ABOUT
He started off as an award - winning music producer winning 5 Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammys) along with 7 nominations (including Engineer of the Year), and wanted to find a way for the indie projects he worked on to make a bigger splash.
He saw artists landing in the charts with just one good sync placement. He also saw how lucrative the income could be for musicians. Chris not only teaches indie songwriters how to get their music heard by top music supervisors in TV & film, he actually introduces them to those very same gatekeepers.
In his 5 step program, The Art of the Song Pitch’, he shows songwriters how to successfully license their music to TV & Film, and he personally introduces his students to top music supervisors in the program.
Growing up in Canada, Chris SD was immersed in his parents’ eclectic record collection, filled with artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and Tchaikovsky.
His real passion for music sparked during a family trip when he stumbled upon his uncle’s electric guitar and played the only song he knew, “Wild Thing” repeatedly. This marked the beginning of his journey in music.
Fascinated by the magic and creativity of the recording process, he dedicated himself to capturing the essence of great recordings in the studio.
In 2000, Chris launched his career as a music producer by building his first home studio where he began recording his friends for beer. Some of his early recordings garnered Juno Award nominations (Canada’s Grammys), which compelled him to relocate to Toronto in 2003. He was hired as the house engineer at the iconic Blue Rodeo’s Woodshed Studio, a position he held until 2012.
Despite working with both major label and indie artists, Chris became frustrated with the lack of attention given to indie music. He believed the quality of music from indie artists was often on par with major label acts but lacked the support of labels, managers, and agents. This frustration led him to discover sync licensing as an ideal way for indie artists to gain exposure. By getting their music placed in shows, movies, and ads, indie musicians could reach millions of potential fans. He began helping some of the artists he worked with personally to discover the power of licensing their music to TV & film.
In 2012, Chris relocated to Los Angeles but shortly after arriving, he and his wife discovered they were expecting their daughter. Realizing he no longer wanted to spend 12 to 14 hours a day working in studios, Chris pivoted and started Sundown Sessions Studio, an online recording studio to balance his career and family life.
He also began expanding his network within the music licensing industry, forming relationships with some of the top music supervisors for TV & film. In 2017, Chris released his program, The Art of the Song Pitch, to reach indie songwriters on a much bigger scale to help them get their music placed in top shows, films, and ads. Chris not only teaches his 5-step program for pitching songs to TV and film, but also connects songwriters face-to-face with key music supervisors in the industry.
