Yessian Music, bicoastal and Detroit, has extended its reach globally, launching an office in Hamburg, Germany, with executive producer Ingmar Rehberg. As a seasoned performer with over 500 live concerts to his name, Rehberg brings to Yessian 10 years as a music producer for Germany’s advertising industry. The opening in Hamburg continues Yessian’s international push. The company has created and licensed tracks for global projects in Europe, China, Australia, South America, Africa, Japan and Russia. Yessian has been working with German agency Grabarz & Partner on successful campaigns for Volkswagen and Ikea, with BBDO/Moscow for Pepsi, and on a 4D theater experience at the Happy Valley amusement park in Shenzhen and Shanghai China. Currently, Yessian is creating music for an entertainment venue in Abu Dhabi.
Yessian has also taken on a mix of stateside projects, including GMC’s “Tilt” for Digitas Boston, a whimsical spot featuring “Dream A Better Way,” a novel tune written and sung by Tim Hanuaer; rap lyrics and music for Bounty Paper Towels viral videos out of Publicis New York; and music for Triangle, an interactive story created for the iPad, produced by Tool of North America and conceived and directed by Tom Routson (SHOOT, 8/20)….MusicBox, an original music production and music licensing company in Calabasas, Calif., which provides over 16,000 songs and tracks from its original music catalogs, has signed an exclusive U.S. administration deal by which the company will handle the licensing of 700-plud songs from indie artists, from the Hella Good Records (HGR) record label. Joel Goodman, MusicBox founder, said, “We have wanted to add a high quality song catalog of current bands and artists for some time now. When I listened to the music from Hella Good, I knew we found the right music for our clients.” Based in Encino, Calif. Hella Good Records is known for opening the industry door for indie bands and singers/songwriters. Its artists include The John Mancini Band, Hazelmain, The Good Fiction, Channel Theory, Milquetoast & Co., Defibulators, Bardo, Blindswitch, Run The Red Light, Salme Dahlstrom, and Mod Amish. Meanwhile MusicBox provides all genres of music to network and cable TV programs, TV promos, major motion pictures, independent films, movie trailers, national advertising campaigns, and radio spots. Representing 14 unique catalogs, the MusicBox offerings are well suited for all underscoring needs. Combined with staff composers, music editors and a recording studio, MusicBox can deliver customized music quickly and competitively….Richard Stumpf has been appointed president of Imagem Music USA, the American branch of the pop music publishing company owned by Imagem. Stumpf’s hiring was announced by André de Raaff, CEO of Imagem, which also owns the giant publishing brands Rodgers & Hammerstein (musicals) and Boosey & Hawkes (classical music). Stumpf was most recently the senior VP of creative services & marketing at Cherry Lane Music, where he oversaw writer and joint venture signings, catalog acquisitions, and copyright exploitation. Stumpf’s roster at Cherry Lane included such artists as The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Mick Mars, David Cook, Quincy Jones, Wolfmother, and The Sex Pistols. He sits on boards for the American Association of Independent Music and the Association of Independent Music Publishers. “The opportunity to expand the Imagem Pop brand into the US using the ‘writer first’ service-oriented philosophy that I used in building up Cherry Lane, is extremely exciting,” said Stumpf. “I’ve met very few people with the passion that André has and I am thrilled that he has entrusted me with this task. To succeed today, you have to be quick on your feet and willing to explore new ways of doing things. André and I share this vision. The sister companies of Imagem Music USA–Rodgers & Hammerstein and Boosey & Hawkes–are ‘best in breed’ and come with extremely talented music executives. It will be a pleasure to work alongside them as I build the contemporary music company.” Recent Imagem Music USA signings include the work of Phil Collins and Genesis….Omnimusic, a Port Washington, NY-based production music company headed by founder/CEO Doug Wood, has created a series of videos that use humor, satire and social commentary along with animated text to demonstrate’s music’s unique power to fuel the imagination. Omni’s new “Track of the Week” videos are being posted on the company’s newly designed video web site and YouTube video channel. The fast-paced, mini music videos were created by Wood and video artist Rob Bellon, and cover a wide range of subjects from the worldwide economic meltdown to political elections to the hectic pace of the average business day. “No matter what idea you’re trying to communicate, you can do it better with the right music” said Bellon. “We figured the easiest way to prove it was to do it.” The current track of the week can be viewed at http://www.omnimusic.com/totw/….
Michelle Satter To Be Honored At Sundance Film Festival Gala
The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced details for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute, which will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The event will be an evening in celebration of Michelle Satter, founding sr. director of artist programs at Sundance Institute, for her longstanding commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through the Sundance Labs, where visionary artists convene to develop groundbreaking projects through an in-depth creative process, for the past four decades. The annual Vanguard Awards will be presented during the evening to Sean Wang, writer and director of Dìdi, and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane, who premiered their films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The annual gala enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists from all over the world. The 2025 event is made possible with the generous support of Google TV. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling.
“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” said Amanda Kelso, acting CEO of Sundance Institute. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem. Her life-long commitment to supporting artists, especially in underrepresented... Read More