MuseIQ (NYC) Launches “Recordshop” Music Licensing Catalog, Featuring Indie Artists

Brooklyn-based music licensing specialists MuseIQ  have expanded their MuseIQ Library of production music by adding a new companion module, the “Recordshop”, to the MuseIQ website.

Recordshop is stocked with pre-cleared original songs for synch licensing by indie bands and artists, and is similar to the MuseIQ Library with its streamlined graphic interface and sophisticated search functionality.

The collection was created to give music supervisors for advertising, TV, film and other content fast access to independent artists and bands.

MuseIQ founders Augustus Skinner and Ronan Coleman recruited former Morrissey co-writer and drummer, Spencer Cobrin, to the position of Head of A&R to expedite the growth of the MuseIQ Recordshop. Artists currently available in the Recordshop collection include Neal Casal, Vyvienne Long and Lux Lisbon.

The MuseIQ Recordshop uses the same Borean Search Engine as the MuseIQ Library, which has a client list including Amazon.com, Disney, IBM, Charriol, and Estée Lauder. Mr. Skinner explains the Borean Matrix as a unified language of terms relating to music, with over 3000 terms comprising the sensory, physical and emotional characteristics of music. Basic terms like “dark, city, and happy,” to detailed nuances such as “forbidding, cosmopolitan, and euphoric” are included. Each library track is encoded with 100-150 descriptors by a team of musical experts, then double-checked for accuracy.

 

Independent Music Publishers Can Opt Into Key YouTube License Agreement, Via NMPA & HFA

Licensing for online media saw an important evolution this past August when the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and YouTube’s parent company, Google, settled an NMPA lawsuit. The resulting settlement paved the way for increased efficiencies for UGC (User Generated Content) to use and legally license copyrighted music on videos that are posted on YouTube.

As a result, the NMPA and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA) have announced a time-sensitive development: It offers to all independent music publishers, whether or not they are affiliated with HFA, the opportunity to opt into a direct license agreement with YouTube by going to www.youtubelicenseoffer.com.

Publishers can opt in to the agreement between November 17, 2011 and January 16, 2012. The link at www.youtubelicenseoffer.com provides a significant amount of additional detail and is worth a read for all publishers and artists.

In its announcement, HFA explained that earlier this year the NMPA, HFA and YouTube concluded a landmark agreement whereby independent music publishers may grant the rights necessary for the synchronization of their musical works with certain videos posted by YouTube users.

HFA will administer these direct license agreements between YouTube and publishers. Royalties will be based on advertising revenue collected worldwide by YouTube from ads placed alongside user-generated videos.

Independent publishers who have opted into the License Agreement and the YouTube Licensing Offer (“HFA Participating Publishers”) using HFA as the License Administrator will receive a share of an up to $4,000,000 recoupable advance pool that has been created.

HFA will apply its relationships with the publishing community and deep licensing experience to administer the direct YouTube license agreements.  Participation is available to all independent publishers in the U.S.

Publishers must sign up for the YouTube direct licensing agreement at www.youtubelicenseoffer.com from November 17, 2011 through January 16, 2012 to be eligible for an advance.

TuneSat Launches Online Portal, Enables Immediate Signup for All Music Rightsholders

NYC-based TuneSat announced it has extended its TV monitoring services to all music rightsholders with a new online portal that enables immediate sign-up for new users.

TuneSat provides audio monitoring service to aid music copyright holders in recovering royalties and tracking unauthorized use.

Via the new online portal at www.tunesat.com, audio rightsholders can immediately sign up for the precise monitoring services they need in the territories they choose, whether they want to monitor 10 songs or a thousand titles. Monthly subscription rates vary by number of tracks, type of service, and territories to be monitored, starting at $10 per month.

According to TuneSat, within hours after a user uploads the audio files for fingerprinting, the company begins to deliver tracking of usage within an hour of broadcast, providing the tracking data and the audio clip necessary to monitor synch licensing and royalty payments.

In addition to tracking royalties and resolving copyright infringement, TuneSat reports also provide important business intelligence regarding usage rates for a catalog, or specific writers, artists, and tracks, as well as gauging revenue patterns over time.

The company has also extended its reach to include TV broadcasts in eight new European territories: Austria, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, in addition to over 200 channels in the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy.

Audio Network (NYC) Launches $500 Filmmaker Annual License

NYC-based music library Audio Networkannounced that it has launched a $500 Filmmaker Annual License.

The annual license is intended to provide new and aspiring filmmakers with an easy path to score their films, with one year of unlimited access to Audio Network’s 45,000-track, pre-cleared, cross-genre library.

Audio Network synch licensing clients include HBO, MTV Networks and the BBC. Its extensive music library is pre-cleared and ideal for use in media content including film, advertising, reality shows and documentaries.

The company also supplies original scoring, audio branding, sound design services, and works as a creative partner alongside over 200 composers.

PROPELLER Music Group (NYC) Promotes Gregg Singer to Partner

Original music, sound design and music licensing company PROPELLER Music Group (NY/LA) has announced the promotion of Gregg Singer to Partner.

Singer joins founding partners Doug Hall, Creative Director, and Iris Schaffer, Executive Producer/ Managing Director at PROPELLER.

Day to day, Gregg will be the Executive Producer/Director of Business Development at the music company. He joined the company in Spring this year.

Prior to joining PROPELLER, Gregg was the Executive Producer of Sound Lounge Radio and RadioFace in NY, where he built the divisions from scratch and  created award-winning audio production nationally. Prior to those posts, he worked in the NY ad agency world for 14+ years at JWT, Bozell/Eskew, BBDO, CDM, Publicis, and Kirshenbaum Bond+Partners.

Management Firm Rocket Music Launches in NYC — Representing Producers, Mixers and Artists

HELLS KITCHEN, MANHATTAN: Feeling neglected? U.S. music pros tired of going it alone may have just gotten some help from across the pond.

The recent opening of the New York offices for Rocket Music Entertainment Group is good news for producers, mixers, and elite songwriters looking to raise their game even further. As the name suggests, Rocket has serious bloodlines: Its co-founder is Sir Elton John, and he’s tasked his staff with taking an artist-oriented approach to their work.

Operating from Beat360 Studios with a panoramic view of Manhattan’s West Side, Rocket Producer Manager Ollie Hammett explained how the firm is building on what management for music and sound professionals can do.

Get us oriented. When was Rocket Music founded?
Founded in 2011, Rocket Music Entertainment Group is an international music management company co-founded by Sir Elton John, with the core of the business being focused on artist management. Rocket has offices in London, New York and Tokyo, offering its artist clients support on a worldwide scale. In both London and New York, Rocket combines its offices with integral recording studios available to its artists. The company employs managers who come from various facets of the music industry, bringing with them an array of experience at major record labels, radio, talent booking and business affairs.

What differentiates the company from other management firms?

Rocket was founded by one of the most celebrated and accomplished artists of all time, for the direct and ongoing benefit of other artists.  The artist’s sensibilities are literally in this company’s DNA.  Elton’s interest in Rocket is driven by his passion for contemporary music.  Now that we’ve opened the New York office, Rocket is truly global, with a unique ability to connect the dots around the world for our artists, producers, and writers.

What is your role and goals here in the NYC office?
Rocket’s New York office was setup by General Manager Mike Tierney. My title is Producer Manager, I’m responsible for the management and development of the US producer roster division of the business.

I represent a roster of producers managing their different production activities and business affairs. My goals are to continue to develop the careers of the clients I represent, helping them to find fulfilling and rewarding projects, create awesome music and reach their full potential.

That sounds like a dream gig. Who is on the NYC producer/engineer/artist management roster currently?
Mark Saunders — Producer/Mixer/Writer known for his work with The Cure, Neneh Cherry, David Byrne, The Shiny Toy Guns and PNAU.
Dan Romer — Producer/Mixer/Writer for Ingrid Michaelsen, He is We, Lelia Broussard, Ian Axel and Jenny Owen Youngs.
Teddy Geiger — Producer/Writer with a Billboard Top 10 single “For You I Will”, the Columbia Release Underage Thinking, and the 2008 film The Rocker.

What do you believe is the role of a producer/engineer manager today?
I believe the role is manifold – overseeing producers business operations, identifying new opportunities, acting as a sounding board for the creative process, facilitating and mediating where necessary. Working alongside labels, management companies and publishers to find appropriate projects. Liaising with lawyers, negotiating deals and looking at new creative ways of structuring contracts. Also especially nowadays, more than ever, to look beyond just record-making in the traditional sense and leveraging producer/writer skill sets across different markets and mediums e.g. brand consulting, licensing, TV, film and games development.

That’s a big agenda! So how will Rocket Music be a particularly good foundation for you to help them with their careers?
Rocket’s core business is artist management with an impressive track record of breaking artists on both sides of the Atlantic. This track record, combined with a team of executives who have a wide array of experience from labels, radio, marketing, digital strategy, studio management, finance and business affairs provides a unique environment for producers to develop their careers within.

– David Weiss

Event Alert: “Marketing Your Music — Opportunities in Film & TV,” on Thurs. 7/21

Marketing Your Music — Opportunities in Films/Television and Other Media is a live seminar that will be held on Thursday, July 21st, 2011, 6:00 PM at the Gibson Baldwin Showroom (formerly the legendary Hit Factory).

Hosted by Leeia Music, this quick-moving session is focused on aiding up-and-coming & independent artists, songwriters, composers, producers and small labels in their quest for music placements and synchronization licensing in film, television, Internet, video games, and other media.

Come out for an evening with David Hnatiuk and David Weiss, co-authors of the industry-leading book, Music Supervision: Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games and New Media. They are also co-founders of the music supervision service www.thesonghunters.com.

David Hnatiuk’s music supervision credits include  NBC Sports “Football Night in America” as well as coverage of Superbowl XLII, seasonal launch campaigns for MTV’s “Jersey Shore”, and  “America’s Best Dance Crew,”; and the feature films Heights starring Glenn Close for Sony Classix and Cheech and Chong’s “Hey, Watch This” for Weinstein Company and much more.

David Weiss is the co-founder of SonicScoop.com, and has contributed to Mix Magazine, Time Out NY and many more. Together they will demystify the process of music placements and licensing, followed by a Q&A session.

The presenters will • Break down successful music licensing scenarios, featuring real-life examples of television promos and feature film synchs • Examine the various “filters” that get potentially licenseable music in front of music supervisors • Explain how they work with management, publishers, labels, music libraries, and indie artists • More, + audience Q&A.

Live performances by recording artists Andy Rosen (Goat) and Kiriaki Bozas !

Who will be in Attendance: Musicians, Film Producers, Composers, Record Label Reps, Music Lawyers, Producers, Recording Artist, and Songwriters. Admission: $40. Space is limited.

For more information please email Music.SeminarsNY@yahoo.com or visit http://musicseminarsny.webs.com/.

SynchTank: Streamlining Music Supervision

DITMAS PARK, BROOKLYN: They’re not cavemen by any means, but when you get down to it music supervisors have ridiculously simple needs: These people need the best possible music that they can afford for their project – FAST.

But that deceptively uncomplicated aim can prove logistically taxing. Content, publishing info, song data, video assets, paperwork, and the other things that make a license tick can be spread haphazardly across the globe, challenging even the best-connected rights holder or music supervisor to pull it all together in time for deadline. Sooooo, in the age of the Internet, which has brought us such workflow miracles as Zipcar, why has no one yet made an efficient system that pulls it all together?

Someone has. Operating out of Brooklyn, SynchTank is a solution that makes sense out of music supervision. A thoroughly comprehensive online subscription-based IP management and licensing system, it’s the brainchild of Joel T. Jordan, who realized that a better synch mousetrap was possible while busily running Earthprogram Music, his own music publishing company and a couple small labels over the past two decades.

Putting his shoulder to the wheel, he and business partner Dave Comeau brought SynchTank to life. The result is a truly all-under-one-roof music supervision resource that record labels, publishers, libraries, ad agencies, media producers – anyone who has to think about synch – needs to know about. In this interview, Jordan was only too happy to help spell it out.

When you meet someone for the first time, how do you describe what SynchTank does?
SynchTank is a new online music technology through which anyone with a catalog of music can set up and power their own uniquely designed cloud-based asset management and licensing system.

SynchTank allows them — or any other user with proper clearance — to access their assets online and perform all the tasks that would normally happen in a day of licensing, from search to pitch, to video compositing, license and delivery.  By connecting fragmented offline and online processes with assets and data in one online environment, SynchTank increases levels of efficiency and enables marketing and delivery from virtually anywhere.

That’s definitely something the synch sector can use. Can you drill down deeper into the main functions?
The basic explanation in five steps is that with SynchTank a user can:

1. Search for music by its audible descriptive characteristics — tempo/bpm, key, mood, timbre, vocal pitch, presence, rhythm complexity and more — as well as any combination of writer and publisher information, master or release info, and lyrical content.   We use a sophisticated music analysis algorithm to automatically tag the songs with the relevant audible metadata on upload, making it a breeze to set up a deeply enabled search across thousands of tracks.

2. Save selected music into project or client specific playlists with custom artwork and track notes. Users can access, modify, and pitch any of their playlists at any time.

3. Create online video synchronizations of selected tracks with any uploaded video.  Users can offset a waveform of the track against the picture to determine the potential of a track and video together without ever leaving the browser.

4. Share, pitch, deliver and track playlists, individual songs, saved searches, and video synchs to contact groups or individuals.  Virtually anything on the site can be pitched, and can be sent as a simple email or as fully-branded HTML campaign. Email metrics with detailed information measures the success of each delivery.  Recipients can stream the tracks from the pitch page or download the tracks depending on the access level and resolution set for that delivery.

5. License and download any selected song through an automated process.  Publishers can accept detailed online licensing requests, while master and copyright owners can create pre-defined licenses and prices to offer automated transactions. That effectively lowers the cost of sale for previously uneconomic transactions.

Very thorough. Why did you develop SynchTank? What was the big problem in music supervision/synch that you wanted to attack, and how does this provide the solution?
I’ve had the fun and sometimes perplexing experience of running an indie label and publishing company for the past 20 or so years, so I’m always thinking as a record promoter and for better ways to promote my tracks and artists, especially for licensing opportunities.  I was using all the current methods of the past 5 years – iTunes, Zip, FTP, file-sharing sites, and mailing list programs, but at every step there was some disconnect with applications living offline and online, in different locations, and requiring uploading and downloading and many steps by both parties before the tunes are even heard.   To top it off, to be truly mobile meant I would have to carry my catalog — and computer — around with me wherever I would go.

Enabling my clients and partners to check out my catalog passively beyond sending out discs, hard drives or massive archive files, and then educating them on what was important and why was another story altogether. Even I didn’t know the entire picture of each tune I owned and wanted to be able to see everything about the track all in one centralized location – master info, writer and publishing info, and audible descriptive data.

I figured there must be a better way than spending afternoons at my desk sourcing tracks with only iTunes, gathering tracks, stuffing them into an archive, uploading them somewhere, sending out the link somewhere, and hoping that the recipient downloaded the tracks, unzipped them and put them in their computer or MP3 player.  This is a lot to hope for from a relatively unknown young indie label. Even worse was I wasn’t sending them anywhere that reinforced my brand, my music and my message.

Efficiency didn’t exist as I could only tackle one thing at a time with my limited resources, so any opportunity I could address would mean that another would fall to the wayside.  I was watching gigs pass by and taking gambles on others that might not even pan out. I knew all the steps could all be brought into one environment, allowing me to do all the creative work I was currently doing, but without ever having to leave the browser, work on a specific machine, or be in a specific location.

I imagined it wasn’t just me having these problems of access and delivering the materials in a consistent brand-reinforcing manner, and being able to do it from anywhere in an efficient, great-looking way that leads back to an actual measurable result: a view, click, stream, download, feedback or a license.

So I set out to design a tool that would not only reduce frictions and increase efficiency for me, but would also get the recipient to listen to the tunes with the least amount of steps.

So who stands to benefit most from SynchTank? Who are the different user groups that you’re anticipating?
Anyone interested in accessing and promoting their repertoire without the restrictions of traditional storage and delivery methods.  By traditional I mean what’s been available for the past five years alone.  Our current users are composers, producers, recording artists, bands, publishers, labels, distributors, management companies, production music catalogs, recording studios and synch houses.

I think anyone with creative intellectual property can and should use this software to their advantage.  I figure if you’re going to spend money on a website it might as well be extremely useful and not only generate more business, but help you manage it as well.

Who are some adopters right now?
Since January we’ve launched unique systems with top tier US clients like Primary Wave, IRIS Distribution, Reservoir Media Management, and with international clients ATC Mgmt (UK), CueSongs (UK), and Budde Music (Germany).  We’re now in negotiations with one of the majors, as well as many more indie labels, boutique publishers, digital distributors, and sound designers.

This is a deep system. How would you describe the experience of bringing something like this from concept to reality?
It started off like Superman III: sketched out on a napkin one night in the summer of 2008!  Since then it’s been an exhausting and exhilarating process making it come to life.

It’s been one of the longest projects I’ve personally ever been involved with, but one of the most deeply satisfying experiences as well because we’ve actually solved a real industry- wide problem. It’s been so much work — thought, design, discussing, sketching, programming, rethinking, redesigning, reprogramming — over and over till it’s refined.

The core design and development was done by just two people — myself and my partner Dave Comeau — and not by committee, so we’ve been able to move very quickly.  We’re both relatively talented at what we do — me being the designer, and him being the know-it-all programmer that literally can do it all — so we were able to sketch out the idea and have a working model that actually looked really good in about five months.

After the first beta we spent a year adding on and improving, breaking it up into a series of small projects that would compose the whole system, allowing us to focus without running in 20 directions.  This August will be the start of the fourth year of development and halfway through our first year as a revenue-generating business. There’s really no end in sight to our R&D plans, as the customers are now coming up with great suggestions to make the gear better and better, and we’re at it daily.

It’s great working with the labels and publishers: As they’re getting the benefit of real time development, without any of the risk or expenses of trying to develop and manage long-term high-tech projects internally, we’re benefiting from some of the most creative minds in music, marketing, and licensing helping to shape the product.

It’s a win-win! What have been the other big happy surprises that come with starting a niche-oriented, music industry business like SynchTank. What’s making all that work rewarding and worth the effort?
The biggest surprise was that there was an opportunity to begin with.  When I was initially doing research on existing systems I knew there were systems that did a bit of what I wanted, but upon a deeper look there was nothing out there that was affordable, did all the tasks I had hoped for in one place, and could be designed and modified any which way and without a ton of up front costs.

Now that the gear exists, I can see that I’m not the only one that feels this way, and that’s been the second biggest surprise: How quickly it’s being embraced by many different types of companies at many different levels.  It’s really rewarding to be assisting so many different cool companies with unbelieveable catalogs. We’re helping the industry solve some of its long-standing access and asset management problems, and at the same time helping the industry grow.

On top of what SynchTank is contributing, how do you see the music supervision/synch sector evolving, and why are new solutions for this market still needed – by both music buyers and sellers?
By easing processes and integrating the management, discovery, licensing and promotion of music into one platform, we’re now able to address more business and with higher levels of efficiencies across individuals or organizations.  Through even more automation and computer aid we can shift the gears of the global music licensing economy and enable an even larger, yet-to-be seen music market to emerge.

That’s what we call the big picture! So who inspires you? Let us in on some other business/music innovators who are keeping you motivated.
Steve Wozniak, Jim Henson, and Mark Twain. These days I find just the sheer number of new inventors and operations that have sprung up to support their ideas inspiring. The amount of ingenuity that is happening right now is mind-blowing. At times it’s like watching digital evolution at fast forward, and every day there is a guarantee of something new to learn.   We’re very excited to be a part of this wave of innovation that is shaping new methods and technology.  Thankfully there will always be a problem to solve, and that’s motivation enough.

Amen! What makes NYC the right place to launch SynchTank from?
I’ve been in NYC for 15 years now and I don’t know anywhere else I could get the inspiration, the guidance or the energy from.  If I weren’t in the center of it all, the project probably wouldn’t have clicked as quickly as it did. I can’t imagine being anywhere else trying to do something as in-depth without the given wealth this city offers.

Being here I have been able to seek out advice and expertise on anything and everything music-, copyright-, licensing-, business-, legal- and tech-related from some of the most connected and knowledgeable individuals that call NYC home. I have been able to literally take it to the doorsteps of the intended users and gather real time feedback as it develops.

– David Weiss

HFA Announces Licensing Deal with Cricket’s Muve Music Service

The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), an NYC-based provider of rights management, licensing, and royalty services for the music industry, has announced a licensing deal with Cricket for its music service, Muve Music.

In the deal, HFA will license Muve Music on behalf of HFA’s affiliated music publishers by clearing songs for limited digital downloads, ringtones and ringbacks, enabling a content-rich experience for Muve Music customers.

According to HFA, Muve Music is the first unlimited music service designed specifically for the mobile phone. The service provides customers with unlimited access and downloads to songs, ringtones and ringback tones as part of a monthly unlimited flat-rate wireless plan. Music downloads directly to the user’s phone without a need for a computer, cables or credit card so consumers can access and manage their music everywhere they go. The service was recently launched in all Cricket markets and already is nearing the 100,000 subscriber mark.

Cricket’s relationship with HFA is a key strategic deal for the company, employing HFA’s technology and song database to deeply broaden the issuance of volumes of song licenses for Muve Music.  HFA’s deep ties to and long-standing relationships with more than 46,000 music publishers will support Muve Music’s growing library of licensed music.

“With a licensing deal in place with HFA, we are able to provide additional full-track downloads as well as expand our offering of available ringtones and ringback tones, giving publishers two additional revenue streams while offering more content to our customers,” said John Bolton, director, Muve Music for Cricket.

Steven Alvarado Signs with Imagem Music Group/Rescue Records

New York City singer-songwriter Steven Alvarado announced that he recently signed an exclusive co-publishing deal with Imagem Music Group/Rescue Records in Los Angeles.

Alvarado previously managed Dubway Recording Studios for eight years while maintaining his songwriting career.

The deal aims to place Alvarado’s songs from his last two albums Let it Go and The Howl Sessions in a wide variety of television shows, commercials, and major studio films.

Imagem Music Group is a Dutch company and is the worlds largest independently owned music publisher.

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