5 Minutes with… Dan Neale
Naturally curious, creative, and technical – and averse to ‘ordinary’ – a career in creativity was always the goal for Dan Neale. Having tried out band life, working agency-side, and being a solo composer, he eventually found a place for his combined strengths in the world of music supervision, and in pursuit of that, he launched his own company: Native Music.
Dan set up the independent, full-service music supervision agency for advertising, broadcast, and film in a Soho legacy location in 2013. As managing director, he guided its growth from two desks to two studios, the expansion of its core team, and the completion of beloved projects from KitKat’s ‘Break Better’ to the BBC’s London 2012 Olympics campaign.
Dan sits down with LBB’s Zara Naseer to reflect on lessons from these foundational years, and share his thoughts on AI music, perfect pairings, and the best performances of Glastonbury 2025.
Above: KitKat 'Break Better'
LBB> Where did you grow up and what sort of kid were you? Were there any clues back then as to the career path you’d end up taking?
Dan> I was a shy but quietly determined kid, and I grew up in Watford. I was fascinated with film and TV and always wanted to know how things were made. I wanted to be a lot of things… a camera operator, a special effects model / creature maker, a director, a comic book artist, and more. I made a lot of very bad super 8 short films but loved it. The smell of the dust from the super 8 projector, feeding the film into it, sorting it when it got snagged – I loved all of it. It was a mixture of creative and technical.
I never wanted to do something ‘ordinary’, the thought of that terrified and depressed me. So, I always knew I wanted to do something in the creative world, that kept the fire lit in me. Music has both the creative and technical aspects I loved; it was a natural fit.
LBB> How did you end up specialising in music supervision for advertising?
Dan> In parallel to being in a band and trying to make that work, I worked for a couple of years in the TV department at Grey, and those years were invaluable. While I was there, I worked with external music companies, and while working on projects with them, I realised I had something to offer. I was often giving detailed feedback and helping demos get over the line, as my perspective was very much from a composer’s point of view.
I decided to leave and become a composer for media myself. I did that for four years but found it quite isolating and very competitive. Towards the end of that period, I had the chance to pitch existing music from some of the bands I had played with or met along the way, and that was my first tentative step into the wider world of music supervision. It showed me the way forward.
LBB> In the early days of your career, what were some projects/clients that particularly helped you to grow and understand the business?
Dan> M&S were one of the early brands I worked on as RKCR/Y&R’s in-house music supervisor, and through that my network grew as I got to know more labels and publishers.
The agency also had the BBC account, and I worked on some brilliant projects. The London 2012 Olympics project was a huge learning curve for me, as it involved working with Elbow to create a bespoke song and there were multiple stake holders involved. As well as helping to navigate the various stages of approval, I had to book the orchestra, source a huge choir and find the studios to record them in. I learned so much by being thrown in the deep end on that one.
Above: The BBC's London 2012 Olympic campaign
LBB> What spurred you to start up your own company, Native Music, and what’s the most rewarding part of it?
Dan> I think I was always going to start something from the ground up, it was just a case of timing. I reached a point where it was the next obvious step for me to take, albeit a scary one at the time.
One of the most rewarding moments in my job is when I organically think of a song and it makes it all the way onto the screen. Those eureka moments are golden.
LBB> Are there any lessons that you wish you'd learned earlier?
Dan> Not everyone is going to like you, and that’s OK.
LBB> How do you keep your music library fresh and competitive?
Dan> We’re constantly sent new music by labels, publishers and management companies which we add to our database. We have regular internal music catch ups to listen to songs that have caught our ear. Either because they might be good for sync, or just because we like them.
LBB> How do you hone your ability to identify music pairings that will cut through?
Dan> One of the things I enjoy about how music and visuals work together is that it can be random. There is something indefinable about what makes a great sync work. Chasing that bit of magic is my daily endeavour, and to me it is very much based on your instincts. I don’t think there is a science to it and in my experience, people either have the instinct to put a great search together, or they don’t.
LBB> What’s your view on the use of AI when it comes to music? Any words of wisdom to help steer its implementation?
Dan> I am anti-AI with regards to creating music. There are so many places in our lives that AI can help (DIY troubleshooting being one I have recently discovered), so, in my opinion, we should leave one of the most human forms of expression alone.
AI has a place technically, in that it can help with stem separation, or stripping the vocal from an old recording, but that’s it for me.
Also brands and agencies beware – the rights issues of AI music creation are far from clear. AI has learnt the musical style required by ingesting someone else’s copyright and as things stand, those permissions have not been granted.
LBB> Who are your musical heroes and why?
Dan> So many!
Neil Young: great songs, and a commitment to just letting the music happen.
Leonard Cohen: amazing lyricist, and his early recordings are so atmospheric.
David Bowie: enough said.
Honourable mentions to Grandaddy, Flaming Lips and Pink Floyd.
LBB> What are you recently most proud of and why?
Dan> Being fully independent. Native, as a company and as a team, is in a very strong place right now. I am proud to be part of it.
LBB> Outside of work, what's inspiring you right now?
Dan> I still find live music so inspiring. I went to Glastonbury this year and was really moved by some incredible performances by artists such as CMAT, Future Islands, Loyle Carner and Raye, amongst others.
