The Europe In Synch Podcast

Welcome to episode twenty of the Europe In Synch podcast.
In this wrap-up episode of the Europe In Synch project, we sit down with a few of the founders and key drivers involved - Nuno Saraiva, Hannes Tschürtz and Ava Toelpt - to reflect on four transformative years of building a truly connected European sync community. 
We look back at how a bold idea evolved into a structured ecosystem built on the core pillars of: the Academy; the Missions; the Observatory; the Platform itself; and the Act In Synch summits.
At the heart of the project, the Academy created space for deep dives with client-targeted catalysts - music supervisors, producers and decision-makers - turning real briefs into shared learning. Beyond inspiration, it focused on long-term impact: strengthening capacity in smaller markets and advocating for music rights education within film school curricula.
Through its Missions, Europe In Synch stepped directly into international arenas, forging relationships and gathering insight and connections at key industry events in the various fields. These experiences sharpened European companies understanding of the fast-moving games sector and opened new pathways into film, TV and advertising.
The Observatory added depth to the detail and data, delivering market snapshots and clarifying the legal nuances that shape sync across different territories. 
Meanwhile, the Platform became a living online resource hub, offering the compiled reports, an interactive info map, written interviews and articles, and a growing podcast archive that extended the project’s reach far beyond just physical events.
The conversation recalls previous summits and looks ahead to Act In Synch 4, hosted at the Côa Museum in Portugal in March 2026, where the theme of “rewilding music culture” connects creativity with sustainability, nature, and conservationism. 
As the European project enters its next evolution, this episode reflects on the legacy of the original vision: stronger networks, greater knowledge sharing, tangible export opportunities, and a more confident European voice in the global sync landscape.
For more information:
Europe In Synch website
Act In Synch Summit 4 (27-28 March, 2026)
Europe In Synch is created, managed, promoted, and driven by several European organizations and companies and is a truly cross-border collaboration.
The goals are to bring together professionals from the music sector with decision-makers from film & advertising to provide a real-life, hands-on, learning experience, and to promote European music in the complex field of synchronization, through communication, knowledge-building and networking via focused mentoring and peer training sessions.

Follow Europe In Synch:
Home: https://europeinsynch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeinSynch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europeinsynch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeinsynch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeinsynch
Intro/Outro music is an instrumental edit of "Gimme" by Daffodils.
They're on Soundcloud.

Europe In Synch is co-funded by the European Commission.

This podcast is a SuperSwell production.

Welcome to episode nineteen of the Europe In Synch podcast.

This time we are talking with one of the most passionate and prolific music supervisors working today, Heather Guibert, head of Francium Enterprises and Vice President of the Guild of Music Supervisors.
Her path into the business wasn’t linear. One soundtrack - one aural moment of clarity - deflected her attention from a future in aerospace engineering towards a world of music supervision and literally hundreds of film & TV credits.
In this conversation, we hear how she approaches a job that constantly balances emotions with logistics, stories with rights, instincts with budgets, but where, ultimately, music is the thing that shapes what we feel. 
Heather talks openly about the job’s two-sided nature. The creative spark matters, but so does the rights clearance slog. She explains why collaboration always beats selfishness, and how understanding your role in the bigger picture can end up giving you more influence and focus on serving the vision.
We touch on the different mindsets needed for a tight, catalogue-driven music documentary versus a sketch show that jumps across genres, and hear about the small habits that help her keep ideas flowing when deadlines are unforgiving. When a cue lands perfectly, it feels like magic but when it doesn’t, she knows how to break a scene apart, find the piece that’s missing, and build it all back together again.
There's also mentoring, inclusion, and the Guild of Music Supervisors’ mission to advocate for fair credit and compensation across film, TV, advertising, games, and trailers. Misunderstandings about the role still lead to undervaluation, and Heather shares how the guild is working to shift that. 
On technology, she is pragmatic: AI and analytics can be tools, but they can’t replace taste or emotional intelligence where, at the heart of the decision, is always the protection of the story.
We recorded this conversation at De Oosterpoort during Eurosonic Festival in Groningen on Friday 17th January 2025.

We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for listening!

Find out more about our guest:
Heather Guibert Credits
If you have comments about this episode - or have questions, ideas, requests, recommendations, or general feedback, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Europe In Synch is created, managed, promoted, and driven by several European organizations and companies and is a truly cross-border collaboration.
The goals are to bring together professionals from the music sector with decision-makers from film & advertising to provide a real-life, hands-on, learning experience, and to promote European music in the complex field of synchronization, through communication, knowledge-building and networking via focused mentoring and peer training sessions.

Follow Europe In Synch:
Home: https://europeinsynch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeinSynch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europeinsynch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeinsynch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeinsynch
Intro/Outro music is an instrumental edit of "Gimme" by Daffodils.
They're on Soundcloud.

Europe In Synch is co-funded by the European Commission.

This podcast is a SuperSwell production.

Welcome to episode eighteen of the Europe In Synch podcast.

This time we are talking with a bona fide legend of the music publishing world, Pelle Lidell.
From a jazz‑kid turned punk drummer to a trusted A&R and publishing exec, Stockholm born & bred, Pelle tells a story driven by instinct, service, and an unshakeable belief that the song is king. From early signings - like Millencolin, whose skate‑punk energy became a sync magnet - to a gutsy bet on seasoned pop writer Paul Rein that delivered Christina Aguilera’s “Come On Over Baby” to No.1, we follow Pelle's view that the power of songwriting transcends trends.

The journey widens as Pelle co‑founds Merlin, builds a wildly successful catalogue from scratch, then spends 11 years at Universal Publishing delivering lightning‑fast placements, including back‑to‑back American Idol winners. Then comes a significant turn: a call from SM Entertainment and a crash course in K‑pop economics at a time before most of the West were paying attention to the sky-high potential of the genre. He breaks down differences in writing with K-Pop in mind—song over status, being choreography‑aware, melody that survives translation—and how launching Ekko Music Rights with SM brought teams like Cassiopeia and Moonshine into place to help fuel the global K‑pop wave.

We find out what great sync managers do, about maximising briefs, and the importance of songwriting camps to generate successful placements. Pelle is candid about the hardest part of today’s business—the collapse of mechanicals, streaming’s thin payouts for writers, and the sometimes messy politics of writing splits and credit claims. His personal outlook is simple: fairness in the room, generosity when it’s earned, and a relentless standard for quality so every pitch keeps doors open. 
Through it all, Pelle's love of the songwriting craft is obvious and infectious and his passion for the art of A&R remains as strong as the day he started.
We recorded this conversation at the Scandic Malmen hotel in Stockholm on Tuesday 6th August 2024.

We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for listening!

Find out more about our guest:
Instagram: Pelle Lidell
If you have comments about this episode - or have questions, ideas, requests, recommendations, or general feedback, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Europe In Synch is created, managed, promoted, and driven by several European organizations and companies and is a truly cross-border collaboration.
The goals are to bring together professionals from the music sector with decision-makers from film & advertising to provide a real-life, hands-on, learning experience, and to promote European music in the complex field of synchronization, through communication, knowledge-building and networking via focused mentoring and peer training sessions.

Follow Europe In Synch:
Home: https://europeinsynch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeinSynch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europeinsynch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeinsynch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeinsynch
Intro/Outro music is an instrumental edit of "Gimme" by Daffodils.
They're on Soundcloud.

Europe In Synch is co-funded by the European Commission.

This podcast is a SuperSwell production.

Welcome to episode seventeen of the Europe In Synch podcast.

This time we are talking with Everton Lewis Jr., founder of Wracket Music, based in Toronto, Canada.
Everton gives us his expert view of one of the entertainment industry's most misunderstood professions, the world of Music Supervision. From his own unexpected beginnings when a filmmaker wanted to use his hip-hop track "Sheepshit" in an independent film, to founding his award-winning company Wracket Music, Everton's journey shows some of the surprising ways through this specialized field.

Mentored by the legendary David Hayman, Everton reflects on how his time at Vice Canada reshaped his understanding of music supervision and established him as a sought-after collaborator. He developed a deep appreciation not only for the creative thrill of matching music to visuals, but also for the complex administrative side of rights clearance—an area many newcomers underestimate. For Everton, the profession’s unique balance of creativity and paperwork became something to embrace fully as his success grew.
Our conversation also explores his work with global brands like Apple, where the technical precision required for commercial syncs pushed his skills to new heights. Beyond advertising, Everton has contributed to a wide range of projects—including a proposed J Dilla documentary with Questlove—that reflect both his versatility and his deep roots in hip-hop culture.
Throughout, Everton underscores his commitment to nurturing new talent, describing music supervisors as “the new A&Rs” of the industry. His dedication to mentorship—paying forward the support he once received from Hayman—reveals his belief that opening doors for others keeps the industry vibrant, diverse, and evolving.
We recorded this conversation at De Oosterpoort during Eurosonic Festival in Groningen on Friday 17th January 2025.

We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for listening!

Find out more about our guest:
Homepage: Wracket Music
Instagram: Wracket Music
Instagram: Everton Lewis Jr
If you have comments about this episode - or have questions, ideas, requests, recommendations, or general feedback, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Europe In Synch is created, managed, promoted, and driven by several European organizations and companies and is a truly cross-border collaboration.
The goals are to bring together professionals from the music sector with decision-makers from film & advertising to provide a real-life, hands-on, learning experience, and to promote European music in the complex field of synchronization, through communication, knowledge-building and networking via focused mentoring and peer training sessions.

Follow Europe In Synch:
Home: https://europeinsynch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeinSynch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europeinsynch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeinsynch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeinsynch
Intro/Outro music is an instrumental edit of "Gimme" by Daffodils.
They're on Soundcloud.

Europe In Synch is co-funded by the European Commission.

This podcast is a SuperSwell production.

Welcome to episode sixteen of the Europe In Synch podcast.

This time we are talking with Milena Fessmann, founder of Cinesong and Sugar Town Films, based in Berlin.

With over two decades collaborating with legendary director Wim Wenders, Milena shares revealing stories from the soundtrack creation for "Perfect Days" (2023), including successfully securing Rolling Stones tracks while facing an unexpected roadblock with Prince's estate. "Directors have a tendency to believe in miracles," she notes, explaining how she balances filmmaker dreams with industry realities.
Beyond music supervision, Milena's work as a documentary film producer (including "The Potential of Noise" about influential producer Connie Plank), radio DJ, and World Soundtrack Academy board member gives her an unparalleled perspective on the intersection of film and music. 
As streaming platforms transform production landscapes and AI-generated music emerges on the immediate horizon, Milena remains convinced that authentic artist connections will endure. Her career exemplifies how relationship-building, copyright expertise, and musical instinct combine to create memorable cinematic moments.

We recorded this conversation in the kitchen of the Cinesong/Sugartown office in Berlin on 26.08.2024.

We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for listening!

Find out more about our guest:
Homepage: Cinesong
Homepage: Sugar Town Film Productions
Music Supervision: Perfect Days - official trailer
Film Documentary: The Potential Of Noise - official trailer

If you have comments about this episode - or have questions, ideas, requests, recommendations, or general feedback, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Europe In Synch is created, managed, promoted, and driven by several European organizations and companies and is a truly cross-border collaboration.
The goals are to bring together professionals from the music sector with decision-makers from film & advertising to provide a real-life, hands-on, learning experience, and to promote European music in the complex field of synchronization, through communication, knowledge-building and networking via focused mentoring and peer training sessions.

Follow Europe In Synch:
Home: https://europeinsynch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeinSynch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europeinsynch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeinsynch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeinsynch
Intro/Outro music is an instrumental edit of "Gimme" by Daffodils.
They're on Soundcloud.

Europe In Synch is co-funded by the European Commission.

This podcast is a SuperSwell production.