Julian Drucker: Music Supervision and Artistic Expression

In this episode, I sit down with Julian Drucker, a seasoned music supervisor sharing his journey and insights into the world of music synchronization. Coming from a family of musicians and composers, Julian naturally gravitated towards a career in music supervision. We discuss the vital role of one-stop representation, the challenges of music licensing, and the importance of creating authentic music that resonates with artists rather than merely chasing synchronization trends.

We also delved into the complexities of exclusivity and retitling in music licensing. Julian highlights the conflicts that can arise when the same song is pitched by multiple companies and the ethical considerations involved. He emphasized the need for more artist-friendly practices and expressed hope that retitling is becoming a thing of the past. Additionally, Julian shares his personal musical projects, including writing three musicals and composing electronic music for a dance production in San Francisco, as well as an upcoming indie pop release.

Julian offers valuable advice for aspiring artists: learn about all aspects of the music industry, from streaming and distribution to touring and licensing, and stay true to your artistic vision. 

This episode is packed with knowledge and inspiration for anyone in the music industry.

Guest Bio:

Julian Drucker is an independent music supervisor who has worked on a wide array of film and television productions.

His recent supervision work includes the prison docuseries Justice, USA (HBO Max), the procedural drama 9-1-1 Lone Star (FOX), the reality hit Love Island (CBS), The Great Muslim American Road Trip (PBS), The Sundance Film Festival trailer, Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World (ABC) and various independent films. In 2023, Julian was nominated by the Guild of Music Supervisors for the drum ‘n’ bass drama Purple Beatz.

Julian works with fellow music supervisor Christine Greene Roe on a variety of projects, including the award-winning miniseries Lessons in Chemistry (Apple), the screwball sci-fi satire Made for Love (HBO Max), and the upcoming family comedy The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh (Amazon).

Julian began his music supervision career at Deep Cut Music under the wing of veteran supervisor Maggie Phillips, with whom he worked closely on numerous critically acclaimed TV shows and films, including The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Shrill (Hulu), Homecoming (Amazon), Snowfall (FX) and Juliet, Naked (Lionsgate).

He later went on to become the first hire at Yay Team Productions, working alongside music supervisor Amanda Krieg Thomas on hit series such as Big Mouth (Netflix) and The Shrink Next Door (Apple), in addition to a full slate of projects from executive producer Ryan Murphy, including American Horror Story (FX), Pose (FX) and movie musical The Prom (Netflix).

Two of his musicals have been given workshops and performances in theaters across the country and he has a third in development. Most recently, he released an album of experimental electronic music – Here. Now. by Charivari – written for a contemporary dance production that went up at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

About the Hosts:

We’re Sonnet Simmons and John Clinebell, 2 indie artists who have found success and creative fulfillment through licensing our music for ads, TV shows and films. 

We were once so disheartened and discouraged that our music wasn’t being noticed or valued through traditional methods. So we both started on a journey to find another way. For us, that “third door” was sync! And what we discovered is a lot better than we could have ever even imagined…[Find out more here]

Resources From This Episode:

• 2Indie - Vi