How does the U.K. do it? The music that forms the soundtracks for Hollywood hits, such as 'Alien: Romulus,' in which L.A. supports Mission Sync

A1 Digital India News: The 20th edition of the annual tour features dozens of British music creators and companies, highlighting special relationships that have led to deals worth nearly $20 million over four years.

If you're dancing to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Murder on the Dancefloor" in the now famous scene from the movie Saltburn or humming Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" in the Stranger Things series, you're in the middle of Hollywood. UK-You may have felt the power of synced music.

But this is Britain. These are just two high-profile examples of the success of sync deals for creators incorporating music into TV shows, movies, video games, commercials and other content, boosted by the rise of streaming video services. Sync revenue for the global recorded music business is expected to grow 4.7 percent to $632 million by 2023, according to the IFPI Global Music Report.

Like global politics, the U.S. and U.K. are increasingly at odds with each other. The region has always enjoyed a special relationship, coordinating, among other things, some solid annual diplomacy. After all, blockbuster Hollywood films and shows are screened in the U.K. To ensure continued access to music and sound, British industry executives and representatives created the so-called L.A. Sync Went on a Mission, a government-backed trade mission sponsored by the BPI, the country's Recorded Music Industry Association, and the Music Publishers Association.

And as tour veterans have pointed out, the annual mission, this year with its 20th edition on Sept. 9-13, attracts not just the region's big companies but also smaller British music companies looking for a big Hollywood hit.

After all, the mission, which typically begins with three days of panels and other sessions at the iconic EastWest Studios in the heart of Hollywood, where the Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra recorded, enables British record label and music publishing executives, songwriters, composers, artists and managers to meet the key players and gain insight into the US synth licensing market. The tour's recent successful placements include tracks used in Dune: Part Two, Wilderness, Star Wars: The Acolyte, Alien: Romulus and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F in the U.K. Video games using the music include games such as Assassin's Creed, FIFA, Forza Horizon 2 and Rainbow 6. This year, the mission has launched 40 U.K. projects in Hollywood. Bring representatives from the companies. "About 50 music supervisors talked to our U.K. panelists about a variety of topics and all kinds of sync media," Chris Tams, the mission's head of independent member services at the BPI, tells THR. "And then on Thursday and Friday, we did some site visits, including Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix and Riot Games." To keep the evening entertained, the mission attended a pub quiz and evening reception at the British Consul General's residence in LA.

Asked if he expected a lot of activity from the latest travel deal across the pond, Tams said: "Everyone, literally, was sent briefs from day one." "This sync calendar mission in Los Angeles has become characteristic of a lot of music supervisors who will go there with a brief because they know they can respond almost immediately. Some supervisors come to us and say 'Nobody will have theirs this way.' But we can always guarantee that someone in our delegation will have something in the catalogue." Last year, a sync supervisor was looking for medieval music, he recalls. "Two people in the audience raised their hands right away," says Tams. "And I think they made a deal within 24 hours."

Jod Steele, composer and owner of The Horror Vault, a two-man British team that saw the trailer and promised "music and sound design for your nightmares," was on the 2023 mission and had a great experience. "One of the nice things is you get a chance to go to different studios like Disney and Sony," he tells THR. "The beauty from our point of view is that we already know the marketing departments of these places. But now we know these people face-to-face. In some cases, we haven't worked with them before, but we know them, and they maybe knew a little about us but it was the essence of meeting them face-to-face that really made the difference. He concluded with a sarcastic comment: "I think they met and fell in love with my wholesome Yorkshire charm."