The Hogan: Music Supervision’s New Frontier
When I first met Sean I was struck by how young he is. I don’t know what I was expecting, but when I knew I was sitting down with the founder of a pretty successful music supervision company I was expecting someone in their 40’s at the very least. Instead, I was met with a young chap whose backdrop was the intentionally industrial looking offices of The Hogan, based in London's Stoke Newington. He’s smoking his vape and feels incredibly warm. He seems quite easy going. But when he starts speaking about the company, their mission and the work, you see exactly why he is where he is. This is an intensely ambitious man, completely engulfed with passion for not only the job, but ensuring that his people are looked after.
It All Started With a Panic Attack
Sean really didn’t follow a typical route to get to where he is. He started out in football, then dropped out of an Economics degree, before working as a receptionist at a gym and doing a distance philosophy degree. At 23 years old he started a part-time internship at a start-up music publisher, through a fortuitous meeting at a friend’s birthday party; not yet knowing anything about the music industry.
His decision to start his own music supervision company stemmed from a critical moment in his twenties; one that would become a turning point. As his role developed, it took on more new business responsibilities and, Sean believes, contributed to the onset of debilitating panic attacks in 2019.
He describes being sat on the tube - unaware of what panic attacks were, nevermind what they felt like - when one came on and he thought he was dying. His body was signalling that something needed to change: “It was telling me that something wasn’t right.” The constant stress of new business and an imposter syndrome borne out of a lack of self-belief. It was at this moment that he decided it was time to take a leap of faith. He knew that he wanted a move into music supervision, which involved a more hands-on role in the music process, but knew that the same demands and insecurities that had led to his mental strain would be the same anywhere he went.
With just enough money to make a website and purchase a few necessary software subscriptions, Sean launched The Hogan. His aim at this time was simply to survive. To win a couple of jobs that could pay his rent, and ease some of the pressure that comes with the striving to prove his’ worth to employers. It would feel paradoxical to attempt to escape panic attacks through starting one’s own company, but Sean describes it as either gut instinct or necessity.
However, sometimes life throws hurdles in the way. Timing was less than fortunate, as just two weeks after starting, the UK was hit by the first lockdown in 2020. Despite facing financial challenges, Sean persevered. With a lot of graft, and offering free work, a few projects in the subsequent months provided enough security to get things off the ground properly. Since then, they’ve powered through 65 campaigns; each pushing creative boundaries.
Over the past year and a half in particular, The Hogan has thrived and expanded its team, becoming the new company to rise up and challenge the current music house establishment.
The company’s distinct identity and approach have set it apart from the traditional music supervision houses we are acquainted with seeing. Sean takes major pride in the diverse and youthful culture that has cultivated at The Hogan, where everyone comes from different backgrounds whilst simultaneously sharing a passion for music & film. His aim is simple - he wants to build a brand that will allow him and his employees the freedom and control to combat and prevent the very stresses that had led to his panic attacks and struggles with mental health.
Sean says, “now that I look back, I can see that I struggled with the role that was presented to me as a young man. I was a victim of toxic masculine norms that led to deep insecurities, frustration, kinks hidden in shame, and a deep lack of belief that I could be accepted as myself or succeed as myself. It took a lot of work to accept myself, change what did need to be changed, and finally live in a way that I feel free. This is experience is definitely not unique to me - but now that I have the opportunity to create a team, I am only interested in a people-first approach where honest communication, acceptance of everyone and their eccentricities and flaws, and a sense of excitement and pride in what we can achieve as a group are the lifeblood of the company.”
Thus far, no one in the The Hogan team has had a traditional route into music or advertising.
The People Make the Business
There are several other things that seem to separate The Hogan from the rest of the saturated music supervision industry. Sean believes those come from a young, creative team that are authentically living in the current culture of music, a savviness when it comes to recognising an unfruitful pursuit of a job or prospective client, a genuinely ethical approach towards composers, and a focus on only working with clients and jobs where there is transparency and fairness for everyone in the process.
One bold step The Hogan made was to generally only single on music. Their integrated approach to a job, Sean believes, is practically, ethically and creatively appropriate. A fully committed and inspired music partner, and an open line of communication with creatives and producers from start to finish has yielded valuable relationships and boundary-pushing work. This approach has transcended borders, with The Hogan gaining considerable clients and work in the US and Europe, as well as the UK.
This ethos is also one that allows his team to conduct new business with a sense of self-dignity and avoid burnout, as they are permitted to trust their gut and choose what they feel is valuable to pursue. Of the utmost importance in being confident and assertive in their role, Sean says, one must feel on even footing with their clients, not as a ‘vendor’ that can be used and chucked away. The respect and trust then goes both ways, fostering genuine, lasting and fruitful working (and personal) relationships.
When it comes to the creative process itself, Sean admits that selecting perfect music for a project is a particular cocktail of art mixed with intuition. Having a keen ear and emotional intelligence are crucial in understanding and complementing not only the music, but the emotion and vivacity of an agency, director or brand’s creative vision. Sean reckons that their success so far doesn’t merely lie with individual creative accomplishments but rather their vision as a whole. With a growing reputation and a client list boasting names like McDonald’s, Adidas, Amazon Prime, Nike, Samsung, Levi’s, Apple, Asda, IKEA and Playstation (to name a few); the team is clearly doing something right.
Everything about this place is people-focused. Sean’s favourite part of being in the business is being surrounded by individuals who bring varying perspectives to the same table. Building a strong team upheld by a familial environment, and a democratic approach to decision making has been at the forefront of his endeavours. “I make mistakes” Sean says, “and having a team that contributes and sees that they are part of the company’s direction, not only empowers them, but also creates a group of people that know their shit in every aspect. Problem solvers, grafters, producers, creatives.”
The journey hasn’t been without its challenges, however. The transition from a novice in business to creating and managing a thriving company involves a huge influx of work. Of course, this is a positive sign, but it has meant a lot of hard labour. For Sean, the remedy comes from remembering why he started out in the first place. In such a fast-paced world, where comparison and imitation abound, he consciously avoids looking at the work of competitors - learning that they should grow at their own pace has allowed them to focus on nurturing creativity rather than chasing external validation and drowning in comparisons with others. He is a firm believer that in not following industry trends, one can become a trend-setter. This is a company who are setting the scene for themselves - there will be no carbon copies here.
Out With the Old
Every company likes to say they’re different. But this one really is. It’s quite millennial at its core. Millennial businesses are rooted in the foundations of communication, empowerment and relationship building. The Hogan has every one of these boxes ticked. It’s all about work life balance here. Employees can work from pretty much anywhere, are gifted a juicy 38 days of annual leave to do with whatever they please, have their own office sliders, enjoy “non” competitive games of pool and table tennis on slow days, and there are even whispers of implementing a four-day work with. I know. Where do we sign up?
They also treat composers morally, with the creative respect they deserve, offering fair deals often not given by older houses, and trusting their judgement on, at most, a few composers that are right for the job - rather than throwing ten or more into a pointless and often unfair pitch frenzy.
They have also become famous in the industry for their parties, doing away with boring mixer style events, instead inviting all areas of the creative industry inside for what feels more like a booming house party than an advertising event. So much so that the police at one point threatened to shut their last one down, resulting in a fairly hilarious photo of Sean in a full-latex suit, bottle of Maker’s Mark in hand, trying to prevent that happening.
What The Hogan is doing is completely rejecting the corporate mindset and all the bullshit that comes with it. It’s about recognising the prosperity of a company comes from not only getting the work done, and done well, but ensuring a healthy environment is fostered. Sean dismisses the outdated practices of industry dinosaurs, asserting that the new generation of clients demands a different perspective; demands that The Hogan is poised to meet.
