Maggie Baron of Concept Arts: 'Music Doesn't Need Time, Ego, Intellect or Reasoning' to Make an Impact

An early fascination with soundtracks ignited her career

Maggie is currently director of music at Concept Arts. She previously served in a similar role at GrandSon Creative, working with clients such as Neon, A24, HBO and Netflix. She is also a DJ on DUBLAB radio, an L.A. non-profit. 

We spent two minutes with Maggie to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired. 

Maggie, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I was born and raised five minutes from where Marilyn Monroe’s star now sits on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I love being an Angeleno. I feel a deep connection to the city’s rich musical legacy, its scandals and success stories, its sunny but shadowy lore. L.A. is filled with true freaks, flops and failures. But it maintains a sense of wide-eyed hopefulness in spite of it all. 

Your earliest musical memory.

I remember my parents playing everything from Annie Lennox to Massive Attack in the car. Seeing the world unfold around me, soundtracked by a Talking Heads or Bjork song, turned daily errands into cinematic experiences. It definitely helped lay the foundation for the work I do, and I’m grateful to my parents for planting the seed. They taught me that even the most average scenes can be enhanced by a song playing in the background. 

Your first concert and what you remember about it.

Spice Girls at the Great Western Forum, August 15, 1998. I’m lucky to have been a pre-tween during the height of not just pop history, but the pop-STAR industry. Back then, it felt like the mold for modern icons was being broken by people like Britney and Christina.

Your favorite bands/musicians and what you love about them.

The Deftones. I’m obsessed with how their aggressive instrumentation is balanced by Chino Moreno’s melodic vocals, creating music that’s heavy and confrontational, yet vulnerable and sweet at the same time. I got a White Pony tattoo—it’s my favorite record of theirs and a constant source of inspiration.

Nine Inch Nails. Trent is the greatest, most versatile talent/producer/composer/rockstar of our time. Pretty Hate Machine is my favorite album of theirs.

Lana Del Rey. Brilliant, poetic songwriting, stunning vocals and a lovely human.

I also love The Prodigy. Any group blending punk and electronics is the genetic DNA of my music taste. Sextile is a current group doing this kind of thing so well.

How you get your music these days.

I trust my A&R friends at indie labels to tell me who I should have my eyes and ears on. Most of my friends are either in the sync world, DJs or are overall music heads. I’m constantly digging for music online whether it’s for work or DJing or my Dublab show. I love Soundcloud and Bandcamp. I Shazam the most while listening to KXLU and Dublab.

Your favorite place to see a concert.

Hollywood Masonic Lodge. An eerie, cozy old property nestled in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Parking is free and easy, the sound is good and it doesn’t get much more Hollywood Babylon than seeing a show on the same hallowed grounds as Judy Garland’s mausoleum. I’ve seen Smerz, A.G. Cook, Tim Hecker, Crosses, Mary Lattimore, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and more in this sacred, intimate setting. 

Your favorite music video.

The Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up.” I was glued to MTV growing up and they had a “Banned from TV” block. It’s so provocative and original and the unexpected twist at the end will stay with you forever.

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Your favorite music-focused TV show and/or podcast.

I love docs that dissect polarizing and bizarre subcultural moments like the ones on Woodstock 99 or The Decline of Western Civilization.

A recent project you’re proud of.

The Anora trailer was a creatively rewarding project to work on. I’ve been a huge Sean Baker fan since Tangerine. I love trailers because there is more budget for marketing, which means you can push boundaries with music and pull tracks they couldn’t license for the film or series.

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Someone else’s project that you admired recently.

I really loved what I Saw The TV Glow did with their fully original soundtrack collaboration for Secretly Group. The film is very referential to ’90s Nickelodeon. I’ve been wanting to see intentional, well-curated standalone soundtracks make a comeback, because the albums from movies like Trainspotting, Go, Romeo + Juliet and The Matrix are what inspired me to become a music supervisor.

What music can do that nothing else can.

Music can evoke and manipulate emotion and it almost always heightens any situation without having to force it. It instantly intensifies every experience. It doesn’t need time, ego, intellect or reasoning to have an effect on you. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the music world.

I’d work with young addicts in recovery in the mental health/addiction space.