I have two very specific memories about my first promo finish as an editor. First is the sudden dopamine jolt I got from learning something I cut would be on TV. The second is an odd look on the music supervisor's face when they learned I'd cut to a non-library track.

At the time, I thought everyone's work was done. I'd even saved the music department some effort by pulling my own track selections off YouTube that were perfect tonal matches for the promo. And they'd worked – my producer, and now the client, loved it.

I remember a hushed conversation between the music supervisor and a creative director culminating with, “I'll see what I can do.” But the spot was eventually sent to air, so I kept feeling special, and I soon forgot about the situation entirely ... until I became a music supervisor myself years later.

That brilliant musical selection likely caused my former music supervisor hours of research, emails, phone calls and negotiation to ensure the spot could finish. And it all could have been avoided with a two-minute conversation about what music we were cleared to use.

Editors don't need to know the intricacies of music licensing. But having a rough understanding of the sync process can save everyone involved time and heartache. Having worked in both capacities, here's what every promo editor should know to ensure a symbiotic relationship with their music supervisor. Because, ultimately, we make your promos sound good – and because we know where you live.

1. Understand your music supervisor's function beyond “person who sends me music.” In short, the music supervisor's job is to figure out what songs you can cut with. This can vary from project to project based on everything from budget to the music rights a client may already have. We're not just jamming out in our offices all day (although it's important to make time for that as well). If you ever have a question about using a specific song or sound effect, just ask, especially if you aren't certain if what you're using is approved for your project.

2. Know what music you can use BEFORE you start working on a spot. Speaking from experience, replacing the music in your cut is miserable. So is jumping through hoops to get a track cleared for an overly ambitious editor. Avoid both by choosing cues from an approved pool of music. It also prevents you from falling in love with a reference track you'll never be able to clear. I can't stress it enough: do not cut to reference tracks you can't finish with if it can be avoided. Everything ends up sounding off to you (and, more importantly, your client) when you're forced to replace the perfect cue.

3. If you didn't read this article beforehand and need to replace a reference cue you cut with … help your music supervisor help you. No song is going to perfectly replace what you're using. But the more details we have about what's working, the more we can do to help. Does the BPM need to be the same in order to preserve the cut? Does the client like specific instrumentation you should hear in the soundalike? Is there anything you definitely DON'T want in a replacement track? The more specifics the better.

4. If you don't know exactly what you want, give the music supervisor SOMETHING to work with. At certain budgets, your music supervisor could have every piece of digitized music in human history to pull from. Help us narrow it down a little. Here's where reference cues can be extremely useful. You don't need to know exactly what you want or have a ton of musical knowledge, but have something to point at and say, “I like the way that sounds,” as a bare minimum. A list of adjectives alone (i.e., “happy” or “scary”) is too subjective to be very helpful.

5. Say “Thank You!” A no-brainer, maybe, but it's always worthwhile to show appreciation to the other people who make your promos possible. Not just your music supervisor, who may or may not have just saved your spot with a sync deal or last-minute cue replacement, but what about the assistant editors who ingested all your footage? The coordinator who drew up the cue sheets? The PA who kept you caffeinated? Do you really want to start doing all of that by yourself?

Media production is a team effort, and understanding how all the pieces work together benefits everyone. So, for all things sonic in your project, keep an open line of communication with your music supervisor. We're here to help – unless you repeatedly cut to music that isn't cleared. Then you'll be seeing a lot of John Cage in your future pulls.

Rab Bradlea is East Coast music supervisor at Alibi Music.