Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1300552
SOUND LIBRARIES www.postmagazine.com 21 POST SEPT/OCT 2020 lease additional songs on an ongoing basis. Re|Covered music is available with one-stop licensing for both mas- ters and publishing. Each song in the Re|Covered catalogue has been creatively re-interpreted by top vocalists and musicians, and produced using top recording techniques. For the Bill Withers' classic "Lean on Me", acclaimed pianist Pat Coil teamed with percussionist Shardé Thomas to create a soulful rendition of the track. Other artists contributing to the project include jazz vocalist Oliver Kuper Harris, soul singer Luke McMaster and multi-platinum recording artist Clair Marlo. Re|Covered songs are well suited for use in adver- tising, cinema, television, games and other media. Most songs are available with stems, and include vocal and instrumental versions. "We've responded to numerous requests from content creators with a collection unique in production music," explains SVP of global repertoire for UPPM, Ken Nelson, who oversaw the project. "These are outstand- ing recordings, performed with style and passion. We invested our heart and soul in these songs, and look forward to many future releases." The collection also includes the songs "You Are So Beautiful", "Even the Nights Are Better", "Love Is Alive", "California Dreaming", "All Through the Night", "Get Together", "Girl Power", "Mississippi Queen", "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", "You're So Vain" and "We're Not Gonna Take It", along with many others. Elias Music: More than just a catalogue Full-service music agency Elias Music (www.eliasmusic. com), based in Santa Monica, CA, boasts a catalogue of tens of thousands of premium tracks across a range of contemporary genres. The company also offers custom music production, sound design and audio branding, and represents a deep selection of up-and-coming indie artists for licensing opportunities. Having all those resources under one roof positions Elias as a 'one-stop shop', with the ability to deliver whatever clients need in terms of music. "We never say 'no,'" explains executive VP, Mitch Rabin. "We have a fantastic catalogue, but we also score new work. We offer music supervision and music clear- ance. Having production resources, we can customize catalogue tracks to fit the creative brief, and because all of our music was produced by our team, we have imme- diate access to the original elements." 5 Production Music Secrets Revealed BY JONATHAN PARKS FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALIBI MUSIC LOS ANGELES WWW.ALIBIMUSIC.COM That extra connection viewers feel with a brand…their growing anticipation for an upcoming film…the goosebumps they get during an intense scene. The production music you choose — whether overtly or subtly used — plays an indelible role in shaping experiences and moving audiences to action. And while you may work with it every day (some of us in a love-hate rela- tionship kind of way), there are five things many people don't know about production music. "Royalty-free" is a misnomer: While production music libraries often bill themselves as licensing "royalty-free" music, it's important to note that someone does actually pay these vital fees that are part of the income for full-time, professional artists and composers. If your commercial, trailer or program is broadcast or streamed, for example, the royalties are already covered as part of the yearly fees networks and streamers pay to performance royalty organi- zations (PROs). Every music track can have 400 fields of data attached to it: Behind every production music track you search are as many as 400 unique fields of data that have been input meticu- lously to get you that result. Creatively, this data helps define the music in search engines. On the publishing side, it helps ensure that artists and composers are fairly compensated by the PROs. Detailed, accurate data may not sound like the sexiest part of production music, but it is absolutely clutch in giving editors an efficient way to find music that works for their projects. So, next time you find that perfect track for your project, throw the data wizards a little love for making it possible. Knowing what you don't want in a production music track is often the best way to discover what you do want: Let's face it. The blank page on anything — whether it be writing, produc- ing, editing or just creating in general — is daunting. Similarly, the search for creative assets like production music can yield editors that same frustration — a block to clarity in knowing what you want. You start with a few ideas, hoping they'll somehow lead you down the path to the perfect track. This is when I say, "think negative", as in [negative search]. By filtering out those elements you know you don't want, you'll make it far more efficient to find music tracks that will work for a project. The best music tracks for editing actually look like mountain ranges in structure: A good story isn't flat, and the music to back up that story can't be flat either. If you picture the classic, three-act story structure of setup, confrontation and resolution translated as an audio wave, you'd see an arc. Add in numerous build options and edit points, and you'll see a mountain range. Whether cutting a program or a promo, feature film or trailer, videogame or commer- cial, that mountain range sets you up for highs and lows, breaks in the action, climax and conclusion. The key is structuring music with versatility and emotion, designed with the unique needs of editors in mind. Production music from real bands doesn't always mean it's real good: One of the reasons we haven't focused on bringing bands into the catalogue is that the songs in our production music library are written especially for Alibi using a given structure, tone and message. This gives composers and artists purpose, relieving the pressure they often put on themselves when creating their own material. The output — free from any preconceived direction of an established band — tends to resonate more with viewers, who often actively seek it out just as they would any new music that draws them. The added benefit? They'll remember the brand or show that introduced them to it. Rabin LoRusso