Not since Miami Vice has a television show become such a launching pad for pop music. Over the last three seasons, The OC, a weekly chronicle of teenage angst in the SoCal suburbs, has become an unlikely stop on the road to indie-rock superstardom. The show pairs story lines of DNA tests, lesbian experimentation, and drug overdoses with songs from little-known bands like Death Cab for Cutie and the Killers. The plot twist: The bands see their OC exposure turn into gold and platinum sales, making the show's music supervisor, Alexandra Patsavas, the hottest talent scout in the business.
After Los Angeles-based band Rooney performed on the first season of The OC, album sales tripled. When Patsavas chose a track from London-based Psapp to be the theme song for Grey's Anatomy, another show she scores, it soon signed with Franz Ferdinand's label, Domino Records.
How does Patsavas stay on top of what's new? When she's not sifting through the 300-odd releases sent to her each week, she trawls MySpace for fresh sounds. Last season's plug of unsigned band Au Revoir Simone on Grey's Anatomy was just such a find. "I never really focus on whether a band is signed. I'm more concerned about whether it fits the scene," she says. It's a big change from the days when appearing on the small screen meant selling out. "In the past, bands thought being on network TV would whittle away at their indie cred," Patsavas says. Now they record exclusive tracks just to hear them on prime time's latest teen baby mama drama.
– Sonia Zjawinski
Music Reborn
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