Margaret Pitman McCoy

Music Supervision · Licensing & Clearance · Pacific Northwest

A musician's ear. A librarian's rigor.

I find, license and track music for film, television and advertising — backed by 25+ years managing music, rentals and rights for orchestras, festivals and conservatories.

Start a project See my proposals

Music proposals

Spec work · full proposals on request

How I build a sound for a story: a concept, the layers that carry it, and specific cues placed where they do the most work. These are spec proposals, not produced credits.

Series · Season 4, France (spec)

The White Lotus

A gorgeous surface over an undercurrent of dread: French countryside charm on top, longing and something primal waiting underneath. The music tells the audience what the guests can’t yet admit.

  • The Estate
  • The Guests
  • The Parties
  • The Descent

Selected cues

  • Debussy, “Rêverie” (Van Cliburn)The resort and its polished guests
  • Conan Gray, “Affluenza”The guests arrive
  • Orelsan, “Basique”Village dance party
  • Édith Piaf, “La Vie en rose”A slow dance between lovers
  • Lorde, “Royals”The hotel staff’s longing
  • Jennifer Higdon, “Zaka” (Eighth Blackbird)Chase scenes across episodes
15 cues · elegance → unraveling → terror Listen to the playlist

Feature film · reimagined (spec)

Rosemary’s Baby

A building that breathes evil. The music follows Rosemary from innocence to the discovery of evil, with an old-world New York feel and instruments used like foley.

  • Instruments as foley
  • Innocence to discovery
  • Frenetic energy
  • Old-world NYC

Selected cues

  • The Carpenters, “Top of the World”Newlyweds decorating, blind to what’s coming
  • Ethel Cain, “Ptolemaea”The Bramford itself
  • Saint-Saëns, “Danse macabre”The coven celebrates
  • Billie Eilish, “bad guy”Wordplay on Guy, who loses his grip
  • Pink Martini, “Que Sera Sera”Rosemary’s drugged surrender
  • Gordon Fitzell, “Violence” (Eighth Blackbird)The building’s creaks and basement
14 cues · happiness → exhaustion → evil Listen to the playlist

Re-scored scenes

Request the reel

Existing scenes with my own music choices placed against picture, to show how a cue changes what a moment means. Reel available on request.

CueTitleSceneMy music
01Search PartySeries · Season 1Dory finds the sonogramScore into The Black Queen, “Now, When I’m This”
02FargoSeriesPrairie at golden hour: a hot tub and a lone deputyFuturebirds, “Im Yr Mane”
03MINXSeriesPublishing boardroom confrontationCarole King, “I Feel the Earth Move”
04The Sex Lives of College GirlsSeriesA confrontation on the campus quadbeabadoobee, “The Perfect Pair”
05Before I DisappearFeature filmMasked figures in a graffitied hallwayOingo Boingo, “Dead Man’s Party”

Unofficial practice re-scores. Not affiliated with or authorized by the productions or rights holders.

What I do

01:00:00

Creative search

Scene analysis, spotting and curated options for every cue, drawing on repertoire from baroque to contemporary.

02:00:00

Licensing & clearance

Master and publishing clearance, license agreements, and fee negotiation with publishers and labels.

03:00:00

Budgets & cue sheets

Music budgets, cue tracking, cue sheets and license reports — the paperwork done right, on deadline.

04:00:00

Rights & library administration

Rentals and loans, metadata and cataloging, and music collections organized so everyone can find what they need.

Experience

Full resume on request

YearsOrganizationRole
2026Mastering Music SupervisionCourse with Brienne Rose
2021–2022Interlochen Arts CampProgram Office
2012–2014San Antonio SymphonyAssistant Librarian
2008–2010Sønderjyllands SymfoniorkesterLibrary Assistant
2005–2007Tacoma Symphony Orchestra & ChorusHead Librarian
1999–2000University of Minnesota School of MusicEnsemble Librarian
1997–1998Seattle Symphony OrchestraAssistant Librarian
1997New World SymphonyLibrarian Fellow
1995–1996Apollo’s FireLibrarian
1993–2000Interlochen Center for the ArtsLibrarian

Internships: New York Philharmonic Library (with work for the Metropolitan Opera and Mostly Mozart Festival) · Boston Symphony Orchestra Library

Margaret Pitman McCoy

About

I've spent more than 25 years behind the scenes of music — running libraries, managing rentals with publishers, and getting the right parts in front of conductors, artists and directors on tight performance deadlines, at the Seattle, Tacoma and San Antonio symphonies, New World Symphony, Interlochen and more.

I'm also a performer: a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory in historical performance, baroque oboe and recorder, with ensembles including Sonido Barroco and the San Antonio Symphony. Now I bring that ear and that rigor to music for picture, having completed Mastering Music Supervision with Emmy-nominated supervisor Brienne Rose in 2026.

Based in Coupeville, Washington. Friends of the Guild of Music Supervisors member.

25+Years in music & rights
12Orchestras, festivals & schools
2Countries

Available for film, TV & advertising

Have a project that needs music? Let's talk.

Based in

Coupeville, Washington