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Stock Music: An Industry Behind Popular Music

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Lucy Kart
Stock Music: An Industry Behind Popular Music

What is Stock Music?

Stock Music, also known as library music, consists of prerecorded music tracks that are publicly available for licensing and use in various media such as films, television, advertisements and other content. Unlike commissioned music, Stock Music tracks are created by music libraries with the intention of being licensed for commercial use.

Stock Music covers a wide variety of genres and styles including orchestral, rock, jazz, pop, Hip-Hop, electronic etc. depending on clients' needs. Music libraries maintain huge catalogues of Stock Music tracks that are constantly updated with fresh tracks being added on a regular basis. Clients can search tracks by mood, genre, instrumentation or keyword to find the suitable track for their project.

The licensing process

The licensing process for Stock Music is typically done online through the website of the music libraries. Clients can browse through catalogues to find suitable tracks and license them for their required media and territory. Standard licensing allows usage of tracks for a fixed period in a single project or media. Extended licenses offer broader usage rights.

Music libraries offer different tiers of licenses depending on factors like media, duration of use, geographical territory etc. to provide flexibility to clients. Standard one-time licenses can cost anywhere between $50 to few hundreds of dollars depending on the library and usage rights required. Extended licenses allowing unlimited use can go up to thousands of dollars.

Behind the scenes of a music library

Stock Music libraries employ in-house composers andaudio engineers who work exclusively to produce original music tracks for the libraries. Composers are briefed on genres, moods and styles required and given creative freedom within those parameters.

Multiple tracks may be produced daily across genres to quickly build catalogues. Audio engineers meticulously record compositions using live instruments and sound design. Tracks then go through editing, mixing and mastering stages to achieve broadcast quality. Metadata experts tag tracks accurately for effective searching. Quality checks ensure tracks match technical specifications before being made available online.

It’s a continuous process as new catalogues need to be constantly updated to cater to evolving client needs and trends. Music supervisors constantly research latest popular genres and styles to brief composers. Libraries invest heavily in state-of-the-art recording studios and hiring talented musicians and audio professionals to produce high-quality content efficiently.

Stock Music in entertainment and advertising

Stock Music plays a crucial role in popular TV shows, films and advertisements by providing the background score and themes. Well-known shows like Friends, How I Met Your Mother extensively used stock tracks to keep production costs low. Many realized tracks later achieved fame on their own.

Advertisements especially rely heavily on Stock Music to effectively convey designed moods and messages. Quick production turnarounds make Stock Music preferable over commissions. Hit campaigns like Old Spice, Head & Shoulders used memorable jingles sourced from music libraries.

Some innovative creators additionally license tracks for remixing to suit their projects. Artists signed with libraries also get global exposure leading to independent success. Now Stock Music serves as an important revenue stream for musicians besides live performances and commissions. The convenience and cost-effectiveness makes Stock Music indispensable for multimedia content worldwide.

The future looks bright

With digital content burgeoning globally across YouTube, Spotify and various platforms, demand for affordable Stock Music keeps rising. Meanwhile virtual assistants and AI are enabling smarter search capabilities. music libraries are investing in these technologies to provide personalized discovery experiences for clients.

Blockchain technology can bring transparency to royalty payments by tracking real-time usage of tracks. This benefits both rights holders and users. Immersive technologies like VR and AR will require uniquely adaptive soundtracks, offering new opportunities. Younger generations growing up with digital lifestyles will further push demand for on-demand Stock Music solutions.

As omnipresent as popular songs themselves, the unobtrusive yet essential work of music libraries goes mostly unnoticed. Yet Stock Music has arguably enabled more widespread enjoyment of music worldwide than any other medium. With continuous innovation, the future looks bright for this thriving industry that plays such an integral creative role behind the scenes of popular entertainment and media.


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Lucy Kart
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