Composer Ken Brahmstedt and mixer Carl White, the creative partners behind BWN Music (Hollywood, Calif., and Minneapolis), have launched Black Label Music. The new venture, which is a sister company to BWN, specializes in creating high quality custom music for commercial, branded entertainment, TV and film projects. Black Label also provides music supervision and a la carte audio branding services. Fueling Black Label are L.A.-based composer Joe Wong, and producer/director of new business development Kari Sharff, who works out of the Minneapolis office.
While Brahmstedt remains a partner in BWN, his focus will be on custom composition at Black Label, a shop in which he’s also partnered. “We believe,” said Brahmstedt, “there is a resurgence of interest in high-end original music, as the catalogs continue to swell to a glut of mediocre offerings. While there is a place and project for all varieties of tracks and license types, we see these huge catalogs serving as the ‘fast fashion’ of music offerings–great on-trend pieces at a bargain price–whereas Black Label is positioned to create high-end, ‘couture’ music for a wide variety of projects.”
BWN Music (a.k.a. Brahmstedt White Noise) has 13 years of experience creating custom music as well as developing a hard working quality catalog. Now Black Label and BWN are elevating and separating those two services with BWN’s business now primarily in the music catalog arena. As partner/mixer of BWN and partner in the new Black Label Music, White noted, “I have the rare and fortunate opportunity of mixing a large number of high-end, national campaigns each year. It gives me a unique perspective to see the trends in terms of music that is being composed and licensed for these projects. To be able to share that with the Black Label team, I believe can only elevate our talents moving forward.”
Composer Wong joined BWN Music in 2014 and now shifts to Black Label. In addition to composing for commercial campaigns, Wong is in the midst of several television and film projects. “There are a lot of new music companies in the industry right now,” details Wong. “How we differentiate ourselves at Black Label, is that we are working musicians, many of us multi-instrumentalist who have a passion for listening to, performing, and composing music.”
Sharff moves over to Black Label after serving as business manager for BWN. “Now that we’ve placed our growing library in the skilled hands of the adept staff of BWN Music, we’ve focused our time and energy going after the projects that we find challenging and inspiring,” said Sharff. “We’d like more opportunities to work on the projects that are originated by some of the most creative minds worldwide.”
“When I work with Ken, Carl and the rest of crew; I know I’m getting real music and an opportunity to collaborate with some of the best,” said Anthony DiNicola, art director at ad agency Fallon. “They’ve provided me with epic tracks, quirky tunes and everything in between to make the work better than could ever be imagined. I’ve always appreciated how Ken and Carl continue to foster talent, by keeping in-studio staff composers, hiring young emerging artists, in addition to working with their vast network of freelance composers and musicians — pairing the right talent to each project. I look forward to working with the crew at Black Label, as I have on countless projects, for the best in original music.”
