Misplaced Pages

#650349

38-683: KPM Music is a company that creates and provides library music that was originally known as KPM Musichouse. It was formed by the merger of KPM (the initials of Keith-Prowse-Maurice, which was then a division of EMI ) and Music House (a company that EMI acquired in 1997). The firm's origins date back to the Keith, Prowse & Co. partnership established in 1830. KPM's music library has been utilised in many films and television programmes worldwide. The KPM 1000 Series, many of them produced by Adrian Kerridge , have become more generally available commercially in recent years. The music written by KPM's composers

76-409: A composer to sign a non-exclusive agreement allowing the artist to license the same piece to other libraries and clients with the same non-exclusive agreement. In other words, their intellectual property (their composition) can be licensed to multiple clients simultaneously, provided that they are not contractually bound by an exclusive agreement with another company. The non-exclusive library doesn't own

114-512: A cult following. Trunk wrote the first book on the subject, The Music Library , published in 2005, and in the following years many classic production music records were reissued . In the 2000s, library music also began to interest crate-digging hip hop producers. Some were interested, in part, because of the sample -clearance issues faced with commercial music releases while others, such as Madlib , have used it for its unique musical quality. Library music has been sampled by artists including

152-413: A non-exclusive basis where it can be used in perpetuity without any usage reporting. The music is licensed by the customers according to an accepted license agreement, and they cannot sell it or license it to others. Because of advancing technology, it is becoming easier for independent musicians to set up their own shops through which they can license music. Non-exclusive production music libraries enable

190-602: A number 20 UK hit for Cilla Black (which was also a number 11 UK hit for Agnetha Fältskog in 2004) and "Sweet Inspiration", a Top 10 single for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon . Cameron's first venture in film composition was for director Ken Loach , who asked him to compose the score for Kes (1969). This led to further commissions, including The Ruling Class (1972) with Peter O'Toole , Night Watch (1973) with Elizabeth Taylor , and A Touch of Class (1973) with Glenda Jackson and George Segal , for which Cameron

228-473: A result of a new interest in production music of the 1960s and 1970s, notably the 'beat' and electronica cues recorded for KPM and other labels, which have been widely sampled by DJs and record producers. In recent years, some of these British musicians have given public performances of their classic compositions under the group name KPM Allstars . As noted by library music historian Jonny Trunk , founder of Trunk Records , library music gained wider appeal in

266-516: A small amount of income from sales of physical CDs or online track downloads). Assuming that the music is broadcast, royalties are paid on the music, though it is the broadcaster who pays them via annual fees to the performing rights societies, not the producer who uses the music in their production. Some companies offer truly royalty-free music which is not registered with any performance rights organisation (also known as "royalty collection agencies"). These companies license music to their customers on

304-545: A version of which was also used as the theme music for Top of the Pops from 1970 to 1981; the Donovan songs "Walkin'" (UK number 7); and "Tap Turns on the Water" (UK number 5) and "Brother" (UK number 25), both written by Cameron and Korner. Cameron had further success as pop arranger with UK soul-funk band Hot Chocolate , working on all their hit singles including " Emma ", "Heaven Is in

342-482: A well-known piece of popular music could cost anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the prominence of the performer(s). The first production music library was set up by De Wolfe Music in 1927 with the advent of sound in film. The company originally scored music for use in silent film . Production music libraries typically offer a broad range of musical styles and genres, enabling producers and editors to find diverse types of music within

380-545: A wide range of pre-1960s production music cues, some of which were composed by Emil Cadkin —including many pieces familiar from their use in earlier cartoons—which were chosen for their ironic, suspenseful, patriotic and humorous effect. Production music composers and session performers typically work anonymously and have rarely become known outside their professional circle. In recent years some veteran composer-performers in this field such as Alan Hawkshaw, John Cameron and Keith Mansfield have achieved attention and popularity as

418-404: Is the largest independent production music library. Other independent libraries include Vanacore Music, ALIBI Music , West One Music Group and TYTO Music . The business model of production music libraries is based on two income streams: This method of licensing combines the creation of original, custom music with a catalog of traditional "library" music under one license agreement. The goal

SECTION 10

#1732856072651

456-430: Is to suit the needs of a budget conscious production but still provide that production with a unique and original show theme or audio brand. In this scenario, the show producer identifies those scenes they feel are most important to the success of the show, and those scenes are scored to picture by the composer. Those less important scenes will utilize the library also provided by the same publisher/composer. Upon completion,

494-463: The 1990s when it was made public for the first time. In the 1980s, there were hundreds of library companies producing music with old records becoming redundant, especially with the advent of CDs. By the mid-1990s, these companies, many located in Soho , London, were dumping their old and obsolete vinyl records on local record and charity shops. Many record collectors became interested in the genre, and it gained

532-507: The Avalanches , Jay-Z , Beyoncé , A$ AP Rocky , Flying Lotus , RZA , Swizz Beatz and Ghostface Killah . Some music producers, such as Frank Dukes , have also been inspired by the library music model and distribute some of their compositions as production music for sampling . The production music market is dominated by libraries affiliated with the large record and publishing companies: Universal Music Publishing Group library music has

570-549: The Back Seat of My Cadillac", " You Sexy Thing " and " Every 1's a Winner ". Similarly, he worked as arranger with Heatwave on three albums, including the singles " Boogie Nights ", " Always and Forever ", " The Groove Line " and "Gangsters of the Groove". He is also credited for the score on the 1974 UK hit single " Central Park Arrest " by vocal trio Thunderthighs , working alongside Steve Rowland and songwriter Lynsey de Paul . In

608-539: The De Wolfe catalogue) as background or incidental music. American TV has also utilized production music, most notably with the themes for Monday Night Football (" Heavy Action " by Johnny Pearson ) and The People's Court ("The Big One" by Alan Tew ). Other notable examples are the Nickelodeon animated series The Ren and Stimpy Show and SpongeBob SquarePants , which use well-known classical music excerpts and

646-616: The Ripper (starring Michael Caine ), Disney's Little House on the Prairie , To End All Wars and The Path to 9/11 , for which Cameron was nominated for an Emmy Award. Cameron has also worked with artists such as José Carreras and the Choir of New College Oxford and Swedish baritone Carry Persson . He produced and arranged Lux Aeterna , a choral setting of Elgar ’s Nimrod , and conducted his own composition, Missa Celtica , recorded with

684-482: The U.S. the recordings have been used on Sesame Street , as well as sports documentarian Jon Bois ' YouTube series, Dorktown. In the United States, KPM is represented by APM Music . KPM Musichouse was rebranded as EMI Production Music in 2011 and is now part of Sony Music Publishing . In January 2019, KPM's production library was fully digitized and became available for streaming online. EMI Production Music

722-415: The composer want to enter the piece into an exclusive agreement with a library or client, they would first need to remove that piece from all non-exclusive agreements. An advantage to using a non-exclusive library is the possible broad exposure through multiple outlets, and the ability of the artist to retain control. Conversely, if an artist sells their piece to an exclusive library they are paid upfront for

760-428: The composer's permission, as is necessary in licensing music from normal publishers. This is because virtually all music created for music libraries is done on a work-for-hire basis. Production music is a convenient solution for media producers—they are able to license any piece of music in the library at a reasonable rate, whereas a specially commissioned work could be prohibitively expensive. Similarly, licensing

798-434: The custom music and the library tracks are licensed together under one production blanket, the ownership of the custom music remains with the publisher who produced it, and the publisher can (after a term of exclusivity negotiated between the parties) re-license the custom music as part of its library to recoup production costs. This allows the music composer/producer to quote lower rates because they are retaining ownership of

SECTION 20

#1732856072651

836-404: The custom music, and will have the ability to make money with the same recording in a different production later on. It also allows the program or film producer to deliver content of very high quality, ensures that the most important scenes have the perfect music, and those less important scenes are addressed with an affordable solution. With the proliferation of music libraries in recent years and

874-573: The group Hot Chocolate . Cameron's instrumental version of Led Zeppelin 's " Whole Lotta Love ", became a hit for his group CCS and, for many years, a version of Cameron's arrangement was used as the theme music for the BBC TV show Top of the Pops . Cameron was born in Woodford , Essex , England. By the age of 12, he had started performing in talent shows, and at 14 played jazz piano in pubs in Croydon . He

912-460: The increase in competition, some smaller libraries have evolved the royalty-free music model. These libraries do not charge their customers for licensing the music. Instead, the customers purchase a CD or access to an electronic collection of music—priced typically between 50 and 300 dollars—whose content is licensed in perpetuity for them to synchronize as often as they wish. These libraries depend mainly on performance royalties for their income (with

950-528: The interim Cameron was obliged to go back to conducting pantomime at his local Watford Palace Theatre. From mid-1966, with the lawsuit resolved, Cameron began touring and recording regularly with Donovan, and he arranged and played on many of his hit singles " Jennifer Juniper " and " Epistle to Dippy ", the albums Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow , as well as Donovan's music for the 1967 Ken Loach film, Poor Cow . Cameron also began working in television; one of his first major credits in this area

988-609: The late 1970s, Cameron was approached by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg to arrange and conduct a concept album based on Victor Hugo 's Les Misérables . Initially staged in Paris , France, by Robert Hossein , it was then produced in the UK by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company , directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird . Les Misérables became one of

1026-614: The most successful musicals of all time, winning Cameron the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and a National Broadway Theatre Award . He also orchestrated the 1991 London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , Honk! and Spend Spend Spend . Cameron's numerous TV credits include The Protectors television series, the Emmy Award-winning TV miniseries Jack

1064-523: The music libraries of Chappell Recording Music Library, Bruton, Atmosphere, and others such as Killer Tracks ; Concord Music owns Imagem Production Music, formerly Boosey & Hawkes Production Music, which includes the Cavendish, Abaco and Strip Sounds labels; Sony Music Publishing owns KPM Music and Extreme Music ; BMG Rights Management runs its own production music division; and Warner Chappell Music owns Warner/Chappell Production Music. Sonoton

1102-640: The original theme for the BBC's Grandstand ("News Scoop" by Len Stevens), Crimewatch ("Rescue Helicopter" by John Cameron ) and Grange Hill ("Chicken Man" by Alan Hawkshaw). The Christmas hit single based on the character Mr Blobby uses excerpts from "Mr Jellybun" by Paul Shaw and David Rogers. Arthur Wood 's " Barwick Green ", written in 1924, still serves as the theme for long-running BBC Radio soap The Archers . TV comedy series such as The Benny Hill Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus also made extensive use of production library cues (many sourced from

1140-409: The piece but the artist typically sells the publishing rights, hence losing control of the piece and future licensing fees. John Cameron (musician) John Cameron (born 20 March 1944) is a British composer , arranger, conductor and musician. He is well known for his many film, TV and stage credits, and for his contributions to pop recordings, notably those by Donovan , Cilla Black and

1178-422: The rights outside of the licenses that are made by that library. Typically the library does not pay for the piece, and the artist doesn't get any payment until the piece is licensed at which point the library and the artist split the license fee equally. Libraries typically require the artist to rename the piece in effect creating a unique art work for the library to register with their PRO (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC). Should

KPM Music - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-497: The same library. Music libraries vary in size from a few hundred tracks up to many thousands. Production music is frequently used as theme or background music in radio, film and television. Well-known examples of British TV series with theme songs sourced from library catalogs include Ski Sunday ("Pop Looks Bach" by Sam Fonteyn), Dave Allen At Large ("Studio 69", sometimes known as "Blarney's Stoned", by Alan Hawkshaw ), Mastermind ("Approaching Menace" by Neil Richardson ),

1254-519: Was an unexpected hiatus of several months following the recording of the Sunshine Superman album. Donovan's British label, Pye Records , who had a US licensing deal with Warner Bros Records , filed a lawsuit when they found out that Donovan had signed an American recording deal with rival label Epic Records . The legal proceedings held up the UK release of the album, and prevented Donovan from touring or recording for several months in early 1966. In

1292-488: Was as music director and arranger for three seasons of the TV variety series Once More with Felix with folk-singer Julie Felix (1967–69), The Bobbie Gentry Show and numerous episodes of Stanley Dorfman 's In Concert series for the BBC, which featured artists including James Taylor , Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman . Cameron also scored two British hits as a songwriter with " If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind ",

1330-847: Was educated at Wallington County Grammar School and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge , where he was a contemporary of Daryl Runswick . Aside from performing on the local jazz scene, Cameron also became Vice-President of the Cambridge Footlights comedy club, where he collaborated on lyrics and performed with Eric Idle . After leaving Cambridge, he played in jazz groups, often performing satirical material, and recorded an album, Cover Lover , in 1966. He also began working as an arranger for pop and rock artists, including Alex Harvey , before being introduced to folk-pop artist Donovan . His credits include Donovan's number 1 U.S. hit " Sunshine Superman " (co-arranged with Spike Heatley ). Cameron eventually became Donovan's music director, but there

1368-409: Was intended for use as signature tunes or incidental music in film and television. KPM pieces became the theme tunes for Mastermind , All Creatures Great and Small , The Avengers , Animal Magic , This Is Your Life , Dave Allen at Large , SpongeBob SquarePants , The Ren & Stimpy Show , Camp Lazlo , Superstars , Grandstand , Rugby Special , and ITV News at Ten . In

1406-509: Was nominated for an Academy Award . His other film scores included The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) and the cult horror film Psychomania (1973), among many others. He also collaborated with Keith Mansfield on albums of library music . In the early 1970s, Cameron formed CCS , a jazz-rock big band that included Cameron, Mickie Most , Alexis Korner and Herbie Flowers ; they scored four UK hits—a mainly instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (UK number 13),

1444-410: Was rebranded again to KPM Music on 13 September 2021. This article about a music industry company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Production music Unlike popular and classical music publishers, who typically own less than 50 percent of the copyright in a composition, production music libraries own all of the copyrights of their music. Thus, it can be licensed without

#650349