Anne Booty: Sound, Yorgos Lanthimos & Personal Growth

In the next of our Expansion Spotlight series, I'm introducing a creative force whose work you've almost certainly heard, even if you didn't realise it at the time.

Anne Booty is a London-based Music Supervisor at SixtyFour Music, with a career spanning over two decades. She started as an artist herself before moving into the world of sync — championing emerging talent — and is now a go-to supervisor for global brands including Nike, Adidas, and Jaguar. More recently, Anne has become a vital collaborator in prestige cinema. From the Oscar-winning Poor Things to Kinds of Kindness and the highly anticipated Bugonia, her ear is behind some of the most daring sonic landscapes coming out of Yorgos Lanthimos' films today.

Behind the high-stakes world of film and global advertising lies the same human challenge most of us face: navigating pressure, quieting the inner critic, and holding a clear creative vision when life has other ideas. In this conversation, Anne shares what brought her to MAP Method™ neurocoaching through Expansion Works®, how the work sits alongside the therapy she was already doing, and what's shifted in how she shows up — for her career, and for herself.

Could you please introduce yourself and share a bit about your journey? Including what first got you into the music industry.

Of course! I'm an Australian music and film nerd who found myself on UK shores in the late 90s. Inspired by the electro-clash movement of the 00s, I started up my band. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to travel the world doing gigs, make a handful of records, and navigate several sync opportunities... some won and many lost. It was the latter, combined with my day job in media recruitment, that led me to my first opportunity in the business side of the industry, which was an account management role in library music. A few years later, I joined my current company, heading up our independent artist sync catalogue before moving into music supervision. I adore my job as it fuses my twin passions perfectly. I've always been a collector of film soundtracks, especially as a kid, so I feel really lucky to be able to do what I do every day.

You've spent over 20 years in the music industry, moving from being an artist yourself to supervising for global brands like Nike and high-profile films like Poor Things. What was the catalyst for that evolution?

Weirdly, I think it was probably the birth of my son! I remember meeting the author Will Self at one of his book readings when Noah was still a baby. I asked Self how he so perfectly navigated life between parenthood and his writing. He said that it was actually the act of becoming a father that made him want to leave a legacy. I guess it's the fine-tuning of the self, the ability to hyperfocus and take chances that lead you to better opportunities. When I was approached about the music library job, I wasn't initially sure it was the right thing to go for as I'd taken a step back for a few years to be a Mum. But in the spirit of trying something new and exciting, in being the best role model I could be for my son, I did it, and then magic things came out of that, and I get to be where I am now.

What is one of the most memorable moments in your career where you felt the most fulfilled or thought, 'wow, I've made it'?

From the POV of my artist self, one of my favourite moments was playing a gig at a lighthouse on a Norwegian island, introduced by the local mayor. It was a beautiful experience. And from the POV of my music supervisor self, it was walking the red carpet in Cannes and going to the afterparty for Kinds of Kindness last year. The party was a pretty small affair, and every third person was an A-Lister. It was kinda surreal. I had the tail end of whooping cough at the time, though, and sincerely hope I didn't give it to Willem Dafoe as I was passing him to get to the canapés...

For those reading who are thinking about getting into the music industry, what advice would you offer, and what have some of your biggest learnings been?

It sounds like a cliche, but you have to follow your dreams, whatever that looks like. Even if an opportunity seems small or might be tangential to what it is you want to do, it's still worth exploring. The other advice I'd give is to get out from behind your computer or phone and go meet people. I appreciate that a lot of modern-day networking is done online, and that's cool too, but nothing beats the physical hustle of making human connections. Some of my biggest learnings? I've done things I'm a bit embarrassed by looking back.. like handing out CDs to DJs I loved while they were playing a set (I'm dating myself here lol)... probably could have timed things better, but with every connection I made, my confidence got stronger. It doesn't matter if your query isn't followed up on or if you get turned down for something. Think of failure as a gateway to success. The more opportunities you give yourself to fail, the more you might just win.

With such a high-pressure career, what drew you to James and Expansion Works®? Was there a specific "internal ceiling" or professional block you were looking to break through?

Throughout life you hit obstacles now and again that make you reassess everything. My recent obstacles have been health-related and the loss of someone close to me. Both have made me wobble big time, and have led to burnout. I now think about the future in a very specific way that I hadn't in the past and it was this that drew me to James and Expansion Works®. Wanting to make certain changes happen but knowing that something within me wasn't allowing it 'to be.'

In your 20-year career, you've likely tried various ways to manage the stress of the "sync" and supervision world. How did this approach feel different from other personal development tools you've encountered in the past?

I have been seeing an incredible therapist before reaching out to James. My therapist was and is still fantastic; he guided me through a very dark period and the subsequent burnout. Finding the MAP Method™ felt different but complementary. Elements of it brought back memories of the hypnotherapy I had when I was a teenager for anxiety, but it's different again from this. For me, it felt like taking out my brain and handing it over to a very trusted pair of hands to talk directly to the parts of me I couldn't see or access clearly. After a session with James, I always feel really zen and no longer troubled by the block. His approach is a hard thing to describe, but once you have it, you just get it.

In the high-stakes world of film scoring and supervision, do you find the shifts you made in your sessions stick with you when you're in the middle of a demanding production schedule or life's pressures?

I actually do. I feel like I can live in the moment a lot more effectively. My brain is no longer overcome with 'chat' and worry, I'm just there to do what it is I need to do. It feels like Practical Anne is in the driver's seat now... she's just getting on with what needs doing, not getting distracted by the things out of her control.

Trust is vital when looking inwards. How would you describe James's coaching style and the space he creates for you to explore those deeper professional or personal blocks?

Ah, he's really kind, really gentle. It's a very judgment-free space with James, but he's also not afraid to dig deeper and get to the root of the block. He does it with such ease that you hardly know he's there.

Now that you've cleared some of those internal barriers, what is the "Big Vision" for your future in your career and beyond? What kind of projects or creative risks are you excited to take on next?

I've reached a point in my career where I want to give back to others, to help the next generation of aspiring supervisors, artists, and composers to realise their dreams. Alongside this, I want to continue working on films and commercials that get me excited. And in terms of personal goals, I'm not making music as much these days, but I am working on a screenplay about my sister and I growing up. There's a ton of music in the script, obviously, so I just need to make sure that whoever directs will let me supervise :)

Finally, for others who are further into their music and film career who feel like they are "grinding" or getting in their own way, what would you say to them about the value of investing in themselves through this type of work?

You gotta be in a good place with yourself to be the best version of you, you know? As a person and as a professional. And by good, I don't necessarily mean just 'happy'. It's okay to feel sad, to sit with hard emotions, and when you're in that 'good space,' you should be able to do just that. What I love about MAP is that it helps you zoom in on what's getting in the way of that 'best version.' It does it in such a way that you're not even conscious that it's happening. Combine that with your own personal grit, focus, and an innate trust in yourself and this incredible world we inhabit, and you'll find your way through anything.