Named one of the “Top Women In Music” by Billboard, Alexandra Patsavas has made a living by bringing new music to television viewers with her supervision company, Chop Shop. She posses a gift for matching the perfect song for each scene in countless prime time television shows including Mad Men, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, The OC and Chuck. In doing so, Patsavas gives each audience exactly what they’re looking for while simultaneously creating numerous opportunities for artists.
By viewing music as a character, Patsavas is able to connect with fans more easily. Grey’s Anatomy, for example, serves the female 18-35 demographic. The doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital deal with life or death situations each episode while finding comfort, friendship and love in each other. To match these feeling, Patsavas chooses low-key yet synthy singles such as Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” and Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks.” One of her picks, Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” became the most downloaded song on iTunes after airing during the show, proving that the television exposure —not to mention Patsavas’ perfect scene placement— can cause a band to blow up.
For each show Chop Shop supervises, Patsavas envisions music as a certain character. On Gossip Girl, that character is the hip, downtown highschooler with a passion for the indie hits and an appreciation for Top 40. On The O.C., music is the sarcastic and ironic college kid who skateboards to local shows and hangs by the beach. The use of these characters in the shows makes sure the right music reaches the right ears and gains each band the right kind of exposure and the right kind of fame. These days Patsavas’ approval is the equivalent of the Midas touch for an up-and-coming band.
The following playlist is comprised of OurStage artists that have enjoyed the Chop Shop touch. See if you can guess which shows each were featured on (answers are below the playlist).
