A Conversation with SONA and Susan Jacobs

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Songwriters of North America (SONA) virtual event called “A Conversation With Susan Jacobs”. This event highlighted longtime Music Supervising legend, Susan Jacobs, who is known for her work on films such as I, Tonya, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and Little Miss Sunshine. She also boasts credits on hit drama shows such as HBO’s Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects.

SONA Board Member and Composer/ Musician Adam Dorn carried the conversation with Jacobs as if they were old friends reminiscing about good times. We, in the audience, were merely casual witnesses to the unfolding story of a music supervisor legend. During their conversation Jacobs 
offered up anecdotes about her career journey that spans over almost four decades, and gave advice to aspiring music supervisors. 

In its most simplistic terms, music supervision is the process of researching and licensing composed or pre-written music for film and television. But the responsibilities of which the position holds is so much greater than that. As Jacobs said, “it’s a role that involves much more than simply choosing a song and deciding it should soundtrack an important moment. Your primary job is to be the aural conduit for the director — which means doing everything from choosing songs, to clearing the rights for them, to hiring a composer”. 

I mean come on, what would Big Little Lies be without that opening number? In fact, in 2017 Jacobs won the Emmy for Outstanding Music Supervision for her work on the HBO hit drama series; a series that I’m personally a really big fan of. Jacobs most recently worked on Hunter, a new Amazon series now available on prime video.

SONA is an advocacy organization formed by and for professional songwriters to fight for fair pay in the age of digital media and give a collective voice to the songwriting community. SONA was also created in lieu of a union to uphold the standards of safety and equality in workplaces where music is created. For more information and upcoming events, check out their website.