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SOUND LIBRARIES www.postmagazine.com 22 POST SEPT/OCT 2020 Elias's catalogue is an outgrowth of its work in original music production for advertising. The company has supplied memorable scores for thousands of ads, including iconic spots for Apple, Nike, Nissan, Toyota, eBay and many other top brands. And it applies the same care and attention to catalogue pro- duction as it does to custom projects. "The creative team that handles our high-profile custom scoring and audio branding also produces exclusive music for the catalogue," explains executive creative director Vinnie LoRusso. "We come at it with the same talent, musi- cians and mindset." Elias has developed deep, ongoing relationships with its clients, including agencies who turn to the company for more than a one-off track for an ad. "Agencies are looking for a creative partner who can help define the sound of a brand," notes LoRusso. "That involves strategic advice and original scoring, but we might also curate a collection of music from our catalogue that they can utilize at various touch points." At the other end of the scale, Elias helps clients with limited time and resources get more than they might from a competitor that simply provides library tracks. "People come to us because of our catalogue, but when they discover everything else we do, it opens other opportunities," says Rabin. He notes that Elias's ability to customize tracks is a great way to maximize value. "For clients who want something more, we can remix tracks or remove elements to create a truly custom sound," he says. "When clients need it, we can edit tracks to picture, add instrumentation or vocals, or write an entirely new section." Elias also offers Shockwave, a premium sound design catalogue, whose ex- pansive range and modular design is specifically crafted to support visuals and transitions in ads, promos, trailers and other short-form media. "We are happy to work with clients that need a single track for a single project, but the difference is, we go beyond that," concludes LoRusso. "If they need something more overarching, we can do that too. We can help them with anything that involves music and sound." Yessian adds tracks, improves search site Yessian (www.yessian.com), the global collective of producers, composers, mu- sic supervisors, research creatives and recording artists, has added thousands of new music tracks over the last several months, and built its search site up with considerably more content. Yessian has locations in Detroit, New York, Los Angeles and Germany, and acts as a complete source for music, sound design and soundscapes. According to partner and CEO Brian Yessian, what sets the company apart from traditional music libraries is its ability to provide fully-customizable tracks, along with exclu- sive licensing or complete buyout opportunities for all types of media. Yessian specializes in pop, anthemic and orchestral music, as well as song- writing. Some of the company's recent clients include ViewSonic, Ford Motor Company, PetSmart and T-Mobile. Check out their music search page at: www. yessian.com/music-search. Turn It Up plays off Figure and Groove's strengths Figure and Groove (www.figureandgroove. com) offers audio post and custom scoring services, as well as their own music library, all via its Westchester, NY, studio. Matt de Luca says the studio has done a lot of custom scoring for reality series lately, and created the open for the US Open tennis tournament last year, which was used again this year. Their music catalogue is continually grow- ing, and their latest release, titled Turn It Up, represents what they do best, considering their background as rock musicians. Turn It Up, according to de Luca, features limited vocals and a style reminiscent of musician Jack White. The tracks are authentic, raunchy blues, recorded with lots of vintage analog gear. "We know our strengths," says de Luca, adding, that it's this type of music that their clients gravitate toward. Symmetry Volume 2 is also a staple of what clients come to Figure and Groove for. The al- bum features minimal and criminal electro-orchestral hybrids, with dark indus- trial edges and modern sci-fi/horror style. These scores are intensely impactful, with layers of tones and cinematic sound design for full dramatic depth. Figure and Groove follows a licensing model, with some clients signing blanket deals. Tracks can be previewed on their Website and downloaded in a range of file formats. Stephen Arnold's Vault is deep & customizable Stephen Arnold Music's (https://stephenarnoldmusic.com) production music arm, The Vault, features more than 200,000 tracks, produced either in-house or through one of the company's many creative partners. The library from the McKinney, TX-based company is notable for its high production value, utility and range, which spans virtually every genre, mood, application and subject matter. What really sets them apart, however, is their hands-on service. Clients of The Vault have access to Stephen Arnold Music's creative and production teams, who assist with everything from track selection to cus- tomizations. The Vault team can edit, remix, augment and even write lyrics, transforming an existing piece of music into something unique, memorable and on target. "As a sonic branding agency with more than 25 years of experience, we pro- vide a deep level of support to our production music clients," says VP of music services, Whitney Arnold. "We don't simply provide great tracks; we collabo- rate with our clients to produce great work." Gearbox Software, developer of the hugely popular Borderlands and Brothers In Arms game franchises, is a long-time client. In addition to composing original tracks for use in games, Stephen Arnold Music created Gearbox's sonic brand mnemonic, featured in Borderlands 3, as well as its downloadable content. Gearbox is also a frequent user of The Vault. Audio director Mark Petty explains that they use production music tracks to supplement custom compo- sitions. He notes that his team is invariably able to find something appropriate, even when they need something beyond the fringe. "The Borderlands 3 DLC, 'Bounty of Blood' includes a segment called 'Creature Features.' They're like something out of a 1950s Godzilla movie that plays in a theatre inside the game," Petty explains. "I was worried that we'd have trouble finding the period-specific pieces we needed in the library, but