What lessons have you learned from 2021 that you will apply to 2022 and/or what processes and practices necessitated by the pandemic will continue even when the pandemic is (hopefully) over? (Remote work, use of Zoom enabling more people to be involved in the creative approval process, etc.)
During the pandemic period, we took steps to allow work to get done in different ways and different locations. We built a robust workflow to allow people to accomplish tasks at home that they used to do in the studio. We now produce more live recording sessions remotely via various platforms where musicians will record tracks individually in their home studios (or other studio locations). Orchestral sessions are more challenging. You can’t record a string or horn section at home. So, we’ve come up with different ways of placing and miking performers to accommodate safe spacing and protocols. We will record orchestral arrangements in separate sessions for each instrument set to minimize the number of people in the studio – violins, violas, celli, French horns, trumpets, etc. Each of these adjustments involves more time because we are recording music in layers, but the results are often better. This method has inadvertently given us more control over balancing the instrument parts, harmonies and articulations in the final mix.
Zoom and other similar platforms have proven to be a very good collaboration tool. It makes it easier for clients to be part of the creative process and offer virtual face-to-face, real-time feedback. In the past, clients might offer comments over the phone about music we produced the previous day. Now, everyone can listen to the creative work on the spot and comment in the moment. It creates a genuinely collaborative atmosphere.
How do new technologies, markets and platforms figure in your creative/business plans in 2022? For example, with NFTs gaining momentum, do you foresee related sound and music work resulting? Same for VR/AR? Will increased content spurred on by the emergence of additional streaming platforms open up music and sound opportunities for you? Any growth prospects in the advertising and/or entertainment industry?
More content is being produced than ever before, and all that content has an audio component. Podcasting is growing exponentially. Most podcasts are similar to television program formats. They require music for branding and production flow. Streaming media, too, continues to grow. That has led to a bump in the production of custom music for show themes and elements. On the advertising, promotions and marketing side, we’re seeing a surge in demand for production music, as agencies and brands need to distribute content across an ever increasing variety of platforms. As new types of media, such as NFTs and virtual reality, develop and proliferate, they too will create new demand for music, sonic branding and sound. From our point of view, it’s all good.
How has your role–or that of your business or company–evolved in recent years? What do you like most about that evolution? What do you like least?
We’ve evolved from music producer/composer into a full-service audio branding company. Historically, music and audio production were very specific tasks, but as media has developed and spread to new platforms, it has caused brands, agencies and producers to approach sound and music holistically. They need to build sonic brands that translate across every platform. This has fostered deeper conversations with our clients. Who are you? What do you stand for? Where do you want to be heard? Where do you want to be next year and the year after? We need to understand their whole brand and identity essence. As a creative company, our evolution into sonic branding is very satisfying. It’s no longer just about producing great songs and memorable mnemonics. We’re developing entire sonic landscapes.
What was the biggest creative challenge posed to you by a recent project? Tell us about that project, why the challenge was particularly noteworthy or gratifying to overcome, or what valuable lesson you learned from it.
Our team at Stephen Arnold Music was tasked with concepting, composing and producing all of the music for the rebrand of Al Jazeera Arabic to mark its 25th anniversary that debuted on November 1, 2021. We had five months to produce a new sonic identity and holistic custom music toolkit as part of a network relaunch that also included new sets, new technology and new graphics.
The deliverables encompassed in-show and ident music for the full 24-hours of network programming (morning, afternoon and evening news shows, magazine shows, interviews shows, etc.) as well as a multifaceted promo toolkit. The desired music style and production was cinematic, bold and ambitious – as sweeping and epic as any high-end blockbuster movie soundtrack. Every piece required a complex orchestral arrangement played by live musicians. Each had to be delivered in multiple timings and mixes.
We were also tasked with reimagining a sonic logo that had represented Al Jazeera since the late ‘90s. We took the existing melody, instantly recognizable by viewers worldwide, and refashioned it in new and exciting ways. We added unexpected flourishes, novel arrangements, unusual chords and harmonies. It sounds familiar, yet new. We made it friendlier, warmer, richer. The music launches Al Jazeera into their evolved identity while maintaining a connection to their legacy and past.
We worked with separate management teams at Al Jazeera on specific phases of the project – editorial/programming, brand identity, and promotions/marketing. We also liaised with project managers to coordinate our work with the production of set technology and graphics. Our team organized reviews with stakeholders through each phase of production and ensured that deadlines and milestones were met. The production of 30-plus unique compositions, with over 500 multiple variations, spanned five weeks of orchestral recording, with each recording week separated by two weeks of mixing, editing and deliverables.
A growing number of superstar artists and songwriters have been selling their music rights/catalogs in megabuck deals. What will be the ripple effect of this on music creatively and from a business standpoint relative to the advertising, film, TV and streaming platform markets?
Artists who sell their publishing rights no longer control how their work is used in the public sphere. If someone such as Neil Young sold the rights to his music, he could not prevent one of his songs from being used at a political rally that conflicted with his personal views. Still, it’s not hard to understand why artists are cashing in. It has become very difficult to make money in music publishing. Artists are paid a pittance by streaming services that have become the most popular way to listen to music.
The large music companies that are buying the catalogs of popular artists can ultimately do a better job at capitalizing on their value and opportunities with less restrictions. They have direct connections to producers, agencies, distributors and others that license music. For those music consumers, it also makes sense because it streamlines the licensing process. It’s easier to deal with three or four big music houses than hundreds of individual artists.
