Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/34797
SonicIDs about them all the time. The sonic ID for The Daily Habit, which consists of interviews with athletes and montage segments of those athletes, as well as musical guests such as My Chemical Ro- mance, Cake and Vampire Weekend, fea- tures a fun, punkish power pop sound.“We wanted to highlight the fun aspect of cul- ture, and the characters within that culture and really emphasize that energy and excite- ment,” explains Katovsich. They did this with a combination of com- 615 Music created the theme song “Your Day is Today” for NBC’s show. The audio branding of a youth demo- graphic network is absolutely essential, he says. “An audio brand that is authentic is crucial and extremely valuable to let peo- ple know we are speaking to them and Seven libraries Intuitive searches Instant downloads Emmy® -winning composers Unbeatable customer service Blanket licenses - easy clearance Over 30 years of satisfied customers It’s no wonder so many top producers choose Omni! mercially available licensed music, via labels such as Vagrant, Stones Throw,Victory and Equal Vision, as well as with custom offerings featuring vocals. For their sound library needs they call on APM Music Library.“Most of the stuff from production libraries is instrumental, so to give it a little more per- sonality, we license commercial tracks with vocals.” In addition, Fuel TV has its own library of music — 4,000 tracks — that they “use under- neath the interviews to give it a little more depth,” he says. A lot of time and thought went into creating instantly rec- ognizable music for The Daily Habit’s open and graphic pack- age, which was designed by Elastic. “You want people to hear those first two notes and know The Daily Habit is on,” ex- plains Katovsich. “That is the primary goal of any open.” The audio package was cre- ated by Chazz Windus at LA’s Blazing Lazer, who has done a number of audio packages for the network. Machine Head, Echo Park and Brand New School have also supplied audio work for Fuel TV. In terms of direction, Ka- tovsich provided reference artists and adjectives, such as fun, youthful, energetic, exciting and dangerous, words he feels best represent the demo- graphic of Fuel TV and in par- ticular The Daily Habit. “We wanted something on the web at Omnimusic.com or call us at 1-800-828-6664 24 more classic, and providing ref- erence material was very im- portant. I would say to them, ‘Anything from ‘70s glam to early ‘80s punk to more cur- rent offerings,’ and it was Chazz’s job to make it into one amalgamation of greatness.” It’s also important not to Post • June 2011 www.postmagazine.com seem dated,” he says.“You want to go with something that was evergreen and classic, but still seem like it has serious relevance in the current world.That is the vibe we were going for.” WELL-CRAFTED MELODIES “Sonic branding is a way for businesses to have a unique audio signature in the marketplace,” says Randy Wachtler, presi- dent of Nashville-based 615 Music (www.615music.com), which offers a sound library in addition to its custom music offerings. He points to successful examples, such as the Intel Inside four-note ID, the three- note NBC chimes and even The Andy Grif- fith Show theme song. “Everyone remem- bers the whistling, and that is one of the reasons it was so successful — everybody can whistle it back. It’s the same thing with hit songs,” explains Wachtler. “If it has a re- ally strong melody that is a key for great sonic brands… well-crafted catchy little melodies. What better way to get in the minds of your customers?” Sonic brands can be made up of sound effects, music or a combination of both. He points to the Law & Order signature theme. “It’s very, very short. It’s not even really a musical phrase; it’s kind of a sound.There are a lot of ways to have a sonic brand and it’s important for the music house to discuss with the client what best fits their needs.” 615 Music created a theme song for NBC’s Today Show, called “Your Day is Today,” which won a national Emmy.“We branded it with their own melody and we also used the NBC notes at the end of the song, so there are two unique brands in there.” The client wanted something that sounded like a song you would hear on the radio instead of a jingle, so that is how 615 Music approached the job. “They wanted it really upbeat, positive and contemporary — other than that they gave us the line, ‘Your Day is Today,’ and we just went with it.” The result was a contemporary pop rock song, featuring guitars, bass, drums and key- boards. There was a female lead vocalist, something the client had wanted, as well as some background group vocals. 615 Music’s most recent sonic branding job was for KTLA news in Los Angeles. It’s the music package for their on-air news pro- gramming, and that includes the morning, noon, 5pm, 6pm and 10pm newscasts. Wachtler describes it as a four-note sonic brand.“When we do these types of custom sonic branded packages it’s for all of their on-air news sounds: news, sports and weather, public service, everything that’s as- Today