Big Swede on How to Get Your Music Placed in TV and Film (Episode 162)

Work begets work.

Big Swede does a bit of everything: composer, producer, engineer, sound designer, multi-instrumentalist, remixer, DJ and drummer. He runs Big Swede Studios out of Palm Desert and makes everything from electronica and hip-hop to rock, jazz, metal and soundtrack music. He has also landed many sync placements.

In Episode 162 of The Career Musician, he and Nomad dig into how to get your music placed in TV and film, and why, as the show notes put it, you would be surprised how little of it has to do with your music and how much has to do with professionalism and relationships.

You create your luck by doing

Big Swede got his first paying gig at 15 by answering a newspaper ad for a drummer. He took the bus into town, jammed with the band, and was soon touring on weekends after school. His first sync came about 20 years ago, when a friend working on JAG told him the show was looking for a specific song.

"You create your luck by doing stuff. We can talk about it and you can read about it, but it's really about doing."

Big Swede, 3:13

That is luck = preparation + opportunity in plain words. You never know when or where the work will come from. You just have to keep making it.

From drummer to producer

He started on classical piano at seven, because his drum teacher in Sweden wouldn't take students until they were ten. Drums became his life, and his goal was to be a studio drummer who could play any song with any artist in any style. That goal brought him to LA to study at the Percussion Institute of Technology, part of Musicians Institute. He gigged in Sweden for a couple of years, then moved back to LA in 1995.

After years of playing drums on other people's songs, he wanted to know what music he could make himself. Someone asked him for hip-hop (he had been in one of Sweden's early hip-hop groups), so he started making beats. One track became five, then ten, then 200. Then rock records, electronic music, noise and everything in between.

Nomad loves this. It is what he calls your unique sonic niche, plus the TCM principle of building a body of work. Big Swede's rule is simple: there are rules about sound, but otherwise tweak it until it sounds good to you. And finish it. A song isn't anything until it's done.

Learning is the engine

Big Swede taught himself recording and mixing by doing it: what does this plugin do, what can a compressor do? Every song is different, so you have to work through each one yourself. He still says he doesn't know anything.

For about 17 years in downtown LA, he says he was making music around the clock, inspired by everyone he met on the street. These days he keeps saner hours, roughly 8 a.m. to midnight, because he can feel the long-term toll. Nomad's take: as we grow, our clocks change. That's natural evolution.

How sync works now

When he started, Big Swede says, he could call a network music head directly. Today there are more publishers in the middle, and who represents you matters. Productions also happen everywhere now, thanks to streaming, so you might work with different representatives in different territories, like South America or Japan. It is a more crowded space than when he started.

So how do you stand out? His first answer isn't about music at all.

"You stay humble. That's number one, I think, with people. And always try to be cool."

Big Swede, 18:46

Sync is about relationships and personal friendships, and those grow naturally if you keep showing up. That is Humility from the ETHOS code, and it is also low maintenance / no drama.

Finding representation: have something to show

Looking for a publisher? Research who works in your genre and decide who you want to work with. A referral is great, but you can also reach out cold if you do it professionally. The catch: you need finished songs to show. He gets emails from singers who want to work with him but have nothing to play. Make the best recording you can with what you have, and then make it better.

"If you don't take initiative, nobody's going to take initiative for you."

Big Swede, 21:20

His catalog is now over a thousand songs. His goal is for every song to generate something, and he only signs deals that are fair. A publisher that wants to take everything he owns isn't for him. Fair deals build long-term relationships. Nomad compares catalog income to penny stocks: lots of small pieces that add up on your PRO statement.

Gear matters, to a point

Big Swede works in Logic, records through a few channels of analog preamps, and mixes in the box. More gear can slow you down. He hasn't used all his plugins across a thousand songs. Great players, he has found, tell him to just do it his way. The vibe, the player and the song idea come first. You can make something great with very little gear, even a $100 vocal mic.

His key to sustainability: don't get too comfortable. Stay hungry, stay open to new people and projects, keep learning, and follow your intuition. That is work begets work.

The takeaway

Make the music, finish it, build the catalog, stay humble and keep your relationships real. The sync will follow the work. If you want a plan to build your catalog step by step, grab the free plan of attack (POA) worksheet. You can find Big Swede at bigswedestudios.com.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.