Albuquerque Studios and Los Angeles-based house Groove Addicts have entered into a strategic partnership whereby the latter’s music catalog for film and TV productions can be accessed for projects being made in New Mexico, thus tapping into that state’s 25 percent rebate incentive.
Uses for the catalog include temp tracks, background cues, songs, music supervision, trailer music or sound design for commercial TV or film projects. More than 40,000 music tracks will be available for immediate download and license from Groove Addicts’ servers at Albuquerque Studios.
Groove Addicts produces a dozen catalogs in-house, in addition to handling many leading music catalogs from around the world. The company continues to expand its libraries’ inventories for film, TV, radio, video, audio, video game and multimedia producers.
The deal between Albuquerque Studios and Groove Addicts brings music and sound into the incentives arena at an opportune time given the state of the economy, resulting in tighter budgets and increased cost consciousness.
“This is a perfect complement to our existing production services. It is an extreme value that is unique to New Mexico, and fits right in with our plan to extend the broad range of services that are available to Albuquerque Studios’ clientele. We look forward to working with Groove Addicts’ principal Dain Blair, and the creative energy his entire team brings to the table of the New Mexico film industry,” said Albuquerque Studios’ COO Smerigan.
Blair, who has been an integral part of the acquisitions and licensing of rights for projects involving artists such as, Madonna, U2, and The Police, and feature films such as Iron Man, No Country for Old Men, and I Am Legend, stated “I see this as a win/win/win situation for Albuquerque Studios, their clients, and Groove Addicts….adding a first-class music solution for their [Albuquerque Studios’] clients.”
Albuquerque Studios is a full-service studio complex situated on 42 acres and offering eight soundstages as well as assorted production services and resources.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More