The Evolution of Production Music Libraries
While ubiquitous and highly important from both a creative and marketing perspective, most people don’t even know that production music exists. Without it, producers and creators of content would have to spend exorbitant amounts of money licensing tracks for their productions, or they would be woefully lacking in their soundtracks.
What Is A Production Music Library?
Music libraries contain a wide range of songs created by freelance composers and musicians. Once these songs are complete, the creator then sells them to a music production company, which retains all the rights to them. This is not the case with other forms of music, which are usually owned by the creator and producer, or their record company.
When a person needs a soundtrack for some type of content, they can search through production libraries to find something suitable. Upon finding the perfect song, they pay a fee to the owner of the music library in order to use the music. Most music production companies offer a wide variety of tracks to meet many diverse needs.
How Has Production Changed Over Time?
Stock music libraries coincided with the creation of sound film, meaning the first films that utilized sound technology. Unlike the silent films that had dominated the industry up to that point, sound film utilized recorded dialogue that corresponded with the visuals playing on screen.
Up to the 70s, most of the music contained in production catalogs came from session musicians and other professionals. The advent of home recording equipment changed all that, as it meant that virtually anyone could compose original music to be included in production catalogs. The industry saw another massive boom thanks to the internet.
Now that music libraries can be easily uploaded and searched online, content creators have an expansive selection to choose from that feature songs from every conceivable genre. While it depends on the library, some collections feature hundreds of thousands of tracks, which can be used for a multitude of productions.
Updated technology also means that the quality of the music is far superior to in years past. As a result, even small productions can obtain the quality soundtracks they need to make a real impact on their audience.
Universal Production Music’s catalogs, for example, are easily searchable, which means you can find any genre for any decade. We can even help you discover a custom music solution to meet the exact needs of your production. Contact us to learn more about our selection and licensing process.