosted by the Association of Independent Music (AIM), today returned for its fifth annual instalment.
Bringing together the music community’s sync professionals with music supervisors in film, gaming, TV, advertising and brands, the virtual event included expert-led panels and workshops, as well as the 2023 edition of the AIM Sync Awards.
Presented by AIM’s new CEO, Silvia Montello, the Awards celebrate the past year’s most innovative syncs in independent music as well as the teams and supervisors behind them. Rough Trade’s sync team won ‘Independent Sync of the Year’ for its placement of Irish singer-songwriter Lisa O'Neill’s cover version of ‘All The Tired Horses’. The song soundtracked the final scene of acclaimed BBC crime drama, Peaky Blinders, with the episode drawing 3.7 million viewers. It represents not just an excellent creative connection but also a high-profile placement for a female artist.
Emma Lomas, Beggars Group’s Head of Licensing, commented: "Rough Trade and Beggars are so pleased that Lisa and the placement of her incredible cover of 'All The Tired Horses' has been recognised as AIM’s Sync of the Year. For an independent artist to be featured in one of the most-watched television series of recent years – well, we think Lisa said it best herself: “It is not an overstatement to say that it was beyond my wildest dreams to be ‘Ordered by the Peaky Blinders’ to cover this beautiful song (Lisa O’Neill).”
Ben Sumner, Managing Director at Feel For Music, was awarded ‘Music Supervisor of the Year’ for his work securing a number of high-profile syncs within the gaming sector. Working with independent artists including Grimes (4AD), BBNo$ (mtheory), Perturbator (Blood Music) and Zeal & Ardor (MVKA), the past year saw Sumner place in-game and promotional trailer syncs for Saints Row Cinco, Dead Island 2, Outriders and other titles. He also worked with a number of artists including The Midnight (Counter), Ital Tek (Planet Mu) and Someone (self-released) to create original new music for sync opportunities.
Ben Sumner, ‘Music Supervisor of the Year’ winner, said: “Being deeply rooted in independent music, I’m grateful to be acknowledged by AIM and the rest of the sync community. The gaming space can be extremely powerful in generating attention for artists and at Feel For Music we take our role as gatekeepers very seriously. Not just in terms of being proactive in placing independent artists, but also in helping them maximise the potential from those syncs through social media and release support. I would like to thank Glenn and all our team at Feel For Music, as without their monumental help and support, all the great work from the last year wouldn’t have been possible.”
The full list of nominees for both categories can be found below.
The event saw Silvia Montello deliver her first address as AIM’s CEO. In her opening speech to attendees and AIM members, Montello stated: “The sync world brings together professionals from all sides of the market, with each working tirelessly to place exactly the right music for the right moment. AIM Sync exists to connect these people and facilitate business. We remain focused on AIM’s key goals of providing direct and practical help for our members and the wider sync community by helping to foster relationships and working to overcome the challenges felt by different stakeholders.”
A keynote interview from music supervision executive Ian Neil, who is best known for his work in films 127 Hours, Kingsman: The Secret Service, High-Rise and Rocketman, shared tips from his 30 years of experience working in the sync industry across advertising, film and TV.
Other notable sessions included a multi-faceted sync market overview from Emma Lomas (Beggars Group’s Head of Licensing), Louisa Rainbird, (Head Of Music, Europe at Amazon Studios), Fred Schindler (Founder & Managing Director at Too Young), and Adam Faires (Head of Synchronisation & Brands at Verdigris Management / Managing Director at Handsome Dad Publishing). Each sharing insights on current developments across the global sync and brand landscape from their own stakeholder perspective.
Case studies examined the soundtrack and sync strategy around Netflix’s hit drama Top Boy, which has championed high-profile syncs from independent artists Dave (Neighbourhood Recordings), Jorja Smith (FAMM), Central Cee (Live Yours) and Flohio (AlphaTone), among others. Attendees also heard from the team behind Alfie Templeman’s (Chess Club Records) virtual ‘Mellow Moon’ Minecraft festival, one of the first major examples of an independent artist securing an in-game performance-based partnership.
Workshops included ‘Creating Successful Long-Term Brand Partnerships’ and ‘Bespoke Composition in Sync’. The ever-popular ‘Listening Sessions’ also returned, giving sync professionals and creators a chance to receive feedback on their music from top music supervisors whose experience includes placements with Burberry, PlayStation, Apple and FIFA, and hit shows The Crown and Killing Eve.
AIM thanks its event partners Guild of Music Supervisors (UK & EU) and Too Young, as well as AIM’s Annual Platinum Partners: Amazon Music, Facebook, Merlin, PPL, Spotify, VEVO and YouTube Music, for their ongoing support.
AIM Sync Awards 2023 Nominees
Independent Sync of the Year:
EE/Hope United x Women's Euros 2022 - Le Tigre - "Deceptacon" (Beggars Group)
Euphoria - Orville Peck - "Dead of Night" (Sub Pop Records)
Gucci x Palace - Prodigy - "Out of Space" (XL Recordings)
Peaky Blinders - Lisa O'Neill - "All The Tired Horses" (Rough Trade) — winner
Reservation Dogs - Spacemen 3 - "I Love You" (Space Age Recordings)
Music Supervisor of the Year:
Ben Sumner (Feel For Music) — winner
Carbon Logic (team nomination)
Emma Allaway (Feel For Music)
Frederic Schindler (Too Young)
Sergio Pimentel (Synchronicity Music)