LICENSING
The Silent Comedy is an eclectic rock/folk band whose music offers a diverse mix of sounds that lend themselves well to licensing placement. Primary songwriters Joshua and Jeremiah Zimmerman both bring their experience in the visual arts to bear on their songwriting, creating emotionally resonant, cinematic songs that pair well with visuals. Joshua’s early career as a freelance editor (and later a director and DP for advertising and television) has influenced much of The Silent Comedy’s overall sound and Jeremiah’s experience scoring television and commercial campaigns has given him a keen ear for sounds and textures that support visual storytelling.
The band’s breakthrough placement was the release of Bandai Namco’s highly anticipated video game Dark Souls. Attempting to decide between options for the sound and feel of the trailer, the company became so attached to two different Silent Comedy tracks that they ended up licensing both “All Saints Day” and “Bartholomew” and released two trailers to enthusiastic reception from both fans of the game and the press.
The resulting surge of attention on The Silent Comedy led directly to the next placement opportunity, placing the track “Bartholomew” as the trailer song for History’s first scripted drama mini-series, Hatfields & McCoys. The trailer was so well received that the initial limited license was expanded in territory and duration four times over and eventually landed History a Gold Promax Award for Best Use Of Music in an Entertainment Program Spot. The series was wildly successful, garnering 16 Emmy Nominations and setting the record for Most Watched Entertainment Program in the History of Ad-Supported Cable.
This placement set off a chain reaction, seeing “Bartholomew” placed in Cinemax’s Strike Back, CBS’ Reckless, The CW’s Originals, and as the title sequence song for Season 1 of the Golden Globe winning Billy Bob Thornton drama, Goliath.
The success of “Bartholomew” led a small group of savvy music supervisors and creative directors to discover the many synchable options in The Silent Comedy’s catalogue with subsequent placements for Volkswagen, Hard Rock Hotels, Showtime’s Shameless, and History’s The Bible and The Men Who Built America.
Even with a fair amount of exposure, The Silent Comedy remains something of an undiscovered gem in the public consciousness. The back catalogue offers more dark gritty rock pieces (great for the gaming and action/drama sector) that have yet to be synched, as well as the folkier, more intimate side of the band’s work that hasn’t found its way to TV or advertising. Take a listen to selected tracks from both sides of the band’s work below.