Anarchy Reigns For PrimalScream Music in New FX Network Spots
Los Angeles, CA (August 28, 2008) – PrimalScream Music (www.primalscreammusic.com <http://www.primalscreammusic.com> ), an independent music company headed by Nicole Dionne who creates new music for advertising, is currently featured as part of a national advertising campaign for Sons of Anarchy, the new series about the unsavory and corrupt world of motorcycle clubs from FX Network. The show makes its debut on September 3rd.
FX Networks selected PrimalScream Music in June to create new music for the Internet and Television advertising campaign around their buzz-worthy new series. Dionne selected the musicians, produced and quickly delivered the track “The Dream We Left Behind” from the Los Angeles-based band Pedestrian (http://www.myspace.com/pedestrianmusic).
With a fabulous short treatment on the main character supplied by FX, Dionne quickly honed in on Pedestrian. As is her specialty, Dionne didn’t immediately go for an obvious ‘name’ band for the high profile spot.Instead, she envisioned the melodic rock band as the ideal musicians to convey the grit and the complex subtleties within the series by using an amped-up hard rock track featured in the trailer. FX Network loved the spots and gave a green light to the project only five days after contacting PrimalScream Music.
“We tend to be very picky when it comes to the music in our trailers,” said John Varvi, Senior Vice President of On-Air Promotions at FX Network. “It's one reason why we often gravitate to popular recordings. However, for Sons Of Anarchy we needed a special track, a tune that could bridge the gap between emotion and anarchy. PrimalScream Music really delivered a top notch piece. Even more impressive, Nicole Dionne turned it around for us in record time. It was a great experience.”
“Nicole Dionne is ambitious, hard working and creative. I have known Nicole for many years and have always appreciated her taste in music,” said Joel Shearer of the band Pedestrian. “She has always attached herself to talented, interesting artists. Nicole was around during the very beginning of Pedestrian and has always been supportive of our growth. I am happy she asked us to write the track, “The Dream We Left Behind” because it is outside of what we normally do and we were up for the challenge to write a song the way someone else wanted to hear it, removing our ego and just being the paint basically.”
In the past year, PrimalScream Music has been involved in many major advertising campaigns. Starz TV contacted PrimalScream Music for their “Shine” rebranding of the network for all 10 of its HD and SD channels. Instead of a single song, PrimalScream Music created an entire soundtrack for the brand that managed to unify all the channels. Additionally, the Florida Citrus “Miracle” spots created by PrimalScream Music were named to ShootMagazine's Top 10 Spot Tracks in the March 2008 issue and they created music for a Firestone commercial spot directed by noted Director Kinka Usher.
ABOUT PRIMALSCREAM MUSIC PrimalScream Music (http://www.primalscreammusic.com/) is an independent music company headed by Nicole Dionne, who creates original music for advertising. Unlike traditional music supervisors, PrimalScream Music creates soundtracks for brands that are iPod worthy. PrimalScream Music does not use canned music from a library of pre-existing music nor do they use in-house commercial composers. Original music is created, written, produced and delivered specifically to each client. Formed in 1995, PrimalScream Music has worked with a wide range of musicians and composers in all genres of music in a collaborative environment for a diverse set of clients including BMW, Starz TV Network, Visa, Sony PlayStation, Home Depot, UPS, Pepsi, Intel, Wachovia Securities and many more. They do not do Jingles.
New Series “Sons of Anarchy” Spots Are Anything But Pedestrian
Score Fest Is Coming!
July 21, 2008
Top NYC TV/film/video game composer Steve Horowitz and his group, The Code Ensemble, are putting on Score Fest. A two-night celebration with 14 players, live actors panels and film screenings, this event is the MSCentral Pick of the Week! Mark it in your calendar, and see full information at:
http://www.thecodeinternational.com/scorefest/
New Web Marketplace for Films
June 9, 2008
Convergence Alert: The Tribeca Film Institute and Amazon are teaming to create a new digital marketplace for a treasure trove of indie films and videos.
This is the latest development to assist music supervisors and artists in reaching a wider audience -- and requiring that their licensing be in order for digital distribution.
You know the soundtrack to Sex and the City should be good -- here's more info on it. The following was released by representatives of New Line Records:
NEW LINE RECORDS TO RELEASE “SEX AND THE CITY” MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK – MAY 27TH HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SOUNDTRACK FEATURING SONGS FROM FERGIE, JENNIFER HUDSON, AND JEM, AS WELL AS INDIE.ARIE, AL GREEN, JOSS STONE AND MORE
(NEW YORK, April 21) — New Line Records will release the original soundtrack to what promises to be the movie event of the year: the feature film version of the beloved HBO television series Sex And The City, which is due in theaters from New Line Cinema on May 30th, 2008.
Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, released on May 27th, was created by in-demand music producer Salaam Remi (Nas, Amy Winehouse, the Fugees), whose challenge, says the film’s writer and director
Michael Patrick King, was “to create a soundtrack for the ultimate movie about love.” Remi wrote a brand-new opening number for the film, “Labels or Love,” which, as sung by pop superstar Fergie, re-imagines the series’ iconic theme as a fabulous pop song.
“I grew up watching Sex and the City,” Fergie says, “and I know a lot of my girlfriends did as well. We felt like these characters were our friends, so to be a part of this project has been amazing. I’m such a fan of the show and am very flattered that they asked me to be involved.”
The soundtrack also features a brand-new song from Oscar-winning diva Jennifer Hudson, who plays a personal assistant to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in the film.
Hudson shows off her powerful pipes on “All Dressed in Love” (written by MC Jack Splash and Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green), which plays over the end credits. “Jennifer makes it almost impossible not to dance out of the theater,” King says.
The remainder of Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is an eclectic mix of songs from such artists as Indie.Arie, Jem, Al Green and Joss Stone (with Stone’s vocal recorded especially for the soundtrack), and indie bands Morningwood, The Bird & the Bee, and The Weepies. The disc also includes classics from Nina Simone and Run-D.M.C. See below for the full track-listing.
“My hope for the soundtrack is that listening to the music will create a special memory for the fans,” King says, “something to help them remember the movie about the love lives of their favorite girls: Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha.”
Sex and the City: the Movie continues where the a
cclaimed, award-winning television series left off by following the adventures of the show’sfashion-forward foursome as they deal with sex, love, and relationships in the city that never sleeps. Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon all reprise their roles, while Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, and
Jason Lewis return as the women's love interests. The film was written and directed by
Michael Patrick King, and produced by King, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Melfi, and Darren Star, who created the series based on the best-selling book by Candace Bushnell.
New Line Cinema will release Sex and the City in theaters nationwide on May 30th, 2008. Exclusive ringtones for the soundtrack will be available on April 25th by texting “SEXCITY” to 71777. The full track-listing for Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is as follows:
1. “Labels or Love” - Fergie 2. “All Dressed In Love” - Jennifer Hudson 3. “The Look Of Love” (Madison Park vs Lenny B Remix) - Nina Simone 4. “
New York Girls” - Morningwood 5. “All This Beauty” - The Weepies 6. “I Like The Way” - Kaskade 7. “It's Amazing” - Jem 8. “How Deep Is Your Love” - The Bird & The Bee 9. “The Heart Of The Matter” - India.Arie 10. “Auld Lang Syne” - Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis 11. “Kissing” - Bliss 12. “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” - Al Green featuring Joss Stone 13. “Walk This Way” - Run-D.M.C. featuring Steve Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith 14. “Sex and the City Movie Theme” - The Pfeifer Broz. Orchestra
About New Line Records: New Line Records, a division of New Line Productions, has been releasing recorded music since 2002. Distributed through Warner Music Group's independent arm
ADA, NLR has released over 50 titles including the soundtracks to Elf, Wedding Crashers, The Notebook, A Prairie Home Companion, The Departed, and Hairspray. It's 2008 release slate includes Sex and The City, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, He's Just Not That Into You and Four Christmases.
MySpace Teams with Majors
April 4, 2008
Convergence continues apace! UMG, Sony BMG, and Warner have teamed with MySpace to make their entire music catalogs available for listening and downloading on a new joint Website they'll be creating.
Eternal indie rock act Flat Duo Jets were selected by an intrepid Music Supervisor for the 2006 movie Two Headed Cow. Read more -- the following was released by representatives of Flat Duo Jets:
Flat Duo Jets unveil soundtrack to documentary film, groundbreaking garage-blues duo influenced Jack White, Chan Marshall, Neko Case and many more.
From the late ‘80s to mid-90s, the intrepid garage-blues duo -- that’s right, such a thing did exist before the White Stripes -- the Flat Duo Jets paved a rollicking path with its raw intensity and soulful charm. While the band is now long gone, the duo has announced release of Two Headed Cow, the soundtrack to the 2006 documentary of the same name. The disc contains seventeen unreleased tracks recorded in 1986, ranging from early FDJ favorites (“My Life, My Love”, “Mexicali Baby”) to jaw dropping cover tunes (The Collins Kids’ “Hoy Hoy”, Ray Charles’ “Mary Ann”).
Two Headed Cow is a movie about roots rocker Dexter Romweber and his music. His original band the Flat Duo Jets was one of the most influential bands of the last two decades and has been an inspiration for many other musicians from Jack White and Cat Power to the Rev. Horton Heat and Neko Case (White, Chan Marshall aka Cat Power and Case appear in the film along with Exene Cervenka and
Jason Edge of the Original Sinners.) Visually stunning and filmically poetic -- and featuring original black and white footage dating back to 1986 -- Two Headed Cow traces the formative years of the band through their signing to a major label through the break-up and Dexter’s life today. It tells the story of an artist who never compromised and never backed down. The film was directed by Tony Gayton (Athens, Ga. - Inside/Out, Murder By Numbers), produced by Emmy winning casting director Lisa Wells Fincannon and Bill Cody along with executive producers Craig Fincannon and Frank Capra, Jr. premiering at the Full Frame documentary film festival in Durham, NC April 8th, 2006.
With origins dating back to the mid-80s, Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Flat Duo Jets finally made the leap to a major label in 1998. However, it was not coincidental that the label they moved to, Outpost Recordings, was overseen by highly esteemed alternative rock forefather and R.E.M. producer Scott Litt. He had seen the band develop over a 10-year period and considered the duo (vocalist/guitarist Dexter Romweber and drummer Crow) to be “phenomenal’. Their energetic revival of early rockabilly had first come to prominence after featuring in the 1986 music documentary, Athens, Ga. - Inside/Out. They subsequently released a series of independent albums for a variety of local labels, with highpoints including 1990’s self-titled long-playing debut and 1993’s White Trees.
For Flat Duo Jets’ Outpost debut, Lucky Eye, Litt contracted dB’s alumnus Chris Stamey, who worked alongside him as co-producer. Sessions were completed at the Muscle Shoals Sound studios in
Alabama, and over 18 tracks explored roots rock, traditional R&B and surf guitar with Romweber’s distinctive playing being influenced by old rockabilly records, and Charlie Feathers in particular. A 12-piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by Susie Katayama, contributed to songs such as “New York Studio 1959” and “Lonely Guy”. Other contributors included Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher, the horn players for the Squirrel Nut Zippers. By 1999 the band had broken up. It was nevertheless stated that there was a “strong possibility” that the duo would work together again in the future. Romweber carried on the Flat Duo Jets mix of rockabilly, blues and surf music on a number of well-received solo releases.
Expansion Team for Martin Agency, ESPN
March 13, 2008
Sonic branding for sports continues to be a fertile field for music supervisors and the artists who work with them. The following was released by Expansion Team:
NEW YORK, NY: For The Martin Agencys, Richmond, VA, first campaign for ESPN an on-going campaign spotlighting the networks college basketball schedule entitled The Bracket Beyond The Bracket -- the company turned to award-winning music/sound design/licensing house Expansion Teamto create a signature track that would both capture the stadium energy of a typical college basketball game and also provide a recognizable audio signature for the long-term campaign.
Expansion Team responded with an original track from producer/composer The G:neus (aka Mike Genato) that deftly meshes a hip-hop groove with the kind of foot-stomping rhythm heard from the stands at most college sports events. Adding to the audio ambience was Expansion Team sound designer Jesse Peterson, who created a unique palette of basketball inspired sound design to heighten the energy and realism of the campaign.
The Martin Agency was looking for big stadium energy that didnt go anywhere near obvious clichs like college band drumlines or epic sports themes," said Alex Moulton, Expansion Teams creative director. We all agreed on a hip-hop direction. We offered several possible directions, but it all cycled back to a track by The G:neus called Dust that we initially gave to production/design house EyeballNYC, New York, who created the visual look of the campaign, for their pitch.
Visually the spot combines 3D animation of a college bracket system usually seen during March Madness hovering like a web of constellations in outer space. Various animated lines of the brackets branch out and point to exciting game footage promoting the particular nights match-ups.
Audio-wise the track sounds massive, with layer upon layer building on this simple foot-stomp pattern, notes Moulton. Moreover, this campaign is a great example of what makes Expansion Team unique in the world of music and sound design for advertising. The G:neus isnt a jingle writer, hes a recording artist with success on his own as a hip-hop/R&B producer and his drum n bass project Mathematics. Because of our unique structure, we provide agencies like The Martin Agency a means to tap into a whole other world of creative possibilities beyond what typical audio houses provide. Its what makes Expansion Team unique and why this campaign sounds like no other ESPN campaign before it.
Dragon Licks Licenses for GMC, Jeep, Izod
March 6, 2008
Dragon Licks, from Michigan's Yessian Music, has their own twist on music licensing, and has been having success with their model lately.
See below for more details -- the following was released by Dragon Licks:
March 5, 2008 New York, NY
Dragon Licks (www.dragonlicks.com) is Yessian Music’s (www.yessian.com) licensing and research division. It has collected some of the hottest indie and renowned talents in the music industry and made them available to the world of advertising, TV, film and video games. The company has sought out and continues to seek out artists and bands for exclusive licensing for their pre-recorded songs as well as for assignments to create original compositions for these media entities. Dragon Licks also handles licensing research for popular well-known artists signed to major record labels. It provides clients with a one-stop solution to enhance, edit, mix or rearrange these well-known songs for specific commercial, film or TV usage. Here are a few of our recent accomplishments:
GMC – Acadia Launch Agency: Lowe Worldwide/New York Song: “Melt with You” by Modern English Artist: Nouvelle Vauge – Paris, France
Dragon Licks provided research of both popular and idie artists, created covers and original songs. All tracks were edited to picture or cut down to a :60 track before picture was developed. Licensing was handled through Dragon Licks for use in the US, Canada, & Mexico for both national, regional, web and industrial use.
Alltel Wireless – LG Phones Agency: Campbell Ewald/Detroit Song/Artist: “Box of Sunshine” – Infidel Inc.
Dragon Licks provided the research and licensing for this commercial including use on TV, Web and In-store. Alltel was seeking out up and coming artists for this project with a limited budget for licensing. We provided edits and mix as well. http://dragonlicks.com/stream/alltelmolten.html
Jeep – Full Line Agency: BBDO/Detroit Song/Artist: “Time of our Lives” – Paul Van Dyk Dragon Licks provided all research, licensing, edits, enhancements, covers and original songs for this project. We negotiated the final licensing deal for use for the Jeep brand for one year. We completed all final mixing and editing for the spot. http://www.dragonlicks.com/stream/JeepTheGreatest.html
IZOD – Branding Agency: PhillipsVanHuesen/New York Song/Artist: “Fix” – Infidel Inc.
Dragon Licks worked with the artist and Yessian composers to retro-fit the song to work with the commercial. Both music and lyrics were modified to fit picture. We handled all research, licensing, mixing, editing, enhancements and rearrangements for this project. Use was for the Super Bowl, TV, In-Theater, and web use.
XM – Brand Spot Agency: Lowe Worldwide/New York Song: Various Artists Dragon Licks worked on researching songs and then editing, enhancing and mixing these songs for the final spots and versions. Dragon Licks worked on a portion of the license and negotiations with another company. Final use was for various mediums. http://www.dragonlicks.com/stream/xmhair.html
Chevy – Tahoe Campaign Agency: Campbell Ewald/Detroit Song/Artist: “Glorious” – Andreas Johnson Dragon Licks provided all of the creative research and edits, providing the agency with various options. We then went in and musically enhanced the song to lock it in with the picture. We did all final mixing, sweetening and arrangements with our composers. http://www.dragonlicks.com/stream/chevytahoe.html
Stephen Arnold Music Brands for Weather Bug
March 4, 2008
Music specifically for Internet branded content is a burgeoning field. Stephen Arnold Music has just completed such a package for WeatherBug -- see more details at:http://www.prosoundnews.com/publish/news/Stephen_Arnold_Brands_WeatherBug.shtml
Wal-Mart Picks Blu-ray -- HD-DVD Dead?
February 16, 2008
Wal-Mart has announced that it will sell only Blu-ray DVD's going forwards. This seriously damages the chances of Toshiba's HD-DVD format to survive in the high-definition DVD format wars. As always, emerging formats are of serious importance for music supervisors to stay on top of.
Music supervision extends to education with services like iVideosongs, which has added 23 Beatles songs to is offerings -- all 100% cleared, naturally.
The press release below was issued by representatives of iVideosongs:
iVideosongs Shows You How to Play Beatles Songs
Additions to Catalog Include 23 New Titles Featuring Beatles LOVE Co-producer Giles Martin
ALPHARETTA, Ga – February 13 – iVideosongs (www.ivideosongs.com) announced today the addition of 23 Beatles songs, including Day Tripper, Revolution and Get Back, to its catalog of high-def music instruction videos. Each of the Beatles titles feature background, insight and musical commentary from Giles Martin, the Grammy Award-winning producer of The Beatles LOVE CD and music soundscape for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name.
iVideosongs is the new service that shows aspiring musicians how to play their favorite songs completely and accurately, with the instruction provided by the original artists who wrote, performed and produced them, and also from expert instructors.
“I had the great experience of completely immersing myself in The Beatles songbook while producing the LOVE soundscape, and gained deep insight into their creativity and musicianship in the process,” said Giles Martin. “Now with iVideosongs we have the opportunity to help Beatles fans connect with the magic of this music, by showing them exactly how to play some of their most popular songs.”
The iVideosongs titles, featuring Martin, were shot at Abbey Road Studios Room Two, the studio where The Beatles recorded their most famous hits and changed the face of popular music. Each of the iVideosongs titles show how to play the original Beatles tune as it was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
“The Beatles have inspired people around the world to pick up a guitar and try to play,” said Tim Huffman, CEO of iVideosongs. “For the first time, we can actually show fans how to play these songs – completely and accurately – exactly the way they were originally written and performed by the band. For a lot of people, this is going to be a dream come true.”
iVideosongs has licensed full rights to its songs from BMG Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music and also many secondary and tertiary publishers. This allows the company to provide complete and accurate instructional titles, presented exactly as they were originally written and performed. The iVideosongs titles are primarily for electric and acoustic guitarists, but titles for bass, keyboards and drums are also included in the catalog.
iVideosongs offers three kinds of music instruction content. Tutorials designed to improve basic to advanced skills are available free of charge. Complete and accurate songs, instructed by professional music teachers cost $4.99. Complete and accurate songs, taught by the original artists who wrote, performed and/or produced them, cost $9.99.
iVideosongs customers can choose a skill level and genre, and then download the high-def titles to their personal computer, iPod or other device. Each song title is presented in chapter format, so aspiring musicians learn the introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, outro and other elements in bite-size pieces and at their own pace. Each title also includes a master performance so customers can compare their progress against the song, and tablature notation to aid in learning. Titles featuring artists also include an interview segment, where they reveal the inspiration and influences that went into the creation of the song.
iVideosongs launched the beta of its service this past January 29, 2008. The iVideosongs Beatles collection featuring Giles Martin includes:
Blackbird
Hard Days Night
Can’t Buy Me Love
Day Tripper
Eight Days a Week
Help!
I Feel Fine
Michelle
Norwegian Wood
Revolution
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Come Together
Yesterday
We Can Work it Out
Later in February, iVideosongs will debut more Beatles songs including:
Get Back
All You Need is Love
Penny Lane
Yellow Submarine
Help From My Friends
Hello Goodbye
Paperback Writer
A Day In the Life
Long And Winding Road
The Beatles on iVideosongs, featuring Giles Martin, can be found at:
About iVideosongs iVideosongs is the pioneering music instruction service that enables aspiring musicians of all skills levels to learn how to accurately play complete songs from the original artists who wrote and performed them, and also from legendary side-men and a staff of exceptional instructors. iVideosongs on-demand, high-def video titles live on customers' computers, iPods and other devices, and are accessible to them whenever and wherever they like. Visit www.ivideosongs.com to start learning today.
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iVideosongs and iVideosongs.com are trademarks of iVideotunes, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.
Writer's Strike Officially Over
February 13, 2008
Music supervisors, caterers, custome cleaners and the thousands of other people who relied on the WGA strike ending can breathe a sigh of relief, as the union voted 92.5% in favor of ending the strike yesterday.
The famed David J. of Bauhaus has made a turn to musical theater -- a notable music supervision move. The following was released by representatives of David J:
Bauhaus' David J Ventures into the Musical Theatre World with the Premiere of Silver For Gold
Based on the Life of Edie Sedgwick, the Stage Production BEGINS AN Exclusive Two-week Engagement in los angeles at the met theatre on march 6, 2008
Hollywood, CA - January 10, 2008 - Bauhaus' David J writes and directs the world premiere production of Silver For Gold ( The Odyssey Of Edie Sedgwick ) at The Met Theatre in Hollywood, CA, beginning an exclusive two-week engagement on March 6, 2008. Based on the life of Edie Sedgwick - Andy Warhol's brilliant muse - the stage production explores one of the most charismatic yet misunderstood figures in popular culture. Starring multifaceted performer Monique Jenkinson as Edie, Silver For Gold traces the heroine's dazzling rise and eventual downward spiral in a mythological theatrical experience that is part one-woman show, part rock concert replete with avant-garde minimalist staging and video imagery.
"Writing Silver For Gold, it felt as if I had entered into a subtle psychic relationship with this beautiful dead girl and she was actively encouraging me to write," says David J. "She became a bright light that glowed all the brighter whenever I started to create. It was as if she was feeding on the attention. This might sound highly fanciful but that is how it felt. Edie was enduring in her ultimate role, that of the muse. "
Best known as a founding member of the seminal British bands Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, David J leads the Silver For Gold band, providing vocals and guitar. Accompanying David J is Neel Hammond (performed with Sting, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Gnarls Barkley, Alicia Keyes, Diana Krall, Randy Newman, Macy Gray, Bette Midler, Marina Topley-Bird, Diana Krall) on viola and violin, David Raven (Keith Richards, Norah Jones, T-Bone Burnett, Steve Earle, John Doe, Carole King, Michelle Shocked, Hans Zimmer, Nancy Sinatra) on percussion and
Michael de Winter (Stranger Passing) on guitar & backing vocals.
Incidental music for the production is a collaboration with Azam Ali (of the bestselling world music duo Vas), Loga Ramin Torkian (also of Vas and the world music group Axiom of Choice) and Marcelo Radulovich (Merry Go Down). The production's video installation & sound is by Ego Plum (Ebola Music Orchestra).
The Met Theatre is located at 1089 N. Oxford Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90029).
The production runs March 6 - 16, 2007, with performances Thursday - Sunday only. Tickets are $20. Following Silver For Gold's
Los Angeles engagement, the production will be preparing for an off-Broadway run later in the fall.
2007 Movie Attendance Flat
January 2, 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR! NOW GET BACK TO WORK.
Movie attendance figures are a factor that affect the budgets of music supervisors. In 2007 the numbers were basically flat -- see the full story below.
OK, so its not EXACTLY music supervision, but everyone in the field should know that Led Zeppelin is back on stage -- maybe they'll use a live cut for the next Cadillac commercial.
Record companies are still trying to solve the digital piracy issue. Universal Music Group and Nokia are experimenting with free dowloads through select cell phones.
Broadway remains a vital corner of the music supervision world. The stagehands strike has ended after 19 days, thanks to a settlement reached last night. Read more at:
Music supervisors are leading the resurgence of video games, doing the work that powers the two hottest titles out now: Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. Be sure to read to the end of this article for licensing details.
Warner Brothers' head of film production, Jeff Robinov, has been named president of the new Warner Brothers Picture Group. The company will manage filmmaking operations along with theatrical marketing and distribution. Read the full story at:
The ongoing strike between film and TV and writers will have a deepening impact on music supervisors and composers. Talks are resuming on Nov. 26th. See more info at:
We always find something useful in the Film Music Weekly, for music supervisors, artists and composers.
See the newest issue at:
http://www.filmmusicweekly.com/issues/FM_Weekly_110907.pdf
Expansion Team's Alex Moulton Scores for "Descent"
November 8, 2007
The following was released by Expansion Team:
NEW YORK, NY – When director Talia Lugacy and producer/star Rosario Dawson were searching for a soundtrack to their filmDescent, they knew it would have to be as visceral and discordant as the film is dark and disturbing. Fortunately, they quickly found that Alex Moulton, founder and composer/creative director at New York’s Expansion Team, was on the same creative page.
“We talked about the film, especially the final scene, and how it should feel,” said Lugacy. “It was never going to be a traditional film score, which is why Alex was so perfect for it. Alex had some great ideas about how he would go about it, and how it needed to needed to feel – the sound of crazed thinking and haunted minds. I give him so much credit because it’s not a scene you want to watch more than once and he went it into it with a great bravery.”
For Moulton, the key was to stay away from anything remotely traditional. “From the moment I talked to Talia, I knew the soundtrack would need to be unusual,” says Moulton. “That feeling was only stronger after I saw the film. In order to intensify the most disturbing scenes, we went for an intensely visceral, dissonant sound. We were going for feeling and not typical background movie music. This is a dark movie and this is definitely dark music.”
Make no mistake: Descent is a revenge film of the first order.
Dawson plays Maya, a beautiful and promising college student who seems to be enjoying an innocent flirtation with Jared (Chad Faust). Everything changes, however, when Maya visits Jared’s dingy apartment. Following a brutal sexual assault, Maya’s life unravels in a haze of drugs and the pulsations of the underground club scene. When she encounters Jared again, she is a decidedly different woman and is not about to show any mercy.
To achieve an appropriate level of primal intensity, Moulton combined an electric guitar, a cello bow and a wide variety of layered tracks and sound effects to create an ethereal yet jarring ambience.
“It kind of sounds like a string orchestra at points,” explains Moulton. “But it often sounds like metal scraping and undulating against itself. Talia and I began with several long conversations about what was going on inside this character’s head. In order to obtain the right headspace, I watched the movie’s most unsettling scenes over and over again. I loved every minute of it, but it also took me to some places I probably wouldn’t have chosen to go. For the film’s final scene I played about eight different guitar tracks and just rode the levels until they matched what was in my mind. It was very emotional.”
Despite the harrowing nature of the work, Moulton expresses nothing but praise and admiration for the film, as well as its director and star.
“The most challenging part of this project was repeatedly gearing myself up to think my way into this character,” he says. “I can only imagine what that process was like for Rosario and Talia. When it came to the final climactic scene, I felt a great deal of pressure to heighten the intensity of an already extreme film. I wish there were more projects like this one. It took risks at every turn, and Talia and Rosario had the creative courage to put everything they had into that risk. It was an amazing experience.”
Descent is currently playing in select cities including
New York, LA,
San Francisco,
Austin,
Portland and
Chicago. It will be release on DVD in early 2008.
About Expansion Team: Expansion Team redefines how music can be created for today's media by building a bridge between the recording, TV, film and advertising industries. They know the importance of a successful brand message and focus on creating impassioned brand aficionados. Led by founder and creative director Alex Moulton and executive producer April Jaffe, Expansion Team is supported by an exceptional roster of talent; an international collective of award-winning producers, songwriters, DJs and remixers. Because they work in studios around the world, an additional network of top session players and vocalists have become part of their growing family. For more information check out: http://www.expansionteam.org
NPR MUSIC Multimedia Site Grows
November 6, 2007
CONVERGENCE ALERT: The following was released by NPR MUSIC.
Premier Online Destination for Music Discovery To Offer Select Concert and Studio Performances, Interviews, News, Podcasts and More from Public Radio Producers Around the Country
(November 5, 2007, New York, NY) - Today, WBGO, WFUV and WNYC announced that they - along with 9 other public radio stations that produce distinguished music programming -- are joining with NPR to launch NPR Music, a new, free, comprehensive multimedia music discovery Web site at www.NPR.org/music.
NPR Music showcases on-air and online music content aggregated fromthe participating stations, bringing together stellar locally-produced content to a single platform, allowing users to explore, experience and enjoy all the music genres found on public radio - many of which have not found a home on commercial stations. In addition, the NPR Music Web site also features original NPR content, including interviews, reviews, blogs and live performances.
WNYC's content contributions will include select episodes of Soundcheck with John Schaefer, New York City's daily talk show about music; Spinning on Air with David Garland, a weekly program featuring in-studio performances by passionate, personal, adventurous songwriters such as Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, and Devendra Banhart; WNYC's annual series of concerts from the Frick Collection; and WNYC's 24-hour online music service, WNYC2. WNYC's collaborative presentations of live performances with NPR, including their most recent joint projects -- Bjork at United Palace, Sir Paul McCartney from Carnegie Hall, and Rufus Wainwright at Gramercy Theater, as well as the upcoming November 14 live broadcast of the Berliner Philharmoniker from Carnegie Hall -- will also be made available on NPR Music.
WFUV, which has already been supplying its Take Five music features as NPR podcasts, will provide several of its Words and Music from Studio A sessions per month. Initial artists are singer-songwriter Patti Scialfa (member of the E Street band and wife of Bruce Springsteen) and alt-country songwriter-producer Joe Henry. Future offerings will include powerful R&B singer Sharon Jones (whose band, the Dap Kings, backed Amy Winehouse) and poet, activist, and hip-hop forefather Gil Scott-Heron. Members of the WFUV air staff will also contribute five-song lists of their favorite music.
WBGO, which broadcasts jazz, blues, R&B and news from its studio in Newark, NJ, brings its robust content to the site, including stories and on-demand audio of live broadcasts of world class jazz artists direct from the jazz capital. The station's contributions will include monthly live Broadcasts from J&R Music World with Monifa Brown, and the American Museum of Natural History's Starry Nights series with Gary Walker, and radio documentaries by WBGO Special Projects Producer Josh Jackson on greats such as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. In addition, as producer of the radio series JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, WBGO shares the latest audio and information on this weekly program of live jazz sets from around the country and the world.
"WNYC is excited to have this chance to bring the programming we're investing in -- from smart talk about music, trends and industry news to live performances from
New York's concerts halls, clubs and our own studios-- to a larger audience." said Howard Parnell, WNYC Executive Director of Digital Media. "Public radio has always served as one of the few places to discover musical artists and genres that don't fit the commercial mold. NPR Music takes this tradition into the 21st century, bringing together some of the most unique, compelling public radio music content being produced around the country and making it easier for listeners to find us."
"There are really good reasons for us to team up with NPR Music," said WFUV New Media Director Laura Fedele. "WFUV and NPR each have great music resources, and together we can share that love with listeners. We've had some amazing music moments here in our studios, true personal conversations with artists, and now NPR Music can bring it all to music fans across the country who might not be FUV listeners... yet."
"It just makes sense that a trusted news source like NPR also become a trusted place to discover new music," said WBGO General Manager Cephas Bowles. "WBGO is proud to bring its jazz and blues insights and audio to this great new site. We continue to document the history of jazz in performance as we have for almost 30 years."
"These three public radio stations are respected as leading music-producing stations in the country, with stellar music content and loyal fan bases in their geographic and virtual communities," said Maria Thomas, Senior Vice President, NPR Digital Media. "We're delighted that our colleagues at WBGO, WFUV and WNYC are joining 9 other stations and NPR in this new public service. NPR Music evolves the high-quality music journalism, performance and presentation that has been the longtime trademark of these stations, NPR and public radio."
Joining WBGO, WFUV, WNYC and NPR on this new service are Member stations KEXP and KPLU Seattle; KUT Austin; WDUQ Pittsburgh; WGBH Boston; WGUC Cincinnati; WKSU/Folk Alley, Kent, Ohio; WXPN Philadelphia; and American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio and its St. Paul station, The Current. All partners will provide content including live concerts, studio sessions, features and reviews. NPR Music also links to the live music streams of all participating stations. Additional stations and producers will join in the coming months.
Alan Ett Music Group Scores for Court TV
November 5, 2007
The following was released by Alan Ett Music Group:
Studio City, CA (November 2, 2007) - Alan Ett Music Group is currently in production to create new music for Court TV's prime-time series, "Murder By the Book."
AEMG's Senior Music Supervisor, Ryan Neill says "We're very excited to be working with Digital Ranch on these real-life mysteries and headline-making crimes."
Thirteen masters of the American crime novel, including best-selling authors Sandra Brown, Harlan Coben and Elizabeth George, present true crimes that have inspired them to write, or simply shocked them to their core. With music by AEMG, Court TV presents this illustrious group of top mystery fiction writers as they recount their memories, speculations and personal connections to the real-life mysteries and headline-making crimes that haunt their dreams at night.
Using documentary footage, first-person accounts and the author's own insights, each one-hour episode sheds new light on a particularly intriguing crime. With alarming new facts combined with suspenseful storytelling, riveting developments are the rule in each dramatic opening and every shocking conclusion.
The series begins November 5th at 10:00pm Eastern on Court TV.
More On AEMG: The Alan Ett Music Group is a full service music production company catering to the needs of the various aspects of the entertainment industry. The company’s personnel includes composers, producers, music supervisors, engineers, sound designers and an outstanding support staff.
AEMG currently has in-house, two fully digital multi-track recording studios and three ProTools editorial suites that will accommodate vocal groups and instrumental soloists, not to mention small instrumental ensembles. For larger productions, AEMG enjoys relationships with studios and orchestras in
Los Angeles and throughout the world. The company has successfully produced music for thousands of network, cable and syndicated television shows, national TV and radio commercials, feature films, CD-Roms, DVD’s video games, computer games and live stage productions.
MUSIC CHOICE INKS DEAL WITH EMI MUSIC TO ADD THEIR FULL MUSIC VIDEO CATALOG TO THE #1 ON DEMAND MUSIC NETWORK IN THE U.S. MILLIONS OF MUSIC FANS NOW HAVE GREATER ACCESS TO EMI'S MUSIC VIDEOS ON TV & ONLINE THROUGH MUSIC CHOICE
New York, NY-October 30, 2007-Music Choice, the multi-platform music network that reaches millions of consumers through their televisions, online and cell phones, and EMI Music, one of the world's leading music companies, today announced a deal that gives Music Choice the rights to stream EMI's entire music video library on television and online in the US. This agreement provides access to EMI's expansive roster of established and emerging artists, including Lily Allen, David Bowie, Coldplay, The Decemberists, Fat Boy Slim, Gorillaz, Norah Jones and KT Tunstall. The music videos compliment the content available for viewing by millions of music fans with access to Music Choice through its free On Demand network - the most popular in the country, and its free online music service for broadband subscribers. In addition, Music Choice has secured the rights to feature EMI's artists in Music Choice Original programs such as Artist of the Month, Fresh Crops, Rock U and Tha Corner. The Music Choice Originals accompany the hundreds of music videos available On Demand and online for viewing any time at no cost. Grammy® award-winning, metal band Korn are the featured Artist of the Month on Music Choice this month.
"Music Choice is a powerful way for us to reach our fans - through TV and online - and we are delighted to include them as one of the growing platforms that will expose our artists' works to consumers," said Lauren Berkowitz, Senior Vice President of Digital for EMI Music North America.
"Music Choice is thrilled to now have access to EMI's full roster of well-known and up-and-coming artists, adding to the depth of content available on our television network and online music site," said David Del Beccaro, President and CEO of Music Choice. "EMI's artists will be exposed to a nationwide audience that has helped us build the most popular On Demand music network in the country by placing over a billion orders for our free music-related content."
About Music Choice®
Music Choice is the leading multi-platform music network that reaches millions of consumers nationwide through their TVs, online, and cell phones. Music Choice programs dozens of music channels; produces Music Choice Original shows that feature today's hottest established & emerging artists; offers hundreds of music videos; and distributes daily entertainment news clips. Music Choice is a partnership among subsidiaries of Microsoft Corporation, Motorola, Inc., Sony Corporation of America, EMI Music and several leading
U.S. cable providers: Comcast Cable Communications, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. MUSIC CHOICE® is a registered trademark of Music Choice. Visit the Music Choice website at http://www.musicchoice.com.
About EMI Music
EMI Music is the recorded music division of EMI Group, one of the world's leading music companies. Its EMI Music division represents artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Televisa Music,
Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin. Artists on EMI labels include Lily Allen, The Beatles, Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Gorillaz, Norah Jones, The Kooks, Korn, Kylie Minogue, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Joss Stone, 30 Seconds To Mars, KT Tunstall, Keith Urban and Robbie Williams, as well as international artists such as Amaral (Spain), Diam's (France), Utada Hikaru (Japan), LaFee (Germany), Radja (Indonesia), RBD (Mexico) and Vasco Rossi (Italy).
EMI has been at the cutting edge of the rapidly growing digital music marketplace since it released David Bowie's Hours as the world's first ever album to be offered as a digital download in 1999. EMI has signed agreements with hundreds of digital partners to distribute its music across the globe, including most recently its premium DRM-free, higher-quality offering sold through partners including Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, PassAlong Networks, Puretracks and more. It continues to facilitate the development of a growing range of new digital business models to enable fans to experience and purchase its artists' output through a number of different platforms including making its videos available for access via YouTube, advertising-supported online music streaming in China through Baidu, legal peer-to-peer agreements with QTrax, Mashboxx and GNAB, and a deal to offer advertising-supported videos on mobile phones in the US through Rhythm NewMedia.
Music for the Media is a professional course for composers wishing to enter the world of film and television. Study from home, tutored exclusively by working film, TV and games composers, people at the sharp end of the business every day, passing on their knowledge and experience to you. Regardless of where you live, get the inside skills and information you need to succeed today as a composer directly from the world's largest course for film and television composers. Now in its tenth year, we have over 2000 students and graduates.
The course covers everything from commercials and computer games, to TV themes, animation, documentaries and feature films. You will work on 9 scoring assignments and 2 marketing assignments. Each one is a real life project with a briefing given by the real-life producers and directors. Send your music to your tutor who will then give you a truly professional opinion, encouragement and advice.
Students receive a 300 page course text, audio CDs containing interviews with top industry professionals, composers, directors, producers and agents. There is a wide selection of QuickTime movies to score on DVD-R, all presented exactly as the film's actual composer would have received them.
The course is written and run by 2007 EMMY nominee, Guy Michelmore, currently scoring his 5th film for Marvel.
Course contributors include;
David Arnold (Casino Royale, Changing Lanes, Independence Day, Godzilla) George Fenton (Planet Earth, Groundhog Day, Bewitched, Sweet Home Alabama) Christopher Beck (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Seeker, Wedding Crashers)
Michael Nyman (The Piano, Gattaca, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover) Johnathan Wolff (Will and Grace, Seinfeld, Married, With Children) Jeff Rona (Brotherhood, Whisper)
Remember take advantage of the October promotion and save 20%. Simply enter FMI as the promotional code and save $300. http://www.musicforthemedia.com/FMI
