Score a Score Turns 15: Inside the Music Agency’s Success

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15 years ago, I had a humble idea: Empower musicians to earn a living. From the inception of Score a Score, what began as a digital marketplace for independent composers blossomed into a comprehensive music agency, boasting an impressive clientele such as Apple, AT&T, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Activision, and Netflix.

Score a Score specializes in making original music for ads, trailers, and brand campaigns easier and smoother. They offer various services such as custom compositions, music supervision, creating unique sounds for brands (sonic branding), and playlists made up of tracks from their extensive collection created by over 400 composers worldwide.

According to Passman, who’s known for his father Don’s influential book on the music industry titled “All You Need to Know About the Music Business“, Score a Score functions like a self-contained music department. This service excels at helping clients discover suitable music in a prompt and hassle-free manner, as Passman explains. He emphasizes that it’s not just about finding the right composer, but also about providing excellent customer service and facilitation, which are areas where Score a Score truly shines.

Following a brief tenure at a talent agency’s mailroom and five months with the performance rights organization ASCAP, Passman decided to switch paths and represent the musicians who frequently sought his aid. “[The music industry] was overflowing yet underserved,” Passman points out. “It was simple to accumulate clients. The challenge lay in discovering chances to compensate them.

Originally conceived by Passman, a native of Los Angeles, as a more streamlined option than Craigslist for filmmakers seeking composers, Score a Score evolved significantly once Passman decided to focus on connecting talent with opportunities rather than merely promoting the platform. As he puts it, “Once I switched from marketing the online platform to selling myself, the business took off. Any composer can submit their work for our team’s review on our website. However, we only establish partnerships with artists when we truly believe we can achieve success together.

Initially, Passman started making phone calls to various advertising firms, music supervisors, video production houses, and editors/directors, often encountering voicemails in which he’d present his proposal. Eventually, he found his stride in the realm of advertising because it was a suitable fit for our services: efficient workflow, competitive pricing, and rapid delivery times. As he puts it, “It was a natural match for what we had to offer.

Initially, Score a Score expanded to encompass movie trailers, such as the globally acclaimed trailer for Wicked and the award-winning clip for Sing Sing. However, it continued to maintain its agility. When TikTok introduced its commercial music library in 2020, a fourth of the songs (1,000 from a total of 4,000) were taken from Score a Score’s collection. Lately, playlists designed for various moods – like studying, meditation, or sleep – have collectively surpassed 2 billion streams.

Moreover, Score a Score is emphasizing the importance of sonic branding, a field that Passman considers essential in today’s context. As he puts it, “Everyone has a visual logo, so why not an audio one? With technologies like Siri and Alexa that are heavily audio-based, sonic branding is becoming a must-have for businesses. We aim to make this service accessible to all companies.

In the rapidly changing creative sphere, Passman is keeping a keen eye – yet he’s cautious about swapping human expertise for technology. “For any founder or CEO who isn’t intrigued by AI, they won’t thrive in today’s world,” Passman states.

Instead of creating tools that generate content, Passman concentrates on using technology to aid composers and streamline their work processes. “Others may attempt to replace our roles with artificial intelligence,” he states, “but we’re protected from that. Our clients are deeply invested in the quality of the content they produce. I’m hopeful that AI can become a useful tool for everyone.

Passman concedes that the rapid expansion of content has led to a more divided environment, as studios are less inclined to invest heavily in big projects, potentially limiting music supervision chances. However, he remains optimistic. “Our work is an art form,” he notes. “It’s a raw, emotional expression.

Did you know? This intriguing tale was featured in the latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine, which came out on May 7th! If you’re interested in staying updated with such stories, click here to subscribe!

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2025-05-07 15:54