From humble beginnings in the imagination of a few music supervisors, to what it has evolved into now, the Guild of Music Supervisors has grown exponentially over the years and become an important support and resource to the music supervisor community and the film and television industry at large.

Bonnie Greenberg, one of the founding members of the Guild, highlighted the slow inception of a dream.  “I was sitting with Maureen Crowe at the Cannes Film Festival, maybe twenty years ago, and we said ‘We really need to form a union, or guild for music supervision to protect people’s rights.’  Time passed, but the idea stayed with us… When Maureen became freelance again, we talked with my then-boyfriend, Bruce Green, and he suggested that we start a guild first, and that starting a Union would be more difficult.  Then, Maureen really helped lead the charge!”

Fast forward to present day and the Guild of Music Supervisors is spreading awareness of the profession at lightning speed through educational outreach, community event organization, and advocacy for music supervisor rights. 

This year, the 8th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles was a success of magnificent proportions. From presenters such as Hans Zimmer, Chrissy Metz (This is Us), David Hasselhoff, and Issa Rae (Insecure), to musical performances by Kenny Loggins (who was also honored with the Icon Award), This is Us composer Siddhartha Khosla and friends, and new Geffen artist, YungBlud- there was something to suit everyone’s musical tastes.

The awards show opened up with a humorous video skit featuring music supervisors Frank Palazzolo and Dave Jordan, composer Dustin O’Halloran among others, poking fun at the lengths supervisors will go to in order to get a particular song synced in a show.

Next up, previous Guild president, John Houlihan and the Knight Rider himself, David Hasselhoff presented the first award.

What makes being nominated for a GMS Award so special?  Robin Urdang, winner for Call Me By Your Name weighed in.  “To be acknowledged and nominated by my peers is a huge honor.”  When asked about her wins, she said, “I am so proud of this film and lucky to be a part of it.  I believe that a music supervisor’s work is only as good as the people who they are surrounded by, and these awards to go Luca (Guadagnino) and Walter (Fasano).  It was their vision and film that I supported.  And, of course to Sufjan, who wrote beautiful music.  I just helped make it happen.  But, I’m very happy!”

Season Kent, winner for 13 Reasons Why told us why the GMS was important to her.  “We have such a great community. I think that’s definitely the best part of it.” Her husband, Kier Lehman, double winner for his work on HBO’s Insecure added, “Our friends… all the supervisors, we’ve kind of come up together, so it’s great to get together and celebrate.”

Becky Mancuso-Winding was honored with the prestigious Legacy Award.  She believes that the perception of music supervision is less mysterious than it once was.  “It’s so great that the music supervisors are recognized for their skill set.  They can actually tell their parents that they have a legitimate career. ‘This is kind of what I do.  I add a little of this. I add a little of that spice, and then I make a mix.’ I think that the Guild has given it such a voice.”

President of the Guild, Thomas Golubic was thrilled that Becky was the recipient of this year’s Legacy Award.  “She is such an important figure in our community and a pioneering woman in the music supervision profession.  Having composer Hans Zimmer warmly celebrating her talents in his introduction was such a treat. Having Kenny Loggins, who worked with her on Footloose, also sing her praises was really wonderful.  Becky was clearly moved by the experience and we all owe a great debt to her.”

Commenting on both Season Kent and Kier Lehman’s wins, Thomas said, “They are our music supervision ‘super-couple’ right now, and for both of them to win their respective categories (Best TV Drama and Best TV Comedy) was really special.” 

What does the future hold for the Guild?  Thomas continued, “We are now developing a lot of additional programming with monthly events, including screenings, lectures, social and professional mixers.  We are currently working on the GMS Podcast, which is being developed for an April 2018 launch.  There is a lot more to come.”

To sum it up, Thomas puts it quite simply, “It was a pretty great celebration of our community.”

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILMS
BUDGETED OVER $25 MILLION

JULIANNE JORDAN & JULIA MICHELS FOR PITCH PERFECT 3

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILMS
BUDGETED UNDER $25 MILLION

BRIAN ROSS & MICHAEL HILL FOR LADYBIRD

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILMS
BUDGETED UNDER $10 MILLION

HOWARD PAAR FOR BEFORE I FALL

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILMS
BUDGETED UNDER $5 MILLION

ROBIN URDANG FOR CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

BEST SONG/RECORDING
CREATED FOR A FILM

“MYSTERY OF LOVE” FROM CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
ROBIN URDANG | MUSIC SUPERVISOR
SUFJAN STEVENS | SONGWRITER

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION
IN A TELEVISION DRAMA

SEASON KENT FOR 13 REASONS WHY | SEASON 1

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION
IN A TELEVISION COMEDY OR MUSICAL

KIER LEHMAN FOR INSECURE | SEASON 2

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A
DOCUSERIES OR REALITY TELEVISION

DEBORAH MANNIS-GARDNER FOR THE DEFIANT ONES | SEASON 1

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A
TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

SUSAN JACOBS FOR BIG LITTLE LIES

BEST SONG/RECORDING
CREATED FOR TELEVISION

“QUICKSAND” PERFORMED BY SZA
INSECURE: EPISODE 208 "HELLA PERSPECTIVE"
KIER LEHMAN | MUSIC SUPERVISOR
SOLÁNA ROWE, DACOURY NATCHE, MICKEY DE GRANDE IV | SONGWRITERS

BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION
FOR A DOCUMENTARY

JOEL C. HIGH FOR G-FUNK

Music Supervision for Trailers

BOBBY GUMM OF TRAILER PARK FOR BABY DRIVER

MUSIC SUPERVISION IN TELEVISION PROMO

BOBBY GUMM & MICHAEL PAQUETTE OF TRAILER PARK
FOR STRANGER THINGS | SEASON 2

MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR VIDEO GAMES

STEVE SCHNUR, CYBELE PETTUS, & RAPHAELLA LIMA FOR FIFA 18

BEST USE OF MUSIC
IN A SINGLE ADVERTISING SPOT

MEDIA ARTS LAB FOR APPLE | "STROLL"

BEST USE OF MUSIC BY A BRAND

APPLE

LEGACY AWARD

BECKY MANCUSO-WINDING

URBAN COWBOY, FOOTLOOSE, THE SURE THING, RUSH

Becky Mancuso-Winding has held numerous executive positions in the film and music industry, but is best known for her pioneering work as one of the industry’s first credited feature film music supervisors, having crafted award-winning soundtracks for over forty music oriented films, including Urban Cowboy and Footloose. She was a producer on a number of award winning television specials that included Sesame Street’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Sesame Street for ABC, Elmo Saves Christmas for PBS, Cinderella featuring Dorothy Hamill and the Ice Capades for ABC.

With a strong conviction to do something more in her career, Mancuso-Winding transitioned from the entertainment industry to healthcare in 2009, making the connection to UCLA Health through her twelve years of serving on the Board of Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. As UCLA Health Senior Director of Development, Mancuso-Winding currently oversees a number of priority patient programs that attract national media attention, which include UCLA Operation Mend, Daltrey-Townshend Teen & Young Adult Cancer Program at UCLA, UCLA Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Program, and UCLA People-Animal Program (PAC).

ICON Award

KENNY LOGGINS

Kenny Loggins has left his musical imprint on “the soundtrack of our lives.” His early soundtrack contributions date back to the film A Star Is Born in 1976. And, through the 1980s and 1990s, he became known as "The Soundtrack King." His contributions to some of the most iconic soundtracks to hit films including Caddyshack’s "I'm Alright," Top Gun’s “Danger Zone,” and Footloose’s self-titled theme “Footloose” are among just a few of his prestigious songwriting and performance catalog. From Barbra Streisand’s "I Believe in Love" to Stevie Nicks’ "Whenever I Call You Friend” to “What a Fool Believes" with Michael McDonald (earning Loggins and McDonald the 1980 Grammy for Song of the Year), Kenny Loggins is a legend.

With 12 platinum albums, a pair of Grammys, and hits on almost all the Billboard charts, Kenny Loggins moves forward in 2018 doing what he loves doing best: being a singer-songwriter and philanthropist.  The recent release of his latest children’s project, the book Footloose, inspired by his 1985 Oscar® nominated and Grammy® Award-winning “Song of the Year,” has become the first of a new series of children’s books.  Kenny Loggins has a new PBS Soundstage special about to air this year and he is currently developing a children’s entertainment and branding company based on his inspired works.