Joe ScarffeSoundstripe are revolutionising royalty free production music and we’ve been aware of the impact that the quality of their music library and simple licensing process has had on creatives all over the world.
However, we wanted to go out and see the impact for ourselves and find out how and why creatives are using SoundStripe for their client projects and what advice they have for how to pick tracks for your projects.
So we went out and interviewed two high flying film production houses to find out why they rely on SoundStripe and how it helps them deliver consistent top level work to delight their clients.
Elerby Studios
Elerby Studios is an award winning independent film production house, based in Manchester in the UK. The Studio has been recently rewarded with 4 nominations at various film festivals with Best Director for Lee with his short film ‘Charlie and Me’ at the International Liverpool Film Festival.
Lee has also directed many music videos and promos for such clients as Pepsi and works with clients across the globe from his Manchester base. Lee is currently in post production with feature film ‘The Button Bashers‘ a film dedicated to the computer games of the 1980s.
Why do you use library music?
It a great simple solution. When on some projects it has made life much easier when you have a large selection of superb music ready and waiting.
Time is an issue and on some projects you have to jump through hoops to get music composed or chasing licensing issues. Costing issues can occur if a client requires a music track and do not budget this fact that a scored track can be costly. With this in mind, library music can help immensely for both filmmakers and clients.
Why did you choose Soundstripe?
Soundstripe has a great selection of tracks at a very high level. The ease to find the type of music you are considering via the website helps. The cost per year is a simple one off payment that is very affordable. Before I used Soundstripe it took time and money on each project. Now that issue is gone. Also I like when you do licence a track you get varied options of some on tracks such as instrumental versions or selective instruments removed. Great for editing into a project.
What Soundstripe tracks have you used on client projects?
We have used quite a few and our clients are very happy – even one client sat with us one day and went through the site with us to select the right one they wanted. The one I should mention is Up in the stars by Neon Beach a great loud vocal track that we used on our very own showreel and made it very exciting.
What one piece of advice do you have for other filmmakers on picking library tracks?
Spend time on the site and download a lot of the watermarked tracks and lock varied versions in your edit. There has been some cases where I am in edit without a track and this has helped me select the track I need and tailored the edit to fit. Also have a look at the staff picks – There are some real gems in there.
Scene Lab Productions
Scene Lab Productions is New York based production studio run by a group of creative professionals from a wide range of production backgrounds who all share a love for visual storytelling.
They provide full service video production, live event capture, promotion and engagement and provide stock footage for some of the biggest libraries on the planet.
Their clients include Sotheby’s International Realty, Intersect Retail and NAI Global.
Why do you use library music?
Many of our clients want a variety of genres and music styles in their short films, but have limited budgets for music composition.
Why did you choose Soundstripe?
No doubt about it, the yearly membership is a great value, but the selection is very impressive as well.
What SoundStripe tracks have you used on client projects?
We’ve used quite a few, but some of my favorites for recent projects were:
What one piece of advice do you have for other filmmakers on picking library tracks?
Getting to understand the basics of what you as a filmmaker wants and what your client expects (if applicable) is vital. Taking some time to learn at least a few fundamentals on how music influences a sequence, or scene, and learning how it will impact your primary audience is also important. Reading books, watching behind the scenes videos, and picking the brains of composers and filmmakers are all things I try to do, since learning your craft never stops.
So there we have it folks! If you have any questions you’d like us to put to these talented people then please pop them in the comments below.
Click here to find out more about SoundStripe and enter the code “TWINE20” to get 20% off a yearly Soundstripe membership.
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