More sports, more sport channels, more music: that's pretty much the equation for music libraries, the vendors of much, if not most of the theme and background music heard on sports broadcasts today. It has always been a crowded, competitive marketplace, with clients who habitually want something different but not too different, says one veteran of the sector. Music libraries seek to satisfy those needs with a combination of music clips that approach seven digits in number, increasingly intuitive search engines, and more custom services to help clients differentiate themselves sonically.
Diversity
Peter Alexander, sales manager for the Sound Ideas libraries (the company acquired The Hollywood Edge catalog last year), sees fewer clich s in pairing music with sports, a trend he welcomes.
You'll still have the pastoral music for The Masters and the big themes for the NFL and MLB, he says, but there has been a trend away from the classic Olympic-style themes and toward more variety, using rock, country, and hip-hop. He attributes that to more individual choices being made by producers and, to some extent, to the rise of regional sports networks, which will choose musical themes that impart a local flavor.
At the Movies
Where triumphant was a ubiquitous keyword search term for sports music a few years ago, today's rubric is trailer. Not the kind that gathers in parks in tornado-prone flatlands but the one at the movies: the three-minute synopsis that studios depend on to generate interest and that has become its own sub-industry in Hollywood.
Movie trailers are designed to attract attention, so why wouldn't that apply to sports as well? asks John Lentz, senior director of music, FirstCom Music. Some of the same music that the Dallas-based company develops for film trailers has been migrating to sports, which he says is in constant need of impactful music clips. One of those is the backend clip, so named because it comes with a coda of three sharp staccato hits at the end of the typical clip beginning with In a world and is usually soaked in reverb.
These sorts of music tend to work very well for films and television, he says, and they've been migrating to sports now.
Megatrax President/CEO Ron Mendelsohn has also noted the trailer trend, attributing it to an overall greater cinematic influence on television. Major broadcast networks are increasingly using more trailer-style tracks for sports, such as hybrid rock/orchestral and epic trailer music, he says. Often, this type of music will contain dramatic hits, breaks, and edit points.
As with cinema trailers, the range of genres is increasing, as are the kinds of hybrids they're spawning, he adds. Hybrid rock/orchestral tracks, for example, are proving popular for MMA programming, and EDM influences show up often for extreme sports.
That's not to say that clich s aren't present. For instance, Mendelsohn says, if an athlete is from the Ozarks, bluegrass music might be used, surf music for California, Dixieland for New Orleans. But, he adds, this isn't necessarily playing it safe: There is a much wider variety of music used now than a decade ago. For example, you would not hear epic orchestral/rock hybrid tracks on a sports program years ago, nor would you hear much EDM.
Custom Curation
Perhaps the biggest challenge when it comes to library music is simply its abundance. All the libraries have developed various types of search systems, most based on keywords that, by nature, tend to be subjective and vague.
As result, says Matthew Gutknecht, key account executive, sports entertainment, APM Music, sports clients increasingly rely on the libraries themselves to find appropriate music for their needs.
They'll tell us, My people don't have time to listen to 60 or 80 albums' worth of material; you send us what you think is best, he says, describing what's behind more-proactive curation.
And there is just as much increased activity for what he calls reactive curation: last-minute calls for music to fit a recently created package or a suddenly rescheduled event for any of the scores of regional sports networks that continue to proliferate.
And amid all this content there remains the demand for unique signature sounds and themes, something that's hard to do with the limitations of Western music's 12 notes, its cultural reliance on the simple 4/4 time signature, and tempo requirements that tend to hover between 100 and 120 beats per minute.
Everyone wants something that's just theirs but not that different from everything else, Gutknecht points out. That's why they're relying more on us for curation. That has led, he adds, to development of hundreds of curated playlists on APM's playlist page and even more-specialized sports playlists on its sports website.
One thing is not being heard these days: surround music is notably absent. That multichannel format had a brief moment of incipience five or so years ago, with 5.1 surround becoming the standard for broadcast-sports audio.
But it faded quickly, says Lenz. It's something we were doing a while back, when a few clients asked for it, but there's just no demand for it. He adds that clients can be provided with stems so that, if they need to create 5.1, they have the elements to do it.
And music has to leave us with a few mysteries. Sound's Alexander cites a surprising result from a recent analysis of data from client searches: more use of easy-listening categories, including for televised sports. We saw that mainly for sports that tend to have lots of down time, such as baseball. We're not sure what to make of that.
Click here for Tech Focus: Music Libraries, Part 2 - A Round-Up of Providers.
Click here for Tech Focus: Music Libraries, Part 3 - Alternative Ap
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
More sports, more sport channels, more music: that's pretty much the equation for music libraries, the vendors of much, if not most of the theme and background music heard on sports broadcasts today. It has always been a crowded, competitive marketplace, with clients who habitually want something different but not too different, says one veteran of the sector. Music libraries seek to satisfy those needs with a combination of music clips that approach seven digits in number, increasingly intuitive search engines, and more custom services to help clients differentiate themselves sonically.
