2020 has been a difficult year, so this year more than ever we are all in need of some festive cheer. Why not start by listening to a selection of our Christmas orchestral music? This playlist features orchestral instrumentals of these classic Christmas carols: The Holly And The Ivy, Away In A Manger, Deck The […]
Why Can’t You Make a Song with Royalty-Free Music?
People often ask whether they can sing over a track and sell it as their own. There is a lot of incorrect information out there regarding this. This article covers the facts and the reasons that you cannot use royalty-free music, stock music or library music as your backing track. Why do people want to […]
Sampling & Permission Explained
What is sampling? In music technology, sampling is the technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording. This started to become popular in the 1980’s but synthesisers and samplers were limited by the ability of the technology of the day and early samplers would only be […]
The One-Shot Movie
If you are interested in the process of filmmaking this film is a must-see. The behind the scenes feature (below) suggests that you will be following the main characters in one long shot. No cuts, just one long scene. The concept of producing a movie in one shot is mind-blowing to me. While I am […]
Why Are We Still Using 44.1kHz 16bit for Music?
Somewhere in digital music history, audio at 44.1kHz 16bit became the accepted standard for CD. Our stock music library uses this standard (as do most) and all consumer music still uses it in 2019. However, it is an old standard now. It is believed that these sample/bit rates were established from a balance between two […]
The Zoom Shot Explained
This is part of a blog series to cover all of the main types of camera shots. In this post, we are looking at the Zoom shot. Probably one of the most widely known camera shots, but often misunderstood and can sometimes be confused with other shots. A zoom shot happens in two ways and […]
Is YouTube’s Content ID Still a Problem for Music Libraries in 2019?
Yes and No! In the early days, YouTube’s Content ID system was a real pain for royalty free music libraries and stock music libraries like ours. However, over the years it has become quite a good thing. Although, it still has its issues. Back in its early days if your music triggered a Content ID […]
Clipped Michael Bublé Track: Poor Production or the Modern Way?
Writing music can be a challenge creatively. With today’s tech you have a plethora of options available, thousands of sounds and the ability to layer instrument tracks and apply processing beyond anything you could have even dreamt of back in the 1990’s when I was working with midi and tape (DAT, ADAT). I am 2 […]
Vlogging vs Filmmaking
Filmmaking has been around for over a century, way back to when films were silent and shot in black and white. The term is synonymous with Hollywood, however, film-making is no longer just for film producers with big budgets; everybody with a smartphone has the capability of making a film. The term Vlog is now […]
What is Foley?
The world of Foley is fascinating, especially for someone who records and produces sound effects. You may not have even realised that many of the sounds in films are man-made and added by Foley artists. A few examples are: Coconuts = Horses hooves Metal sheets = Thunder Celery snapping = Breaking bones Cornflour = Walking […]
