Call & Response: Dawn Patrol Music
(6 min)
Katy McIlvaine and Patrick Hertz have a lot in common. With extensive experience in the synch world and a passion for the outdoors, it’s easy to see how they came together in 2020 to form Dawn Patrol Music, a sync music catalog with an impressive and diverse catalog of indie artists ripe for the synching. Read on to discover the origin story of Dawn Patrol, the meaning behind the name, why they love doing all the outdoorsy things, and the trends they’re seeing and getting excited about.
Lab Notes (LN): If you had to boil your journey into one sentence, what would it be? (Run-on sentences accepted and encouraged.)
Katy McIlvaine: Relentlessly pursuing a unique experience (just like everyone else).
Patrick Hertz: A rocky trail in a big rugged beautiful landscape full of adventure trending upwards towards the summit.
LN: When did you first meet? Did you always know you wanted to start a company together?
Katy: Patrick and I met in 2019 at a rock climbing gym in Austin, Texas while we were both visiting for SXSW. I actually went to meet our mutual friend at the climbing gym and it wasn't until I was in the car on the way there that I found out she had invited another guy to join us. Rock climbing with men can be a toxic vibe sometimes and so I was actually pretty disappointed that I was going to even have to meet him, definitely wasn't thinking about starting a company together. (He obviously turned out to be one of the good ones though and we have climbed together a bunch since then!)
Patrick: I wouldn't say we always knew we wanted to start a company together, but we did always talk about trends, news, ideas, and what we might do in the future to progress our careers. It was COVID really that left us both as free agents and in a position to be like... well, should we just do our own thing?!
LN: What was the conversation like when you decided to start Dawn Patrol Music? How did you come up with the name?
Katy: From the time we met, Patrick had a lot of ideas and dreams about what could be done to expand in the sync business. He was constantly sending me articles on other companies and industry news, so the path was paved pretty well when COVID hit, shook up both our job situations, and we both found ourselves available at the same time and same place in our lives to start something new that was our own.
Patrick: In surf and ski communities, dawn patrol is basically getting out before sunrise to beat the crowds, catch the perfect wave, or get fresh tracks on a pow day. The name met all of our criteria, connects to our interests, and captures the element of hustle that's true to our company ethos.
LN: What is your favorite part about being early to indie artists and landing them sync opportunities?
Patrick: Writing checks and sharing the news about a placement. I love knowing that we're supporting our artists careers, helping them financially, helping them develop their audience. It's all good feels when that confirmation of a placement comes in.
We both found ourselves available at the same time and same place in our lives to start something new that was our own.
LN: What makes Dawn Patrol stand out from the competition and everyone else looking for some of that sweet, sweet sync money?
Katy: Such a hard question to answer! I sometimes work on the supervision side as well and work with a lot of other sync catalogs that are amazing. People who could be seen (by outsiders) as Dawn Patrol's competition have been my mentors for years and I just strive to fit in with the great community that we have. Each business owner has their own style in business and in musical taste but at the end of the day no one has the time and capacity to handle ALL the music so we get to put our own spin and personal touches on each of our catalogs and it's all about finding the right fit!
Patrick: I believe that it really comes down to our roster, service, and relationships. We've found some amazing artists and have had incredible referrals on the music front. At the end of the day we all know the music is paramount. Service-wise we embody the ethos of Dawn Patrol by hustling, being early to opportunities, quick to respond, etc., and of course top notch rapport and relations with our lovely community of supervisors, producers, creators.
LN: Patrick, you worked with us as the Director of Sales and Licensing for many years prior to launching Dawn Patrol. What have been some of your biggest takeaways from your time in the production music industry?
Patrick: Quality over quantity. There's always someone willing to do it for less, but if you provide a high value people are happy to pay a premium. Also, focus on the people who see the value in your work and what you have to provide, not the ones just looking for the best deal.
LN: Katy, you began your career in different roles on the supervision side for shows like Empire and The Big Bang Theory, what inspired you to branch out and rep artists directly?
Katy: I wasn't the music supervisor on either of those projects, but I definitely enjoyed working on both of them! But it really goes back to that motivation from when I was 16 of wanting to be part of making music a viable career option for musicians wanting to pursue it. The supervision side is a ton of fun too. You're part of the same transactions but representing the filmmaker's interests and you're getting the production's perspective. Repping artists to other supervisors provides opportunities to work much more closely with musicians and really get tapped into their goals and wins along their journeys.
LN: Being active in the sync world, you have to be pretty in tune with new productions and talent, staying on top of new shows, etc. What has been your favorite series you've binged or movie you've watched in the last year? Do you see any emerging trends?
Katy: There has been so much watching this year! I bawled at the finale of Superstore, got hooked on Ginny and Georgia and I can't wait for the final season of Insecure. As far as trends go, we're definitely seeing a lot of superhero-type stuff. One area that uses a lot of sync music is YA oriented content and we saw a lot of vampire and zombie themes that I think are giving way to more magical and mythical themes like fairies, and sorcerers. One really exciting thing has been seeing showrunners break with the need to be authentic to the period. So we're having The Irregulars, a Sherlock Holmes show that takes place in Victorian London, close with a Billie Eilish song. Using contemporary music is a great tool and I'm excited to see storytellers breaking through from the status quo and using more of it! The film and TV industry is (somewhat reluctantly, if you ask the old guard) going through a period of reckoning on how exclusionary they have been to BIPOC story tellers and I hope that we're going to see more and more people behind the lens which will lead to even more revolutions in which stories we see and how they're told. I can only imagine what a big part music will play in that!
Patrick: Well, being a big Marvel fan I loved WandaVision and Falcon and The Winter Soldier and also a Star Wars fan so naturally I loved The Mandalorian. I also enjoyed Queen's Gambit, Bridgerton, Dave, Two Distant Strangers, Soul, Hamilton's Pharmacopeia and Tiger King, of course, amongst others... lots of TV time in 2020. Trend-wise... seems like there will be a lot less big trailer campaigns since everything is going straight to streaming. There is a lot of content being created for the rest of the world by folks like Netflix so music from the rest of the world is more important than ever. Overall, too, diversity is in demand, thankfully.
We embody the ethos of Dawn Patrol by hustling, being early to opportunities, quick to respond… and of course top notch rapport and relations with our lovely community of supervisors, producers, creators.
LN: You are both really active folks, surfing, climbing stuff... all the things. What are some of your favorite outdoor adventures? And for all us non-active folks, why do you do them?
Patrick: My favorite adventure from last year was leaving Teton Canyon on the western slopes of the Tetons, going up an obscure route on the SW side of the South Teton, then summiting the Middle Teton via the SW Couloir, down climbing the north ridge of the Middle Teton to the lower saddle (wanted to do the Grand too but weather rolled in) and then down the east side of the Tetons to Lupine Meadows ... took about 14.5 hours-ish. Why you ask? That's a really great question that I often find myself asking when down climbing some sketchy exposed section of rock and scared out of my wits. It's what we call type 2 fun... it's not always fun while you're doing it, in fact it mostly hurts, but then feels great once you've accomplished your objective. I could probably write a whole book about the why, but I think it often boils down to overcoming big challenges, facing your fears, getting into flow states and generally being outside and intimate with nature.
Katy: It's the only time I forget to check my phone and I love not feeling beholden to the devices in my life!
LN: If you were trapped on a desert island, what 5 albums could you not live without?
Katy: 1) OK Go - OK Go 2) Lizzo - Cuz I Love You 3) Dominic Fike - What Could Possibly Go Wrong and then anything from Joshua Homme, anything from Michael Kiwanuka, Kesha - Rainbow, Chance the Raper - Acid Rap, anything from Run The Jewels, Anderson .Paak - Malibu, Beirut The Flying Club Cup, anything from the Beatles, anything from A Tribe Called Quest and Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams... all tie for 4th & 5th.
Patrick: Can I just choose the Dawn Patrol roster? Cuz it's DOPE and I really don't get sick of listening to it. :D
LN: What are three things about you that you wouldn’t want left out of your Wikipedia page?
Katy: I never need a wikipedia page.
Patrick: 1) Makes excellent tacos 2) Makes friends with just about everyone he meets 3) Has had a small piece of wood stuck in right arm since childhood from an obscure accident on a slide