Byline: SARAH BENZULY
You've heard production music libraries everywhere: in this year's Super Bowl television commercials, trailers for Hollywood blockbusters, dramatic themes on evolving Flash intros online, creative radio spots; you name it, they've been there.
Production music libraries are big business, bringing in top-tiered talents (composers, musicians, orchestrators, arrangers, engineers, producers and the like) and cashing in on up-and-coming artists, producing at big-name studios or the company's own state-of-the-art facility, recording at 24-bit/96k and taking full advantage of the quick accessibility of the Internet. The last time we visited production music libraries, watermarking and licensing were at the forefront of these companies' minds. While these issues remain a part of business, library creators are embracing the Internet, providing editors with quick access to searchable databases, auditioning files and downloading - right there and then in the midst of a heated editing session; no more waiting for FedEx to arrive. Moreover, library collections are expanding to include thousands of styles, ranging from mainstream rock/pop/rap/hip hop/classical/children's themes to wacky/off-the-wall/atmospheric/Star Wars - influenced/comedic categories that can be used in anything from demos, records, remixes, commercials, jingles, post-production apps, soundtracks for film, theater, musicals, live performance, computer games and multimedia productions. We scoured the top libraries to bring you some examples of your options.
Geared toward the filmmaker, broadcaster, multimedia developer and video producer, 615 Music (www.615music.com) releases three to six new discs each quarter, with the content based on current styles and client feedback. Each disc offers 12 to 17 themes in addition to alternate mixes - which feature less melody, thinner texture and/or no vocals - for narrative and underscore applications. Recordings are created in its brand-new 615 Studios. (Take a tour at www.615custom.com.) Online, Mac and PC users can search, preview and download the company's entire 175-CD library (including edits and alternate versions). 615 Music expands on its fully orchestrated film score - styled Hollywood Premieres with Volume 2. Other new releases include Techno/Dance/Remix, an all-live Big Band and Hip Hop.
Produced by Soundtrack Recording Studios (Boston and New York City), Aircraft Music Library's (www.aircraftmusiclibrary.com) newest releases include The Latin Compilation, Ads Up! (designed for retail), American Music Series (a seven-CD collection chronicling the States' musical heritage), Cinemusic, designed specifically for the long-format producer, and Rock Sweepers and Ids to add a hot rock riff and effect to any production. Now seating CDs 65 and higher, these releases offer Co-Pilot, a slew of submixes to create custom combinations of instruments, taking out the melody, bringing in the strings, etc. Connecting Flights, found on each CD's inside cover, displays notes connecting the user to other cuts in the library with complementary tracks. Editors can search for tracks and titles online; auditioning requires RealPlayer and a 58kbps or faster connection.
Like The Turban's quirky rendition of "Jingle Bells" on Six Feet Under?s Boutique production house Amusicom Record' (www.amusicom.com) recently renovated studio has also hosted Rudy & The Surf Kings, the Top Hatters and Swingin' Steve Lucky, among other top-notch musicians contributing to the company's more than 1,000 available pieces of music. The library's entire catalog can be easily searched by genre, style, instrumentation and description via the Online Music Search System; auditioning requires the Windows Media Player.
This month, APM (www.apmmusic.com) launches its MyAPM, an expanded online music-management portal where users can choose from 54 main categories that break down to 2,018 subcategories - accessing more than 175,000 different tracks (more than 20 libraries) for use in film, television, radio and new-media production. In addition to recordings by Ireland harpist Turlough Carolan from West One Music; libraries from major labels, including EMI Group and BMG; the surround-ready Sonoton; flavors from across the globe, such as the French-infused Kosinus, Australia's Castle and German-based Gerhard Trede; sports programming on NFL Films Music Library; and the Producer's Music Library, which offers contemporary cues created by Emmy Award - winning and Academy Award - nominated composer Barry DeVorzon and conductor Richard Hazard, APM adds about 25 collections to its library each month. New releases from the catalog include Sabrason, featuring Cuban recording artists; the ambient, progressive Mesmerise; and recordings from composers Patrick Murdoch, Michael Rheault and Tim Willis on Route 66.
Focusing on radio customers, Bob Mithoff's Bob's Music Cafe (www.music forradio.com) offers the four-CD 101 Classic Themes: Broadcast Edition, which is divvied up into 14 categories (rock, blues, wacko, jazz, pop, etc.). With voice-over, promo and "theater of the mind" productions, each track was created with subtlety in mind. While Net surfers can only audition 30 of the library's tracks, interested buyers must contend with snail mail to receive their set.
Utilizing the talents of outside composers and musicians and third-party studios, Canary Music's (www.canarymusic.com) library is geared for radio and television/video production, educational purposes, music-on-hold and new media. The ubiquitous yellow discs are available as an audio CD or Mac/PC hybrid CD-ROM (free with audio CD), and the library is updated with five to 10 new CDs every six months. Users can only preview the audio online.
Targeting specific demographics, budgets and producer needs, CSS Music's (www.cssmusic.com, www.dawnmusic.com) 17 libraries are available on CD-ROM, single-track or bulk downloads, or the company's UltraEdit hard drive system (Mac/PC), where editors can perform a search via an onboard database, instantly play a selection, locate the file, build a custom playlist, burn a CD and create cue sheets - all in one handheld Plug-n-Play Avid-friendly system. UltraEdit comes in MP4 (AAC) or .WAV versions; CSS also offers MP4 files in its Q-Tune - format CD-ROMs (225 CDs' worth on 26 CD-ROMs with a keyword database). Both CSS Websites feature a keyword database and full-length, low-resolution streamed samples, including the new David Wurst - composed Super Themes Library for film and TV.
The first volume in the Cycle Series from Cycling '74 (www.cycling74.com), the dual-disc Sustained Encounters was produced/curated by Ron MacLeod (creator of the Poke in the Ear libraries) and features long, evolving environments and unfolding atmospheres. The library's 24-bit/48k .WAV files are prepared for film, DV and multimedia productions; 44.1k versions are included. The high-capacity DVD-ROM and standard audio CD release also includes a sampling of 5.1 multichannel pieces. The files are seamlessly looped end-to-end for laying down beds that are imported directly to a DAW, playback in loop sequencers or manipulation by samplers.
Tapping the state-of-the-art equipment at Angel Studios (London), DeWolfe Music Library (www.dewolfemusic.com) offers the DeWolfe, Rouge, Hudson, Millenium, DeWolfe USA and Commercial Breaks catalogs, with more than 45 different categories. Online, editors can search, sample and order music from the entire catalog, including nine new releases such as the spiritually infused Classically Chilled, which was composed by Troy Banarzi.
Founded in 1988 by Doug Rogers (Gold and Platinum-winning engineer, as well as "Recording Engineer of the Year" Award), East-West (www.soundsonline.com) has amassed a library of more than 500,000 titles from such artist/producer/engineers as Prince's rhythm section, Bob Clearmountain, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer and Public Enemy. In addition to its catalog, East-West represents leading sound developers including Audio Adventures, Audio Icons, Best Service (Germany), DUBLAB (Denmark), Embrace the Future, Numerical Sound (Canada), Power FX (Sweden), Toontrack Music (Sweden), Ueberschall (Germany), Quantum Leap, XSample (Germany) and Zero-G (UK). Online, users can browse and download libraries, including the new Symphonic Orchestra (co-produced by Rogers and Quantum Leap's Nick Phoenix), which was recorded at a state-of-the-art $125 million concert hall with custom-built recording equipment by Professor Keith O. Johnson. This is the company's first 24-bit orchestral sample library to include three simultaneous stereo mic setups (close, stage, hall), so users can mix together any combination of mic positions to control tone and ambience. Each volume comes as a virtual instrument powered by Native Instruments' Kontakt audio engine.
