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/….
L.A. Location Lensing Declines In 2024 Despite Uptick In 4th Quarter
FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, has issued an update regarding regional filming activity. Overall production in Greater Los Angeles increased 6.2 percent from October through December 2024 to 5,860 Shoot Days (SD) according to FilmLA’s latest report. Most production types tracked by FilmLA achieved gains in the fourth quarter, except for reality TV, which instead logged its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline.
The lift across all remaining categories came too late to rescue 2024 from the combined effects of runaway production, industry contraction and slower-than-hoped-for post- strike recovery. With just 23,480 SD filmed on-location in L.A. in 2024, overall annual production finished the year 5.6 percent below the prior year. That made 2024 the second least productive year observed by FilmLA; only 2020, disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw lower levels of filming in area communities.
The continuing decline of reality TV production in Los Angeles was among the most disappointing developments of 2024. Down 45.7 percent for the fourth quarter (to 774 SD), the category also finished the year down 45.9 percent (to 3,905 SD), which placed
it 43.1 percent below its five-year category average.
The two brightest spots in FilmLA’s latest report appeared in the feature film and television drama categories. Feature film production increased 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter to 589 SD, a gain analysts attribute to independent film activity. The
California Film & Television Tax Credit Program also played a part, driving 19.2 percent of quarterly category activity. Overall, annual Feature production was up 18.8 percent in 2024, though the... Read More