Milestones were made in the music library industry in 2007. In addition to Getty‘s acquisition of Pump Audio, Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp., acquired Non-Stop Music, enhancing WCM’s presence in a fast-growing, high-margin segment of the music publishing business and underscoring the importance of film, television, Internet and corporate outlets to the music publishing industry.
Formed by two musicians in 1981, Non-Stop Music has built a library of more than 35,000 song titles that it licenses to film, television, Internet and corporate clients. Non-Stop also operates its own state-of-the-art recording studio and has a stable of musicians it draws upon to compose original film scores, music for film trailers, television theme songs, theme music for corporate films and commercial jingles.
“This is truly one of the brightest moments in our 26-year ride in the production music library business,” commented Randy Thornton, co-founder of Non-Stop, on the acquisition. “We have been continually surprised and thrilled by the strong reception we have gotten for our library from our growing client list and look forward to be part of one of the more forward-thinking music companies in the world.”
In yet another example, more recently in December, Chuck D, hip-hop icon and founding member of the controversial and pioneering rap group Public Enemy, signed a worldwide production deal with Killer Tracks. Chuck D’s new hip-hop music library, Chuck D Presents, will feature emerging artists and producers from his own record label, SLAMjamz Records, as well as guest performers including Public Enemy’s Professor Griff. The library will be distributed by Killer Tracks and is scheduled to launch in spring ’08.
Chuck D commented, “Killer Tracks has a reputation for delivering the best music in this industry. My production standards and policies stem from the SLAMjamz and Public Enemy approach of producing high-quality music that is diverse not only in sound and tempo but in attitude and purpose as well. Killer Tracks is the perfect fit. This partnership is a milestone not only in the music library business but also in the world of hip-hop.”
Looking ahead to ’08, outside-the-box thinking like the kind demonstrated by the aforementioned deals will be crucial as web, mobile and other new media content becomes increasingly popular. Music libraries will also need to respond to the prevalence of longer form projects. Below music library execs discuss their roles in the new year and trends in the music library/licensing arena and share their thoughts on longer form fare.
Steve Ellis
CEO
Pump Audio
The process of selecting the right piece of music is changing to reflect the changing styles of creativity now required across all media.
There are long form, short form, web and TV, and each has a different creative and editing style and most importantly each has its own budget, often widely different. When combined with the broader rights often needed in music clearance uses, the new approach to music licensing needs to be more of a service than a static library. The music needs to be authentic, constantly fresh and broad and flexible when it comes to use rights and price. It’s a complicated set of needs, but it provides a much greater opportunity for a wider array of artists, famous and independent, and I think it will develop further as the creative needs continue to change with the wider demands coming from the client.
Kat GreenVP of Music Production
Killer Tracks
Killer Tracks is finding that more and more advertisers are producing content outside the traditional :30- and :60 broadcast formats. As web, mobile and other new media content becomes increasingly popular, Killer Tracks is focusing on offering more flexibility than ever before with respect to both the music we produce and the licensing solutions we offer. On a production level, Killer Tracks releases always begin with a focused concept that keeps the end use in mind. In other words, for radio spots, we create tracks with multiple cut-down versions for fast and easy editing. Now that longer form spots are popular, we create tracks that fit the format by including edit points within the track itself. Once each project is complete, we determine additional effective ways of producing alternate mixes, underscores, 30-second cut-downs and even stings for the short or long form spots. Many tracks also feature loopable sections. The goal here is to make sure that the perfect piece of music can be used to complement content of any length and format.
From a licensing perspective, repurposing content is a major issue. Advertisers who create content for broadcast are now repurposing that content for new media. This means that we must be more flexible and forward thinking in the licensing solutions that we offer and, where possible, proactive in anticipating when a client might need to repurpose content for additional media.
Doug WoodPresident/CEO
Omnimusic
We have noticed an increased appetite among music supervisors for music that crosses traditional musical boundaries and defies categorization. Our new anti-library is called “Outside the Box,” and it’s made up of very modern and experimental tracks by some very interesting young concert composers. It’s designed for users who are looking for adventure in their music choices. Probably useless for real estate, banks, hair spray or soft drinks, but these days, who knows?
Nancy Jeffries
Creative development and licensing
MPL Music Publishing
The music library/pre -cleared approach is very interesting and lends itself to the reduced costs of production engendered by the digital revolution. Now one can legally get music for a low budget production and that’s great. Publishers need to be part of that trend and keep that customer on their list. Having said that, this does not take into account the feelings that a well-known song or a piece of music written by a great composer specifically for a film can create. Songs and scores that have that kind of “automatic” emotional impact are a different animal and need to be valued in a different way. An interesting side effect of the collapse of the traditional music business is that fewer new songs are becoming mainstream classics capable of enhancing a film project with its own layer of meaning. In the end this will make those songs in the public consciousness that much more valuable. Bottom line: two different markets, both worth the publisher’s time and effort.
