music library

A music library (c. 2001- ) has music for those who make television ads and shows, websites and films. Most are online or can be reached by computer. The libraries have tens of thousands of tracks or music recordings that can be put into shows and ads and so on.

So long as you can find the sort of music you are looking for, it is far cheaper to buy the right to use it than to hire a musician. A good musician can create just the music you want but it will not be cheap.

It is somewhat like iTunes where you get music for your iPod, but iTunes is different in two important ways:

1. The music is enjoyed by itself - it is not being added to something else, like a film or television show.
2. It assumes you already know the name of the song or at least the musician you are interested in.

There have been millions of pieces of music that have been made that could be used in a television show. The trouble is finding just the right piece.

You have a rough idea of what the music should sound like, but you will not know you have found it till you hear it. And you will not know the title and musician until after you have found it.

The library sorts the tracks into different kinds and you look for music that way.

Another thing that makes music libraries hard to use is that most of the music you hear is pretty bad.

Pump Audio, for example, has 700,000 tracks. That sounds great, but most of the music is bad. Pump Audio says they have ten musicians who listen to pieces before they are added, but it seems that Pump Audio went for quantity over quality.

In practice many television shows and others keep using the same tracks over and over again since they were so hard to find in the first place.

Here are some of the top music libraries in 2008:

• Pump Audio (700,000 tracks) is the largest. In 2007 it was bought up by Getty Images, which already has a vast image and video library. It uses music from thousands of musicians. If you are a musician and Pump Audio likes your music, then they will agree to give you half of any money they make from your tracks. You are free to sell the same music on your own. Pump Audio is used by MTV, HBO, VH-1 and the Discovery Channel.
• FirstCom Music (186,000 tracks). Based in Los Angeles. Used by Fox Sports, the CSI television shows, “The L Word”, “American Idol” and others.
• 5 Alarm Music (85,000 tracks). You heard their music in the films “27 Dresses” and “Leatherheads”.
• Zoo Street Music. Used by HBO, A&E, ABC, DreamWorks and others.
• Fix is a part of Comma Music in Chicago. Used by ESPN, Wrigley, Northwestern Hospital and others.

See also:

• “Music At Your Fingertips” – an article from Screen magazine
• Music libraries:
  • Pump Audio
  • FirstCom
  • 5 Alarm Music
  • Zoo Street Music
  • Fix – of Comma Music
  • obtmusic.com
  • musicboxmx.com
  • dittybase.com
  • opus1musiclibrary.com
  • megatrax.com
• film
• television
• writing for television