The Music Supervisor’s Journey: Alick Sethi On Bringing Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Story To Life

Alick Sethi, founder of Retox Music and a pioneering music supervisor, has spent over two decades shaping soundtracks for global films. From his early days as a chemistry PhD student inspired by London’s club culture to creating The Electric Café, Alick’s unconventional path led him to revolutionize music supervision.

Known for his work across emerging markets like India and Eastern Europe, he notably introduced Netflix Mumbai’s first-ever music supervision workshop. His recent work on Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous exemplifies his mastery in blending creative vision with intricate licensing. A passionate DJ, Alick’s extensive vinyl collection showcases his diverse musical influences.

In an exclusive conversation with Loudest.in, Sethi shares insights into his journey in the music industry and discusses his recent work on the documentary 'Famous' featuring Yo Yo Honey Singh.

Here are edited excerpts:

Q1.Tell us about your journey so far in the music business industry?

I’ve been a music supervisor for over 20 years. I started in London, where I’m originally from. Strictly speaking, I wasn’t initially a music supervisor. I use that term because it’s easier to explain, but I began by representing independent labels, unsigned bands, and a wide variety of music that wasn’t tied to major labels.

I discovered these bands and labels through my background as a DJ. I represented them not as a label, publisher, or in any official capacity like that, but purely to help them secure what we call sync deals—S-Y-N-C. Sync is short for synchronization, which involves pairing a piece of music with a moving image, such as a film, short film, advertisement, or anything similar.

My role was to represent their music and help them secure deals, primarily in advertising, across the UK (where I’m from) and in Europe. I traveled extensively for work, which has been an incredible experience. Over time—and this was always the plan—I transitioned into the role of a music supervisor. This shift meant I was no longer tied to a specific set of bands or a catalog I had built. Instead, I began helping clients, like filmmakers, find or create the music they needed for their projects. For me, this was an exciting step forward.

It was a gradual process to get here, and my journey has taken me to many places. I’ve worked all over Europe and the USA, often while being based in London. I’ve always been a freelancer, working through my own entity, Retox Music.

At one point, I undertook a long stretch of work in Russia, covering the entire CIS region and Central Asia, with Moscow as the primary hub. This period was transformative, as it made me realize I was working differently from other music supervisors in London, who primarily focused on the UK market. I was operating in emerging markets—places where the skills and expertise I brought weren’t fully understood but were very much needed.

However, as a UK native, there are now challenges associated with working in Russia due to the current circumstances.

I’ve also been spending more time in Asia, particularly in India. As you may know, I worked on the recent Yo Yo Honey Singh documentary, which marked my foray into long-form content. Last year, I also worked on Guns and Gulaabs.

Q2.What was your vision for Retox Music at the time, and how has it evolved over the years to meet the demands of the industry?

I initially started in this field because I couldn’t find a job in the area I wanted. I did get some work experience with a small music supervision company in London that focused on ads—it was a very small team, just a few people. At the time, there were very few players in this space. London, being a global hub with a significant advertising industry, provided some opportunities, which helped. I was inspired by what was happening around me and what I saw on TV. I knew I wanted to be involved in the music side of it, but I didn’t have a clear vision for where it would lead.

To be honest, my only plan was to keep going and see where it would take me. While the UK had a well-established market in terms of advertising and media, music supervision wasn’t fully understood—it was needed, but there weren’t enough people doing it. So, I got into it at the right time.

I soon realized I wanted to become a full-fledged music supervisor, but I knew I had a lot to learn—how to pitch effectively, how to curate and organize a catalog, how to handle A&R tasks (even though I wasn’t releasing music), and how to identify the needs of my clients. I had to understand the films being made, what was being asked for, and where I could source the kind of music my clients needed. This involved building relationships with labels and composers and figuring out how to represent their music.

At first, my goals were very short-term: to get started, do the job well, learn my clients’ needs, and build something steady. A few years later, once work started coming in regularly and I had some breathing room, I realized I truly wanted to be a music supervisor. I started meeting other music supervisors I had been pitching to, and I found them incredibly inspiring. They were immersed in all kinds of music, working on diverse projects, and traveling to fascinating places. That’s when I knew this was what I wanted to do, and I began pushing myself toward that goal.

Q3.How did you collaborate with Mozez Singh and the production team of famous to craft a soundtrack that balances Yo Yo Honey Singh’s iconic style with universal emotional appeal?

The main thing about being a music supervisor is understanding how to approach the process. When I started, my role might have been better understood in a more developed music supervision market. However, when I came into this project, even though Mozez  and Sikya were making bold and forward-thinking choices, I wasn’t entirely sure how much they needed at the time.

As a supervisor, you never go in and dictate, “This has to be done this way, and this music has to sound like that.” Instead, you assess what the team’s needs are. For example, if the director knows exactly what music they want—let’s say for a drama or fiction piece—it’s not my job to talk them out of it. However, if I feel there’s a better option and they’re open to suggestions, I’ll share my opinion. Ultimately, it’s their film, their vision, and their responsibility, so my first task is to understand their needs and how open they are to hearing other ideas.

Some directors are very sure of what they want, and Mozez  is one of them. He has a clear vision, but he’s also incredibly open to collaboration, which is a dream for a supervisor. Early on, I noted down a few points and asked if he wanted my input, and he was more than receptive. In fact, Mozez is one of the most open-minded collaborators I’ve worked with in over 20 years of experience across the globe. He inspires trust and encourages creativity. While he expects a lot from people, he also gives them the space to bring their ideas to life, which made this project smooth and enjoyable in terms of collaboration.

For this documentary about Yo Yo Honey Singh—a music maker and producer—the approach was different from working on a drama or an ad film. You can’t tell Honey Singh’s story without certain songs, so that brought unique challenges. On the creative side, much of the storytelling was driven by our incredible editor, Deepa Bhatia, who worked closely with Mozez . They churned out cuts of the documentary, and my job was to get the necessary songs for those scenes.

Unlike the typical music supervision process, which involves both searching for and licensing music, this project was heavier on the licensing side because the story was constructed in the edit room based on the footage. It wasn’t like starting with a script, as you would for a drama or fiction piece. This made it a fascinating project for me—it was my first documentary, and while I have plenty of experience, I had to adapt and apply my skills in a different way.

For me, the most satisfying part of this project was working creatively on the score. Collaborating with Mozez  and our composer, Matthew Wang, was incredibly fulfilling. We all contributed ideas, balanced them with the workflow, and saw them come together beautifully. I also enjoyed the licensing aspect—watching the story come together and working hard to secure the specific songs they needed to tell the story effectively. This project challenged me and allowed me to explore new aspects of music supervision, which made it all the more rewarding.

Q4.Managing licensing for over 30 songs and 20+ music videos is an enormous challenge. Can you share insights into the most complex or rewarding negotiation you encountered during this project?

Yeah, I have to be a little careful here because of NDAs and confidentiality. But I can share that one of the great aspects of this project was that it brought me face-to-face with Indian labels in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Wherever I’ve worked in the world, I’ve had to engage with local labels, learning how to negotiate and interact one-on-one with their teams, while also understanding the cultural nuances of how they operate. Even within Europe, which is considered the West, there are significant cultural differences in negotiation styles and business approaches. Prior to this project, I hadn’t worked extensively with Indian labels because most of my licensing work in India involved international songs.

One of the key highlights of this project is that every negotiation was successfully closed. What I’m most proud of—and what gave me the greatest satisfaction—is that we didn’t have to make major changes to the music edit. I believe we managed to secure pretty much everything as the team originally envisioned.

This is especially significant because, unlike in fiction projects, where an unobtainable song (due to cost or other reasons) can simply be replaced without impacting the narrative, documentaries work differently. In a fiction piece, if a song isn’t available, you can go back to the production or creative team and suggest an alternative without needing to reshoot or rewrite anything. For instance, you can swap out a song in a car chase or fight scene with minimal disruption.

However, in a documentary—especially one about an artist—changing a song might mean recutting or restructuring parts of the film. That’s just how documentaries are made. So, I’m particularly satisfied that we managed to get all the songs we needed to tell this artist’s story as intended.

When it comes to working with labels, it might sound daunting when you hear big names like Universal, Sony, Zee, or T-Series. But at the end of the day, you’re dealing with individuals. Each label has its own representative, and success often comes down to how you handle those one-on-one interactions.

There wasn’t a single, overarching strategy for dealing with every label. Each negotiation was unique, with its own challenges. While this project was about Yo Yo Honey Singh, in general, labels represent a variety of artists, each at different stages of their careers, with varying requirements. This makes the job very personal, even when dealing with megastars who are global icons. Behind the scenes, it’s still about connecting with the person representing that artist or catalog.

I treated each label, discussion, and negotiation on a case-by-case basis, adapting my approach as needed. The main takeaway is that we achieved what we set out to do: we secured the songs we needed to tell the story. That, for me, is the ultimate measure of success.