What are the main challenges involved in music supervision in 2026?

I’m happy to say that ambitions are higher than ever which is testament to our clients really. You could frame this as a challenge though I prefer to see it as an opportunity to make amazing and meaningful work! At the same time, schedules are tighter and budgets are under increasing scrutiny, so a certain agility is required as well as creative and strategic thinking. 

The days of simple ‘find a track, license a track’ jobs seem to be dwindling as clients look to find that extra value-add with music, as they should do! In addition – licensing and copyright are ever more complex, and that will only continue as platforms and media formats evolve. Above all else there’s simply more choice – more music, more tools, more routes to a solution and so I think that judgment, taste, and clarity in decision-making are and will be more and more important.

How have AI tools changed the approach to music composition?

Music composers and producers are generally pretty tech-savvy, so depending on how you define “AI tools”, many would say they’ve been benefiting from new efficiencies like this for a long time. At Leland, we’ve used AI tools selectively – mainly to support early ideation, internal testing, or mock-ups – but always as an aid to human creativity. An example springs to mind from last year – where we mocked-up and developed a choral arrangement using digital tools, before recording voices for real once we had sign-off. 

But I do think that overall there’s no substitute for lived experience, emotional intuition, or cultural awareness that (currently!) has to come from a person. And that’s before getting into the legal and ethical grey-areas around fully AI-generated music which are still very unresolved and feel quite murky. I don’t sense that clients or audiences currently have much appetite for AI music in the strictest sense. If anything, AI has reinforced the value of craft and originality – when almost anything is possible, discernment matters more.

Both Andrex and The Entertainer spots -Gold wins at the 2025 CICLOPE Awards- have an understated comedy woven through, but the musical approach to achieve this differs. How much of their tone was set from the beginning, or was a collaborative exploration between those involved?

We’re really proud of both campaigns. I think comedy in general is having a big moment in advertising – perhaps as a counterpoint to the ever gloomy rolling news cycle, a few laughs feel very much needed! As with all of our best work both of these projects began with brave and inspired ambitions at agency and client level so our role was to find the most compelling musical expression of those ideas. The intent was established early for both but the execution was very much a collaborative journey. Humour is incredibly sensitive to musical tone so our contribution became a key lever in determining how effective the campaigns could be, and was reliant on a great ongoing partnership with agency, director and client.

Of course the one big obvious difference between the two campaigns in terms of music in that The Entertainer is a re-record – so our task was to identify, license and then re-purpose a widely known and loved song, skewing the original version’s meaning into our character’s personality and scenario – a very intentional twist on something with so much baked-in cultural meaning.

For Andrex, the focus was on reflecting the spirit of the wider campaign series: a punk-ish sense of rebelliousness and confidence, delivered with flamboyant colour and a knowing, playful sense of humour. So in that way it was an even wider mood-boarding exercise at first, which was narrowed down throughout a close collaboration with the wider team.

What is Leland’s approach to fostering the next generation of emerging talent coming through?

This is a big part of our day-to-day work – understanding cultural shifts, how they interact with music, and staying closely connected to talent of all experience levels. We’re constantly listening and meeting artists and composers, and thinking about how their work could translate into visual storytelling. 

We try to involve emerging talent in real projects wherever possible – giving exposure to live briefs, genuine decision-making, and the realities of client-facing work. For us mentorship is about context as much as craft: understanding why a choice was made, not just what the choice was.

How can independent companies make the most of the shifting industry dynamics?

Independents can move quickly, stay culturally close to the ground, and build genuine relationships. That agility is hugely valuable right now I think. There’s also a growing appetite for specialists – people who are deeply focused on their discipline rather than broadly spread. If independent companies stay rigorous about their point of view and transparent about how they work, I think they’re well placed to thrive in this landscape.

What gives you hope during this era of flux about how things may change for the better?

I’m an optimistic person so I do have high hopes! There’s a lot of change but with that comes creative and commercial opportunity. Above all else, the appetite for great work and strong craft feels as robust as ever.

We’re seeing a new generation of clients coming through with different perspectives, different expectations, and a genuine curiosity about how things are made. That keeps everyone on their toes. It’s on us to keep learning, evolving, and resisting creative complacency.

Finally, what artists should we all be listening out for this year?

So many! I’m very excited about the forthcoming Jill Scott album. My current favourite electronic/ambient producer KMRU also has a record coming soon. And I’m really hoping Cleo Sol’s next isn’t far away. 

Leland