Bank Robber Music: Friend-of-Friend Rock Referral

A great synch placement is a win-win-win: artists gain exposure and revenue, music supervisors and producers get cred, and perhaps most meaningfully, the picture gets deeper and, all hope, more memorable. Lyle Hysen, founder of Bank Robber Music and House of Hassle Publishing, is the licensing agent to some of the darlingest darlings of indie-rock, pop, electro, folk (etc.), is behind many such winning placements in television, film and commercial land.

Bank Robber Music represents Brooklyn "alt-rock" trio Nada Surf. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

Bank Robber’s label roster includes Merge, Barsuk, Jagjaguar, Drag City, DFA, Secretly Canadian and Fat Cat, and fan/supervisor-favorites like Mates of State, Spoon, M. Ward and Nada Surf.

Hysen started Bank Robber in ’04 with Barsuk, Thrill Jockey, Absolutely Kosher and Quannum Projects, and filled an important niche as the licensing guy who could work both sides of the fence to bring indie bands to music supervisors and vice versa.

It worked because Hysen was trustworthy to both parties. He’d come up immersed in the NYC music scene, playing in punk bands and publishing the hardcore fanzine, “Damaged Goods” in high school, later playing in post-hardcore band Das Damen, and eventually working at Matador Records as the head of its Doormat Publishing division. Point is, when he saw the need for a Bank Robber Music — someone to connect indie labels to mainstream placements — he had the experience and relationships to do it right.

Here, Lyle Hysen talks about Bank Robber and the licensing game — Why do just-emerging indie bands get so many placements? What does a third-party licensing company do? Are artists making less through placements now than years ago? Find out now!

Based on its roster of artists, Bank Robber does not appear to be all things to all people. How would you describe your roster and how it’s been assembled?
Well, early on I made the following brazen executive decisions:
1. I try to basically work with people who I already know, or who at least know me through two degrees of separation (friend of friend rock).
2. Label owners must resemble or act like Woody Allen or Richard Lewis or be able to play all of Elvin Jones’s solos.

Are you open to representing unsigned artists, or do you work exclusively with your label clients? (if no to unsigned, why not?)
Currently I have such a great array of labels that do most of the A&R for me… I do feel there are a few holes in BRM’s roster so I keep an ear open for such things as “happy girl music” or things that are a bit more heavy on the rock side.
That being said, I’m terrible about listening to unsolicited demos and even worse about writing people back. So, by no means do I encourage people to write me, let alone be mad if I don’t write back.

Do you feel it’s important to your business that you represent a certain “kind of music” in the same way that a record label like, say, Merge, is curatorial and therefore trustworthy to music fans like me?

Looking for some infectious indie power-pop? Bank Robber can hook you up with The Broken West.

Well, most supervisors probably think of me as “indie-rock guy,” but I do represent several other genres of music with Quannum Projects, as well as DFA and Modular, let alone the awesome vintage soul catalogue of the Numero Group. Still, the most important thing is that the music can be cleared. If a label is hiring a licensing guy it is important to have your artists on board with the idea and to have your samples cleared.
I like to believe that most supervisors will think that if I’m taking the time to send them music, it isn’t going to suck. I really don’t like working records that I don’t like or might be a bit on the noisy/poorly produced side of things, and all the labels I work with understand that (to a certain extent).

How do you tend to service clients — totally one-on-one? Will you make suggestions based on a creative brief?
I handle clients in several different ways: I do mailings based on each current release to a group of supervisors, agencies, etc. and I do compilations of newer stuff to a wider group of supervisors — digital, physical, chemical, by any means necessary.
Most of BRMs days are spent handling briefs from supervisors. We do tons of compilations a week for specific projects per supervisors’ requests.

What if I have no idea about this process – can you help?
I try… music is so subjective — when someone says they want something that “sounds like a rainy Tuesday,” that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I try to second guess as best I can, and if it doesn’t hit, so be it. Maybe that will point the person in the right direction to better express what they are looking for (aka Coldplay).

Can you give us a couple examples of bands, and even particular tracks, that – when you heard them, you thought ‘wow, this is going to license like crazy,’ and it actually did? Are those qualities that made it feel so licensable the exact same as what makes a great song a great song? Or are there qualities that make tracks particularly strong for picture?
Eh, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Once in a while we’ll get something in and I’ll give it the old “well that should work” and of course it just tanks. Perfect example was the Tinted Windows record — to me it was very commercial sounding and I thought for sure it’d get hits in teen-oriented shows and trailers, but nope, nothing. And of course I really wanted to get my high-school punk band, the Misguided, in Boston Legal and that didn’t work out either.

How does anything get priced? Is each and every placement a big negotiation or do your clients have a more specific pricing scale that you stick to?
It all depends on the use. A few years ago it was easier since there were fewer outlets, but now you have licenses for Internet, or just iPhone, or just water faucets in men’s bathrooms, so every license is different. Some shows that have been around for years, or certain supervisors, have more consistent budgets, but the rest can be a crapshoot.

What’s the market like in 2010 vs., say, when you started out? Is the availability of so much music for licensing, and so many licensing companies (and the recession) driving prices down?
Well the world outside tanking hasn’t helped, but some shows do have budgets and some of them even still do pay, but those are getting to be less and less. Bands and some labels aren’t helping the cause by offering up music for next to nothing, but most supervisors know you get what you pay for and there is a reason why these bands are offering up their music for free.

Are popular indie artists making less per placement?
Not necessarily, but they do have to be open to understanding that more lower-budget offers are coming in, and act accordingly. And don’t forget to send holiday gifts to their licensing company.

Have you come across any common misconceptions by indie filmmakers, music supervisors, editors or agency producers about what you do and how much it costs? (Do people think you can edit/revise work? Do they assume your music’s out of their budget range? Etc.) Can you set us straight?
Well, the third party licensing guy isn’t something the whole world seems to know about. It always takes some explaining — “yes we are hired by the label/band…no you can’t call them directly, that is why they hired us.” We still get the kid making the film, trying to clear music and freaking out about having to pay, which is a bummer. (Hey, kid filmmaker, do some Googling and you can find out that you kinda gotta pay if you want a song in your movie, and please no tears…)
But to me it is obviously more upsetting when big movie studios or ad agencies try to low-ball the bands for big uses (movies, commercials, etc). (Hey Mr. Suit — cut down on the Starbucks delivery and your personal helicopter and throw the bands a bone, they need it. Really…)

Would you say music supervisors are more willing to go with an unknown track by a super-indie artist than they were say 5 years ago? If so, why do you think that is?
It’s all about boring stuff like demographics. Shows like The OC and Gilmore Girls (who had music supervisors and producers that really liked indie music), proved that you can have tons of indie-friendly bands that younger kids like, and that’s the audience that networks want.  Plus, these days, it draws attention to the shows via the Internet and the bloggy things…” That doesn’t happen using some lame ‘mersh’ major label release.
You just don’t see “Did I hear Susan Boyle on Bones? WOW — I’m going to buy 10 copies of her CD and bring them to school and hand them out at lunch!”
But indie music can be, at times, cheaper than major label music, and since budgets are down, the formerly grumpy major label lovin’ supervisor might actually return my call. And oh yeah, with only three crappy major labels left, supervisors have to be a bit more open to the idea.

Can you mention a few placements you were really excited about in ’09 (or so far in ’10)?
I’m very happy that Army Navy got the Shrek 4 trailer — the band just wrote begging for something to hit since they are going into the studio, and that came in. Also, I’m very amused by the Jaguar – Tilly and The Wall placement. I love the idea of that dude driving the car listening to Tilly and the Wall. Classic. Working with the Arcade Fire on licensing so the proceeds can go to Haiti has been great…And I love getting songs into Chuck, since it is my favorite show (now that Battlestar Galatica is off the air).

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