Tech Focus: Music Libraries, Part 2 — A Round-Up of Providers

Anyone seeking library and production music and cues has more choices than ever. Here are some of the leading providers.

5 Alarm Music
Offering independent production music for film, television, commercials, and radio as well as music expertise from multiple award-winning composers, 5 Alarm Music hosts more than 100 music libraries and 285 independent artists, along with a broad selection of cost-effective music solutions. The company’s sports roster includes the Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers, the New Orleans Saints, and Notre Dame. Its mission is to deliver music that makes people want to listen.
Sports-related link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGgFYHQ0PI&index=9&list=PLf3YrYg5JFSnuxv-4qHnUS5JfPH2WMizG

APM Music
A joint venture of EMI Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing, APM Music supplies a comprehensive collection of music for sports/entertainment clients, such as broadcasters (ESPN, Turner Sports, Fox Sports, HBO Sports, NFL Network), professional franchises (Denver Broncos, Dodgers, Dallas Stars, New York Giants, L.A. Clippers), production entities (NASCAR, NFL Films, VWBSN, PGA TOUR Productions), and collegiate athletics (Alabama, Notre Dame, Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia). The offering comprises 500,000 tracks in every genre by award-winning composers, top session players, and indie trendsetters. A mainstay in sports culture with songs like the Monday Night Football theme and catalogs like the NFL Films Music Library and MLB Music Library, APM Music is a complete resource for sports content. Users can find what they need through the APM Search site, Music Director Service, and custom-music division, APM Custom. Recent work can be checked out at sports.apmmusic.com along with special custom-music projects under the “Get Custom Music” section. www.apmmusic.com/

FirstCom Music
A leading provider of production music for broadcast, film, multimedia, and corporate productions, FirstCom Music offers a diverse selection of high-quality, easy-to-license music that reflects today’s charts. Its comprehensive and diverse music collection comprises more than 30 catalogs and more than 225,000 tracks by some of the most creative writers, producers, and musicians in the business, including Grammy and Academy Award winners. The company’s range of music services includes music supervision, custom searches, and original scoring. www.firstcom.com
Sports-related links:
www.firstcom.com/ – %21/themed-playlists.aspx?playlistId=335
www.firstcom.com/ – %21/themed-playlists.aspx?playlistId=1741
www.firstcom.com/ – %21/themed-playlists.aspx?playlistId=533
www.firstcom.com/ – %21/Top_Nav/sports.aspx

Killer Tracks
Killer Tracks delivers original music that captures audiences the world over, with more than 149,000 tracks from 37 global libraries. Features include complimentary music-search services and music access online and on interactive hard drive. Sports clients include ESPN, Fox Sports, NFL Network, and NBA Entertainment. Some recent sports placements include the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross and Top NFL Films Shots (Week 13). www.killertracks.com
Sports-related links:
Action and intensity sports: bit.ly/KWc7pi
Dramatic sports: bit.ly/JO1zFh
Baseball: bit.ly/1Jij5om
Football: bit.ly/1rtKIpn
Hockey: bit.ly/1X7cdRu

Megatrax
Megatrax offers more than 108,000 tracks, including alternate and underscore versions and complete edits. Features include a new website with ease-of-use interface, improved search system, portable hard-drive update system for faster music updates and accurate metadata, and full-time tech support and music supervisors with live chat. Online Spanish and Portuguese translations are available. Payment options include radio and TV barter deals. Custom scoring is available via the Aircast Custom Music division. www.megatrax.com
Sports-related link: www.megatrax.com/browse.php?bLibs=0&bCats=1273&bSort=DESC&bRecs=25&bPage=1

Sound Ideas
Having recently acquired The Hollywood Edge, Sound Ideas offers more than 600 distinct royalty-free collections to broadcast, postproduction, game developers, and multimedia facilities, with unlimited lifetime synchronization rights with every purchase. Formats include download, DVD, hard drive, and CD. All .wav files are provided with full keyword metadata for search applications. www.sound-ideas.com
Sports-music link: www.sound-ideas.com/Collection/40/2/0/Sports-and-Olympic-Royalty-Free-Music
Sports-sound-effects link: www.sound-ideas.com/Collection/58/2/0/Sports-Sound-Effects
Sister company Westar Music also features unlimited, worldwide licensing. westarmusic.sourceaudio.com/#!label?l=255998&page=albums

Warner/Chappell Production Music
Uniting successful independents Non-Stop Music, 615 Music, Groove Addicts, CPM, and many more, Warner/Chappell Production Music’s brands have composed works for well-known TV shows, networks, and companies. Clients include ESPN, the British Open, the World Cup, Major League Baseball, Cox Communications, and SPEED Channel. www.warnerchappellpm.com/
Sports-related link: youtu.be/Be2fpTjOhGg?list=PLSa4pXd7wyp2-cxjfOqMG4cQpvhW7SK-9

VideoHelper
An independent boutique production-music library, VideoHelper provides exclusive music for sports/entertainment broadcasters (NFL Films, ESPN, ABC Sports, Turner, MSG, NFL Network, HBO, Showtime), professional franchises (Seattle Seahawks and Mariners, Detroit Lions), and colleges (Virginia Commonwealth University). More than 7,000 multi-genre tracks are designed to drive video, and each cut is constructed with edit points already built in. VideoHelper brings a very specialized breed of production music to sports programming: one that thinks like a producer and makes editing easy. Its website/search engine is designed to make its offerings easy to find and the selected music easy to license. www.videohelper.com
Sports-related link: www.videohelper.com/spotlight/VHSPORTS/VH Knows sports

Click here for Tech Focus: Music Libraries, Part 1 — Why Sports Sounds Like the Movies.
Click here for Tech Focus: Music Libraries, Part 3 — Alternative Approaches Serve an Expanding Sports Industry