REO Speedwagon’s “Time For Me To Fly” plays out in the very last scene of the final episode of ABC’s long-running sitcom “The Goldbergs.” The 1978 hit plays as the titular family gathers together and imagine what the future will bring.
Mojo Music and Media co-founder and CCO Peter Shane acquired REO Speedwagon’s publishing catalog in 2019, and because of longstanding relationships with both the band and “The Goldbergs” music supervisor Ann Kline, the process to clearing the song was a swift one.
Having been in the business for over 25 years, Shane’s closest collaborations are with music supervisors. “We work with them at all stages,” he says. “The beginning, middle and end, when music is being considered for projects.”
In the case of “The Goldbergs,” it moved quickly because of Shane’s relationship with the band and Kline — but it also went beyond a typical one-line description. Shane understood the scene and how music would fit in.
By collaborating with all parties, Shane says, “We were able to quickly get the band on board because it was a nostalgic scene, and the song just fit perfectly.”
“Whenever you have something with REO, their music is nostalgic in so many ways. When I’m pitching it, I’ll get a story back about it being on a mixtape or a wedding song,” Shane says. “The marriage of ‘The Goldbergs’ and REO highlights how putting these two powerful things together was a great way to send off the show.”
Shane has overseen the band’s over 50 syncs, including “Keep On Loving You” in “Stranger Things,” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” in “American Horror Story” and “Air.”
REO Speedwagon rarely has a reluctance to incorporate their music in popular TV shows, says Shane. “When we go to our shows that next-gen is watching, [REO] wants to be relevant. What better way to highlight the band and their songs than through these current TV shows?”
