Grace: What does your typical workday look like?

May: A typical workday is reading scripts for every episode that comes out. I tend to break those down into scenes where I think music needs to go or where music is noted in the episode. And then, let's say we move on to pitching music. We work creatively to pitch music for those spots which can involve just going through what we already have in our catalog, our library, our database of music, iTunes, or reaching out to record labels and publishers for music.

Then, the other half of the day is legally clearing those songs. So now [imagine that] a song is in the clip and we need to figure out, “Okay, who owns the songs? How much can we afford for these songs?” And then, let's go pay for it; let's go reach out to these people and clear it. That's a typical day, but over and over again, with a little bit of hiccups and bumps all throughout there.

Grace: So, walk me through the process of how you choose the music. What’s your creative process and what’s going through your head? 

May:  I think the first thing that goes through your head is, “what is the tone of your show overall and what genre are they [the producers] fans of overall? So, [theoretically] if this is a pop heavy show, I probably need to stick to Pop songs. 

Then once you’ve got that in your head, you're like, “okay, now let's go through the tone of the actual scene.” Is this a really fun scene where everyone's having fun at a party? Or, do we have someone breaking up with someone and there's tears everywhere? We want to match the tone of what's happening because at the end of the day, we never want to distract from what's happening in the scene. We just want to add to what's happening in it. We want to help viewers gain a sense of emotion or feeling while they're watching the scene. 

With good music supervision, it all goes in seamlessly. You're not distracted by the music. It all just factors in because we're there to support the picture and whatever works best tonally for the scene. We’re looking for, does it actually fit the scene? Is it not too distracting? Does it work well with dialogue? And then ultimately, can we afford it? Can we clear it? Those are the things that we're thinking of when we go to pitch a song. 

Grace: What have been some of the highlights of your career?

May: I knew that I wanted to work towards being a music supervisor from day one of college. Right now, I'm at the coordinator level. Hopefully the next step- in a couple of years- is that supervision level. So, the biggest highlight was my first internship and that was working directly with two music supervisors.

The two women that I was interning for, Lindsay Wolfington and Laura Webb, I had dreamt of working for them one day. They were the ultimate people; people that I was inspired by. I looked up to their work, and I loved all their projects. I just wanted to meet them one day, and then I ended up interning for them.

About a year later, I ended up being hired to work with one of them as a music coordinator. So that was a huge career highlight of just meeting your idol, essentially, and then getting to intern for them. I got to cross that off the [bucket] list- meet your idols and then get to work with them.

The last project I did with them was To all the Boys: Always and Forever, which was on Netflix. They did all three films [in the series], and I was an intern during the first film then got to work on the second and third film as a music coordinator. Those were the last projects I did with them. They were two amazing bosses and mentors and taught me a lot for sure. 

Another career highlight I should mention is that I got to work with someone who really taught me the ins and outs of how to clear a song and the licensing process of a song. I got to work with one of the best in the business. I feel like that was huge looking back. That was definitely a highlight to be mentored and get to learn from someone who is really good at clearing songs because that's half this job; you have to be able to creatively pitch and then legally clear them. 

Grace:  My last question is what can somebody who's looking to enter into this career do to stand out from the rest of the crowd?

May: Take opportunities that you're not 100% about. So, what I mean by that is when I first started, one of my earlier jobs was in reality television and the music department. I didn't really want to be in reality television for my whole career, but I think that helped bring me to other jobs. It also helped me stand out to get other jobs because I did have that other experience. Reality television was a different world than scripted television, but it allowed me to bring that type of skillset with me to another job. I think that helped me stand out to get another job. 

So, if you want to stand out to people, be willing to say yes to a job that isn't 100% what you want but ultimately could help you get to where you want to get to. A lot of times, people come out to LA and they're like, “I just want to direct,” and they only look for opportunities to direct. But you know, maybe they should meet up with some producers instead. Get your feet wet in something else, or get your feet wet in writing.

And other than that if you want to stand out and make a good impression when you're first starting, be dedicated, be on time, be committed, ask questions, and be proactive. Just be proactive. Be there for whatever they need, and that helps you stand out.

Obviously, don't get taken advantage of. Don't say yes to everything because then you're just worn down and tired, but be proactive, do some active learning yourself. Employers and internships, they'll notice that for sure. Take some initiative. I'm telling you initiative- you cannot teach initiative- so you either have it or you don't and your employers will notice if you do.

To learn more about May, follow her on instagram: @mmayrogers or on Facebook: May Rogers