Behind iconic TV scenes, like the “Goo Goo Muck” needle drop in “Wednesday,” is music supervisor and Chicago native Sarah Chapeck. The 34-year-old has spent the past five years at Black & White, an all-female music supervision collective behind the soundtracks of “The Penguin,” “Overcompensating” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
Chapeck sat down with The Daily to reflect on her journey from Chicago to Los Angeles while navigating the world of music supervision.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The Daily: Music supervision is such an amazing job in the industry that’s not really covered. Tell me about your job and what you do.
Chapeck: This happens all the time. People have maybe heard the title, but they don’t really understand the context for what the day-in and day-out of the job is. So the easiest way that I typically describe it is that music supervisors are involved mostly in the post-production part of things, and you help curate and license the rights to use music in, specifically, in my case, in TV and film productions.
The Daily: How did you get from Chicago to Los Angeles? And what is Black & White?
Chapeck: Black & White is an all-female music supervision collective, and it was started by Jen Malone, our fearless leader. We are commissioned by studios and by specific productions to work as their music supervision team.
For this niche world of music supervision, there’s no one way in. I graduated from the University of Illinois, and I remember reading an article in the newspaper, I think it was junior year, and they were interviewing a very famous music supervisor who went to U of I. Her name is Alex Patsavas. She did “The O.C.,” “Twilight” and a lot of these quintessential 2000s soundtracks. So that’s when I discovered it and planted the seed.
I wanted to work in music, but I knew supervision was the goal, and so that prompted me to move on to LA. My first job in the industry was at APM Music library, which was helpful in learning the basics of how to license music. From there, I was able to transition into the world of TV and film supervision.
The Daily: When you look back on your time with Black & White, is there a moment that you’re most proud of?
Chapeck: I feel so lucky to be on the team. The world and the specific team that Jen’s created through Black & White is such a tight-knit unit. We are like family. On a personal note, “The Penguin” felt really special to me because I always associate Gotham with Chicago, and I grew up on Tim Burton’s “Batman.” Getting to work on “Wednesday” with Tim Burton was a pinch-me moment.
The Daily: What is your favorite music to listen to?
Chapeck: I don’t want to say everything because it does feel a little bit cliché. I am a bit of a sponge with my listening style. I’m constantly searching for new things that surprise me, things that energize me, things that call to me. When I was back in Chicago for the holidays, I saw Cameron Winter’s solo piano show at this gorgeous chapel on the University of Chicago campus.
The Daily: What advice would you give to anyone interested in music supervision?
Chapeck: A lot of times, people in the industry speak to you in references. They will say, “We want music that sounds like ‘this,’” or “We’re building a ‘this’ movie feel.” There’s a lot of references constantly thrown around. The more you can be a student and study a variety of different influences, that’s super helpful. And there’s so many avenues, even if you’re honed in on where you want to end up. Don’t be afraid to take a more winding path. The more life experiences you can learn from, the better.
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