first round of featured panelists for 7th annual ascap “i create music” expo announced
Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine), Desmond Child, Darrell Brown, Mark Isham, Allen Shamblin, Dan Wilson to Lead Three-Day Event’s Eclectic Programming NEW YORK, NY and LOS ANGELES, CA, Feb 29, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) has announced the initial lineup of panelists and programming for the 7th annual ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, taking place April 19-21, 2012 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to signature “I Create Music” interviews, master classes, hitmaker panels and top-notch showcases, ASCAP will once again bring together a diverse group of music creators [...]
whitney
Several weeks have gone by since the passing of Whitney Houston on February 11. So much has been written and spoken about the passing of this remarkable artist, a performer who whose most exquisite work was done many years ago. Indeed, I remember clearly in 1992 the first time I knowingly heard the name Whitney Houston and associated with a particular song. The song “I Will Always Love You” came over the speaker system of a hair salon I was in on Lemmon Ave in Dallas, TX. The song began, and 4 minutes 24 seconds it was over. I was stunned. Transfixed. Could not speak. I was just glad that the stylist [...]
rio’s time to shine
On Saturday I joined hundreds of masked, festively dressed samba lovers at the 20th annual San Diego Mardi Gras. On this night, Fat Tuesday met Sambadrome in a night filled with rhythmic percussions. Dinner was an American version of Feijoada, a fitting tribute to Brazil’s national dish. In the background, the Disney move Rio played on a 100” screen. Brazil, and its shiniest jewel Rio de Janeiro were celebrated San Diego style. One day later and 6,197 miles away, 2.2 million people lined the streets of Copacabana and the seats of the Sambadrome to witness day one of this year’s Cardao da Bola Preta parade. During this five day celebration [...]
megatrax founders on the origins of the company
In this short video, Megatrax Production Music founders JC Dwyer & Ron Mendelsohn share their memories of the origins of the company.
photos from the guild of music supervisors’ 2nd annual awards brunch
Megatrax Production Music was an Official Sponsor of the 2nd Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Brunch on Sunday, February 12, 2012, celebrating the best Music Supes in the business with pre-Grammy cocktails and honors. Here are a few photos of the Megatrax Crew and Guild luminaries at the event.
the perils of loops and sample libraries: too much of a good thing?
Not so long ago composing music used to involve writing for real instruments or for midi keyboards and synths. However this quaint scenario has radically changed over the past few years due to the explosion of commercials loops and sample libraries. This development poses a number of interesting questions on both the legal and creative fronts. As a composer, I can certainly attest to the fact that samples and loops are incredibly convenient and a useful way to jumpstart the creative process; indeed, I would go so far as to say that these tools are virtually indispensable for today’s music production. However, many composers may be unaware of the legal [...]
streaming entertainment battle between netflix & redbox ripples to internet & mobile service providers
Netflix made the news twice this week in stories that sound an alarm that the digital media era is going to change a lot of traditional business practices, that the media giants of 2013 may be significantly different from the media giants of 2011, and that Netflix may already be well on the road to recovery from its PR gaffes of last year. In a brief moment that hints at a the blurring of lines between rivals and collaborators, Time Warner dropped Netflix’s name in their Super Bowl ad yesterday, reports Steve Donohue for Fierce Cable. According to the article: The commercial focused on how subscribers who buy its subscription [...]
when to license, and when to create: a guest post by rossanna wright, co-founder of catahoola
The question of whether to license an existing piece of music or to have a custom piece created for a project comes up in almost every song search for a music supervisor. This question comes up a lot at my company, Catahoola, when we do searches for advertising clients. Here are a few reasons why we might consider hiring a composer to create something new for us, or why we might choose a catalog piece instead. Catalog: Brands look for catalog music for two main reasons, and they both have to do with endorsement. A brand will look to a well-known song or artist to complement their advertising message when [...]
