Lyle Hysen, founder of Bank Robber Music and House of Hassle Publishing, is the licensing agent to some of the darlingest darlings of indie-rock, pop, electro, folk (etc.), is behind many such winning placements in television, film and commercial land.
Hysen started Bank Robber in ’04 with Barsuk, Thrill Jockey, Absolutely Kosher and Quannum Projects, and filled an important niche as the licensing guy who could work both sides of the fence to bring indie bands to music supervisors and vice versa.Bank Robber’s label roster includes Merge, Barsuk, Jagjaguar, Drag City, DFA, Secretly Canadian and Fat Cat, and fan/supervisor-favorites like Mates of State, Spoon, M. Ward and Nada Surf.
It worked because Hysen was trustworthy to both parties. He’d come up immersed in the NYC music scene, playing in punk bands and publishing the hardcore fanzine, “Damaged Goods” in high school, later playing in post-hardcore band Das Damen, and eventually working at Matador Records as the head of its Doormat Publishing division. Point is, when he saw the need for a Bank Robber Music — someone to connect indie labels to mainstream placements — he had the experience and relationships to do it right.
