Film scores

An Austrian-American musician, Max Steiner has been a pioneer in introducing the Central European orchestral style to Hollywood film music, influencing many other future film music composers.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold is one of the first film music composers with a worldwide reputation.

Like his friend Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold is an Austrian-American film music composer, doubling as an idol for future film music composers.

Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold are both Austrian composers in America, whereas Alfred Newman is not, although he is still a key inspiration for future film music composers.

Unlike Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, both of whom are pioneers in bringing European orchestral music to Hollywood, Alfred Newman has an American background.

Having been deeply rooted in American music, the US-born and raised Alfred Newman developed a unique film scoring style, blending European orchestral music with American elements.

Alfred Newman developed his own eponymous system for synchronizing music with film.

In addition, Alfred Newman's work with the 20th Century-Fox orchestra also popularized the lush and emotional "Hollywood string sound" in film music.

Characterized by rich orchestration and vibrato, this Hollywood string sound in film music serves as a hallmark of the film scores by Alfred Newman and influences many other composers.

Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Alfred Newman are individuals who transform film music into full-bodied orchestral works and prove that cinematic Hollywood music is a vital art form.

In addition to his concert work, Aaron Copland is an innovative film score composer, introducing his distinctive Americana sound to Hollywood.

With his reputation as a film score composer, Aaron Copland's sound is unequivocally American; the tradition continues in modern and contemporary Hollywood film scores.

For Aaron Copland, his film scores introduce modern music styles and techniques to Hollywood; they offer a modern alternative t the traditional, often "overlush" Romantic orchestral sound.

Bernard Herrmann's film music work is noted for his experimental and dissonant style, which features harmonies, unsual instrumental compositions and a modernistic approach.

Miklos Rozsa, one of the last survivors of the Old Hollywood film composers, has sweeping and epic cinematic orchestral music, shaped by his Hungarian heritage and classical influences.

Innovations in film music by Miklos Rozsa include the theremin.

Dimitri Tiomkin is the first film music composer to write both the title theme and the score.

Hugo Friedhofer has collaborated with Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, two pivotal figures shaping the orchestral style as the quintessential and dominant film music sound for decades.

Whereas many other film scores borrowed from the late-Romantic European tradition, Aaron Copland's film scores largely reflected his distinct American approach.

For modern film composers, they fuse the film music styles by Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Aaron Copland, Bernard Herrmann, Miklos Rozsa and Dimitri Tiomkin.

In fact, modern film composers fuse classic Hollywood film music styles with contemporary elements.

Besides Hollywood's Golden Age composers, film composers using a pop, jazz and experimental style include Ennio Morricone, John Barry. Lalo Schifrin, Alex North and Mario Nascimbene.

For Alex North, he is one of the first film music composers to embrace modernism.

Ennio Morricone blends contemporary pop influences, including the electric guitar, with avant-garde techniques, whistling and ambient sounds.

Mario Nascimbene incorporates sounds from everyday life as part of his film scores.

John Barry has had innovations in film music, but his career has his roots in jazz, pop and rock.

In his early years, John Barry worked in cinemas run by his father.

During his national service with the British Army, John Barry started his music work by playing the trumpet, working with American jazz composer Bill Russo.

After national service, John Barry arranged the orchestras formed by Ted Heath and Jack Parnell.

The John Barry Seven was a rock band; it was a backing act for pop singer Adam Faith.

For John Barry, he blends modern pop influences, like the electric guitar, the electric bass, synths and sequenced rhythm tracks, with traditional orchestral music.

Before John Barry, action/suspense music often relied on traditional European orchestral music.

John Barry simplified the melodies, but maximized the volume and attitude.

Plus, John Barry not just made drums a tool for timekeeping, but a melodic and driving force.

Lalo Schifrin is best known as a film and television composer, but his career has his roots in Western classical music, jazz and pop.

With his father (a violinist) as the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires, Lalo Schifrin began classical training with his piano studies at age 6.

As a teenager, Lalo Schifrin discovered jazz through smuggled records, and in the mid-1950's, he met bebop legend Dizzy Gillespie.

In 1960, Lalo Schifrin moved to New York to serve as Dizzy Gillespie's music director and pianist.

Plus, Lalo Schifrin studied at the Paris Conservatoire under masters like Olivier Messiaen.

During his stay in Paris, Lalo Schifrin also developed an interest in African drumming and modern pop music.

As a film lover from a young age, Lalo Schifrin spent hours in movie theatres in Buenos Aires, but was captivated by film scores more than the stories themselves, which deepened in Paris.

Having performed with the late Astor Piazzolla in the 1950's, Lalo Schifrin even incorporated pop and Latin American elements, specifically tango.

John Williams is one of the world's most famous film music composers ever.

For John Williams, he revives and mixes the grand orchestral styles of the Golden Age composers like Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold with 20th-century Americana à la Aaron Copland.

Incidentally, John Williams is the most noted film composer to mix classic Hollywood with modern.

Known as a pioneer in incorporating modernist techniques into film music, Jerry Goldsmith serves as a precursor to the modern Hollywood film music approach.

Besides Miklos Rozsa, some of the other music composers who influence Jerry Goldsmith's film music work include Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg and Bernard Herrmann.

Danny Elfman is also a world-famous film music composer, blending the grand orchestral styles of the Golden Age composers with digital and synth sounds derived from his rock music background.

Hans Zimmer blends classical instrumentation with electronic elements.

The USC Thornton School of Music is where Jerry Goldsmith, Basil Poledouris and Hoyt Curtin were educated under Miklos Rozsa.

For 20 years, starting in 1945, Miklos Rozsa had been highly-respected as one of the earliest and most influential instructors of the pioneering film scoring program at USC.

Prior to Max Steiner's breakthrough work on King Kong, film music was pure and simple.

During its early era, silent films in Hollywood were often accompanied by music being played live in theatres by musicians, either a pianist or a small ensemble.

With talkies, film music became integrated more smoothly, but also introduced new issues.

However, Max Steiner's breakthrough work on King Kong transformed the film music business.

King Kong is one of the first major Hollywood productions to use a fully thematic score through Max Steiner, employing leitmotifs associated with characters and events inspired by Richard Wagner.

In fact, Max Steiner's score for King Kong turned film music into large-scale orchestral works.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood likewise changed the film music business, similar to what Max Steiner did for his King Kong work.

Using Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler as influences, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood took film music to a new level of sophistication.

While at 20th Century-Fox, Alfred Newman worked with Marilyn Monroe on some films.

Lionel Newman was the music director for all Marilyn Monroe films at 20th Century-Fox.

In fact, Alfred Newman led the 20th Century-Fox music department, working in collaboration with his younger brother Lionel Newman, both of whom worked with Marilyn Monroe.

Blackboard Jungle features Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, not just in its opening sequence, but four additional times.

For Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, its inclusion in Blackboard Jungle marked the first instance of a major Hollywood film featuring rock music.

Plus, having been used 5 times in Blackboard Jungle, notably in its opening sequence, Rock Around the Clock topped the pop charts around the world, introducing rock music to the mainstream.

Rock Around the Clock is also the name of a film, whose title track is used in its opening sequence.

Unlike Blackboard Jungle, which is a social commentary, Rock Around the Clock is a musical, the first musical film entirely dedicated to rock music.

For the film Rock Around the Clock, it capitalizes on Bill Haley's fame and the song's global success.

Crazy Man, Crazy successfully made the pop charts, marking the initial national breakthrough for Bill Haley & His Comets and proving that rock music could exist on the mainstream pop charts.

But Rock Around the Clock was the true catalyst for rock music's global dominance.

Prior to Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, pop music had a conservative feel.

Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, however, opened the floodgates for rock music's dominance on a global, mainstream pop music level.

Glenn Ford suggested his younger son Peter (who was interested in both the rhythm & blues and rock music genres) to choose Rock Around the Clock as the theme tune for Blackboard Jungle.

Former Disney musician Charles Wolcott adapted the music for Blackboard Jungle (which introduced rhythm & blues-rooted rock music to mainstream pop music).

Alex North's film score for A Streetcar Named Desire is the first major film score based on jazz.

From the 1930's to the 1950's, Muir Mathieson worked with the London Symphony Orchestra.

In the late-1960's or before 1969, four-time Academy Award winner André Previn came to the London Symphony Orchestra as its principal conductor.

Both Muir Mathieson and André Previn put the London Symphony Orchestra on the film music map.

Alfred Newman's iconic and world-famous fanfare for 20th Century-Fox was created in 1933; its own expansion in 1954 was done to include the soaring strings for CinemaScope films.

George Lucas, an Old Hollywood admirer, insisted that the extended 1954 version of Alfred Newman's iconic and world-famous 20th Century-Fox fanfare be used to begin the first Star Wars film.

John Williams is the composer of the iconic and world-famous Star Wars theme tune in the same B-flat major key as the 20th Century-Fox fanfare by his friend and mentor Alfred Newman.

The London Symphony Orchestra performed the score for the first two Star Wars film series from 1977 until 2005 overall.

What launched this long tenure of the London Symphony Orchestra as the performer of the score of the first six Star Wars films is the connection that both André Previn and Lionel Newman facilitated.

Lionel Newman, who is Alfred Newman's slightly younger brother, suggested the usage of the London Symphony Orchestra, once led by André Previn, to John Williams.

Recorded at Anvil Studio in Denham, under the performance of the London Symphony Orchestra, the score for the first Star Wars film by John Williams was recorded by Eric Tomlinson.

For John Williams, his work on the Star Wars franchise marked a revival of the symphonic film music tradition, departing from the pop, jazz and experimental-infused film scores of the time.

Meco's disco version of the Star Wars theme, composed by John Williams, is also a successful tune.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) create their own version of the iconic and famous Aaron Copland tune called Fanfare for the Common Man.

Elmer Bernstein's work for The Magnificent Seven incorporates Americana elements, notably drawing inspiration from Aaron Copland's works.

Dave Smith's 1981 invention of the MIDI protocol became a method for film scores in digital.

Plus, the Synclavier and the Fairlight CMI have both pioneered digital sampling, but it was the earliest models from E-mu and Akai that first caught on and became studio staples.

Hans Zimmer co-founded Media Ventures/Remote Control Productions in March 1989 with his partner Jay Rifkin.

Starting in the 1990's, companies began selling conpact discs full of royalty-free material; towards the conclusion of the 1990's decade, composers shifted towards a work based on computers.

Hollywood in Vienna is an annual film music gala honouring music composers whose work has left a lasting mark on film music, held at the Vienna Concert Hall.

Since its inception, Hollywood in Vienna has honoured many composers, including Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Arnold Schoenberg and others.

Plus, the Hollywood in Vienna gala commemorates composers who emigrated from Vienna in the 20th century to establish the classic Hollywood sound.

The Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award is given at the annual Hollywood in Vienna gala.

John Barry earned the first Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2009, while Howard Shore earned the second Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2010.

Alan Silvestri earned the third Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award and Lalo Schifrin won the fourth Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award, both in the early-2010's period.

James Horner, Randy Newman, James Newton Howard and Alexandre Desplat respectively earned the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Awards in the mid-2010's period.

Plus, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and Gabriel Yared respectively earned the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Awards in the late-2010's.

The most recent Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award, originally to be presented in 2020, but delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, went to Alan Menken. 

Incidentally, Randy Newman won the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2014, with his cousin and fellow film music composer David Newman as conductor.

David Newman's father Alfred Newman was Max Steiner's colleague.

Plus, the Newmans come from Eastern Europe (specifically Russia), which makes Austria a gateway to this region.

De Wolfe Music, formerly known as Music De Wolfe, is one of the best, greatest and most iconic and influential companies specializing in stock music.

Unconfined to music, De Wolfe Music also has sound effects.

Wardour Street, based at Soho in London, was De Wolfe's longtime headquarters until its relocation to Shropshire House on Capper Street in the late-1990's.

Queens House at Tottenham Court Road houses De Wolfe Music.

Angel Recording Studios, which is a former De Wolfe property being based at the Islington Chapel in London, is a location being used for orchestral recording purposes.

Meyer De Wolfe, born in the Netherlands, arrived in Britain after the turn of the 20th century.

By setting foot on the British map, Meyer De Wolfe founded his own company in 1909.

In the late-1920's, with sound entering cinema, De Wolfe Music had sound-on-disc and sound-on-film technology to create the world's first commercial recorded music library.

James De Wolfe is Meyer De Wolfe's younger son, taking over his father's music label after WWII.

Having been in the Royal Air Force for 5 years starting in 1942 during WWII, James De Wolfe was a member of the Dutch Squadron, marked by resilience and bravery.

Not long after the Allies won World War II in 1945, James De Wolfe returned to his roots at the music label that his father Meyer De Wolfe had founded in 1909.

Returning from RAF service after WWII ended, James De Wolfe injected fresh energy into this music publishing business, especially the label that his father Meyer De Wolfe had begun.

Carrying on the legacy of his father Meyer De Wolfe, after World War II, James De Wolfe has greatly expanded De Wolfe Music's reach beyond its original British borders.

Plus, James De Wolfe spearheaded the development of the Angel Recording Studios complex.

KPM/EMI is, besides De Wolfe Music, one of the best, greatest and most iconic and influential stock music labels.

Denmark Street, located near Wardour Street, where De Wolfe was located, had also been the longtime headquarters for KPM/EMI until its move to Charing Cross the late-1980's.

Soho bridges both Wardour Street and Denmark Street, where De Wolfe and KPM/EMI were based.

For Robert William Keith, he was a composer and an instrument maker; he opened up a music shop in London in the late-18th century.

In the early-19th century, Robert William Keith met fellow instrument maker William Prowse.

Keith Prowse & Co. was the result of a partnership forged between Robert William Keith and William Prowse.

Having had both ticket and music publishing, Keith Prowse & Co. spun-off the latter in the mid-1950's period to focus on the earlier.

The owners of the first independent television station in Britain called Associated-Rediffusion acquired Keith Prowse Music Publishing, starting the latter's stock music label.

Peter Maurice Music was run by John Turner (James Phillips), with its lyricist Geoffrey Parsons.

In the late-1950's, Associated-Rediffusion also purchased Peter Maurice Music, merging it with Keith Prowse Music Publishing to form Keith-Prowse-Maurice (KPM).

Via Independent Television (ITV) and Associated-Rediffusion, stock music has been an integral and a crucial portion of the music scene in both the television and broadcast industries.

Associated-Rediffusion (then Rediffusion London) was outbid in the late-1960's, as was the other Big Four ITV station called ABC Weekend Television.

Rediffusion London and ABC Weekend Television merged to form Thames Television.

In 1969, EMI acquired Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), which partly owned Thames Television.

Separately, in 1969, EMI acquired the KPM stock music label from Rediffusion London.

Warner Bros. partly owned Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) until 1969.

Robin Phillips headed KPM through its 1000 Series, which he created in May 1966.

Incidentally, Robin Phillips' father John Turner (James Phillips) had owned Peter Maurice Music (now KPM) since 1930, with his older brother Peter joining in 1954.

1930, 1942, 1954 and 1966 are respectively years of the Chinese zodiac Horse.

Adrian Kerridge, a veteran engineer in the pop and rock music scenes, is also an engineer of the KPM 1000 Series, under whom it has a crisp sound.

For the KPM 1000 Series, co-envisioned by Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge, it blended traditional orchestration with modern pop instrumentation.

KPM also shifted from 10-inch 78 rpm shellac discs into 12-inch 33 rpm LPs with its 1000 Series.

78 rpm shellac discs use faster playback speed, whereas 33 rpm LPs have slower speed and finer, more densely packed microgrooves, giving music a more storage space.

Both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge enlisted musicians and composers from pop, jazz and rock to create a fresh, dynamic sound for film and television for the KPM 1000 Series.

Green is the main colour of the album covers of the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge have envisioned.

Nicknamed Greensleeves, the KPM 1000 Series forever changed stock music (and music overall).

Since the 1960's, stock music labels have used a modern and contemporary sound, pioneered by both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge.

KPM/EMI and De Wolfe are noted labels with the modern Robin Phillips/Adrian Kerridge sound.

Jan Stoeckart, Frans Mijts, Hugo De Groot and Els van Epen are some Dutch people working with De Wolfe Music, besides its namesake (and fellow Dutchman) Meyer De Wolfe.

Many De Wolfe Music LPs were physically pressed at the Dureco factory in Weesp in the Netherlands before being shipped to the UK.

Indeed, for years, De Wolfe Music has had deep operations and artistic relations with the Dutch music business.

Alfonso Corelli and Fred Jacobs, both of whom were film editors rooted in the United States, founded their eponymous music company called Corelli-Jacobs, Inc., based in New York City.

For Corelli-Jacobs, Inc., it acquired the American distribution rights to the music label, driven by both Meyer De Wolfe and his younger son James De Wolfe, in 1953.

Emil Ascher founded his eponymous company in New York City in the late-19th century; his sons took over after his death in the early-1920's.

Like Corelli-Jacobs, Emil Ascher, Inc. is a former company distributing European stock music labels.

The longtime main headquarters of Corelli-Jacobs Recording, which distributed De Wolfe Music in the United States, was based at West 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Before moving to its iconic West 45th headquarters, Corelli-Jacobs, distributing De Wolfe Music in the United States, was at Madison Avenue, Broadway and 7th Avenue.

Germany is where Emil Ascher (namesake of the stock music distributor) was born, with its neighbour Austria being where Alfonso Corelli (Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe) was born.

Before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, America's Big Three networks used live orchestras.

The iconic Big Three networks provided custom compositions for primetime programs, whereas local stations/daytime syndications have low budgets before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher.

Likewise, before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, America's Big Three networks took too long to require theme music and transition cues to fit highly rigid commercial broadcast slots.

On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), which was led at the time by James Petrillo, began a 2-year strike over disagreements, rendering US music tracking to a stop.

The second AFM strike under James Petrillo lasted from January 1, 1948 to December 14, 1948.

However, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher pitched a revolutionary alternative: pre-recorded music compositions being specialized by atmospheric emotion.

Both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher also made stock music bridge the local-network budget divide.

In addition, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher pitched the structure of the stock music labels:

• Tracks were specially arranged with buttons (clean and non-fading end stingers)

• Composers made tracks that were easily edited into standard radio/television lengths: 60-second themes, 30-second commercial beds and 5-to-10-second transitional stingers

Furthermore, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher also pitched a vital loophole: stock music cues were being recorded in European studios using session musicians from around the world.

With both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, the Big Three broadcasters in the United States have shared many of the recorded music cues on a legal and continuous manner, bypassing the AFM strikes.

Through this systemized curation, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher transformed stock music into a invisible soundscape of the American pop culture scene.

Still in New York City, Major Records is an innovative label being owned by an Italian-born American businessman, among the first to gather recorded SFX/music.

Having begun his career as a piano and organ tuner for Wurlitzer on trans-Atlantic steamers docking in New York, an Italian-born US businessman created live SFX for Broadway in the 1930's.

In the early-1930's, an Italian-born US businessman founded his eponymous company.

The sound effects by an Italian-born American businessman were being used, not simply via Broadway productions (made live), but also via 78 rpm records, which were sold to radio stations.

With television, the sound effects from an Italian-born US businessman were marketed under his Major Records label, being the main source for recorded SFX in the broadcasting business.

Unconfined to sound effects, Major Records also dabbled in the music industry.

Canadian Music Sales Corporation (CMS) was De Wolfe Music's first Canadian distributor.

For CMS, it started operations in the late-1920's era in Toronto as the former Canadian affiliate of the Warner Bros. Music Sales Corporation.

However, the 1929 financial crash (causing the Great Depression) led to Warner Bros. declaring CMS bankrupt.

Warner Bros. hired William St. Clair Low as its paid trustee; he managed CMS for 14 years.

Thomas St. Clair Low, who joined CMS in 1933, managed it for 24 years from the early post-WWII period until his sale to Terry Regan, who ran CMS until 1974

An investment group, led by Douglas Chesebrough and Paul Chesebrough, took CMS in 1974.

Simultaneous with CMS, De Wolfe Music also had its own Canadian branch until the 1980's.

Sonoton is a company that brings stock music to Germany and endures innovations in this field.

Gerhard Narholz, an Austrian film and television composer and a pop songwriter, is the driving force behind Sonoton and its innovations.

In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with Berry Music, exposing its catalogue to a global audience.

With Berry Music being purchased in 1973 by KPM/EMI, which was led by Robin Phillips, Sonoton underwent its further worldwide expansion, also marking the birth of its own record label.

The underscore is one of the stock music trends created by Sonoton.

NFL Films is the film and television production company of the National Football League.

Initially known as Blair Motion Pictures, NFL Films has revolutionized the sports filming world.

Ed Sabol and his son Steve Sabol are the NFL Films figureheads, both of whom make this company a success story.

John Facenda, who first earned recognition as the primary news anchor for WCAU-TV from 1948 until 1973, is also the first and most iconic narrator for NFL Films until his September 1984 death.

Sam Spence is the primary music composer for NFL Films from 1966 to 1990.

Cinematic Hollywood orchestral music is the basis for Sam Spence's music work for NFL Films.

Phillip Spieller is the former music director for NFL Films from the late-1960's era to 1984; during his NFL Films, he mixes and curates music for its sports documentaries.

Together, Ed Sabol, Steve Sabol, John Facenda, Sam Spence and Phillip Spieller create the NFL Films hallmarks.

Munich, Germany is the adopted base for Sam Spence and his music work with NFL Films.

During the era prior to both NFL Films and Sam Spence, sports television music frequently sounded ceremonial, specifically fanfares and marches.

Under Sam Spence's influence, NFL Films used cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral music.

In his NFL Films music work, Sam Spence's influence derives from many world-famous Hollywood music composers, like Miklos Rozsa and Dimitri Tiomkin.

Phillip Spieller creates a process in which he combines music cues composed by NFL Films' in-house composers, like Sam Spence, with pre-recorded tracks from stock music labels.

Due to Phillip Spieller's process, NFL Films uses its cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral sound.

Network Music, FirstCom and Killer Tracks are stock music labels from radio jingle makers.

The Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio revolutionized the stock music scene by adapting the dynamic and high-energy sensibilities being created by radio jingles.

De Wolfe Music (founded by Meyer De Wolfe) pioneered the stock music scene, while KPM/EMI and Bruton (both via Robin Phillips) pioneered a more modern and contemporary sound.

Network/FirstCom/Killer Tracks (rooted in radio jingles) changed stock music.

For the Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio, their innovations in the stock music business are being rooted in business models, technology and production standards.

Craig Palmer is the principal composer of the Network Music Ensemble, indeed its catalogue.

For Network Music, it pioneered the buyout music format, but also elements, like alt-mixes, stings and 30/60-second cutdowns.

Meanwhile, FirstCom is one of the first stock music labels to release albums on CDs.

Likewise, Killer Tracks pushed stock music into the digital CD era.

All in all, the commercial model by the Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio was such a success that it laid the groundwork for massive consolidation by major record labels.

Sound Ideas is one of the world's best, greatest and most successful companies specializing in both the audio and sound effects industries.

Not confined to sound effects, Sound Ideas branches into stock music in the royalty-free model.

Brian Nimens is the guiding spirit of the Sound Ideas company.

Upon its March 1978 inception, Sound Ideas, under Brian Nimens, was based at a basement on Church Street in downtown Toronto.

In the early-1980's, Sound Ideas made its relocation to McGill Street, also in its downtown area.

July 1989 is when Sound Ideas made its move from its downtown Toronto roots since its March 1978 inception to West Beaver Creek Road in Richmond Hill.

When it was founded in March 1978 at a Church Street basement, Sound Ideas was a 4-track recording studio that recorded dialogue for commercials, adding music and layering SFX.

Just one year after its March 1978 launch, Sound Ideas introduced its first SFX library called the Series 1000, well-known for its high-quality sound, using reel-to-reel tape.

Philips Corporation, a major multinational Dutch empire, partnered with Sound Ideas to re-release the Series 1000 on compact disc in 1985.

Incidentally, the Netherlands houses Philips Corporation, but is also the place where Meyer De Wolfe, whose namesake has stock music, with Sound Ideas/Westar as Canada's gateway, was born.

Via Philips Corporation, the Series 1000 from Sound Ideas is the first SFX library on CD.

Likewise, the Series 2000 from Sound Ideas, released in the late-1980's era, is the first sound effects collection being made in full digital.

The Series 6000, a.k.a. The General, is Sound Ideas' flagship (and most well-known) SFX library.

Released in the early-1990's, this Series 6000/the General collection from Sound Ideas provides sound effects for film, television and game design, being the definitive industry standard for audio.

In January 1990, nearly 12 years after its own inception in March 1978, Sound Ideas collaborated with Skywalker Sound to release the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library.

The Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library.is the first SFX collection from a major Hollywood film studio.

Before the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library (released through Sound Ideas in 1990), the custom sound effects in Hollywood blockbusters were locked in tight studio vaults.

However, the 1990 release of the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library unlocked the SFX vaults, leading to Sound Ideas securing exclusive licensing arrangements with other major Hollywood studios.

With both Sound Ideas and Westar making their arrival via Brian Nimens, they position themselves as Canada's modern and official distributors of the historic De Wolfe Music label.

In the sound effects section, De Wolfe Music has its SFX library that Sound Ideas distributes.

Since 2005, Westar Music has been the Canadian gateway to the De Wolfe Music label, which its sister company Sound Ideas had distributed from the 1980's to 2005.

Echoing the Canadian distribution rights to De Wolfe by CMS, both Sound Ideas and Westar have both Warner Bros. and De Wolfe Music.

Both Sound Ideas and Westar are the modern spiritual successors to CMS (WB).

Home Box Office (HBO) is the first television broadcaster in the United States to be designed from the outset for cable systems, but also its oldest and longest-running pay television service.

Charles Dolan, who founded HBO, was born in Cleveland, a major Ohio city with C as its first letter.

Not confined to HBO, Charles Dolan also founded/led Cablevision.

Ted Turner is also a visionary peer and titan of the cable television industry, similar to Charles Dolan.

For Charles Dolan, he has innovated cable infrastructure in urban areas, plus non-commercial premium television (films/sports) and regional sports.

Ted Turner has innovated basic cable, 24-hour news channels and cartoon services.

Ohio is where both Charles Dolan and Ted Turner were born in the autumn season of the Tiger years.

Whereas Charles Dolan was born in Cleveland, Ted Turner was born in Cincinnati.

Plus, New York is Charles Dolan's main base, whereas Atlanta, Georgia is Ted Turner's main base.

On March 4, 1989, Time and Warner Communications announced their merger into TimeWarner.

Some years after this January 1990 merger, in the early-1990's era, TimeWarner transferred most of its television, film production, music and cable assets to TimeWarner Entertainment Company.

Echoing Warner's 1973 transaction in acquiring Time's stake in Sterling Communications, this January 1990 merger between Time and Warner successfully united WB and HBO under one umbrella.

TimeWarner, which held both WB and HBO, merged with Turner Broadcasting System in 1996.

Not confined to Ted Turner, Cincinnati also houses Taft Broadcasting, which, for 24 years, also owned Hanna-Barbera, a property being sold in the 1990's, first to Turner, and in turn, to Warner Bros.

Sound Ideas distributed the SFX labels being run by TimeWarner, including WB and Turner.

Ruby-Spears is another Taft property, which was founded by (and named after) former Hanna-Barbera writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

For Ruby-Spears, it was run by Filmways since its 1977 inception, plus Taft for a decade since 1981.

Mitchel Greenspan is the former executive Vice-President of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe.

Having launched his creative career as a professional miniature set model maker and designer, Mitchel Greenspan later transitioned to audio production/corporate administration.

American Music Company, which Mitchel Greenspan began after leaving Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe, is distributed by Westar, which, in turn, distributes De Wolfe Music in Canada.

Gary Anderson, who worked for Score Productions (held by Robert A. Israel), also works for Westar's American Music Company, founded by Mitchel Greenspan of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe.

Edd Kalehoff, who likewise worked for Score Productions under Bob Israel, also owns his own music company called the Suite 4 Music Collection.

Westar has Edd Kalehoff and Gary Anderson (both from Bob Israel's Score Productions) via American Music Company (started by Mitchel Greenspan of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe) and Suite 4.

Sound Ideas, which is Westar's sister label, distributes the Turner Broadcast Music Library, which also involves both Edd Kalehoff and Gary Anderson.

Jack Waldenmaier, whose secondary base is Cincinnati has his label called The Music Bakery.

Amblin Entertainment is Steven Spielberg's production company.

Plus, Southern California has WB/Hanna-Barbera, Network Music, Killer Tracks and SmartSound.

Kevin Killinger composed cues for Killer Tracks, but also his own SmartSound company.

Steven Wenger is also a musician in the Southern US region.

Having lived in Nashville, Memphis and Charlotte, Steven Wenger had his own company called River City Sound Productions (RSCP).

Cascom and Digital Juice are defunct companies for royalty-free animation, both of which were being rooted in the Southern United States.

For RSCP, it has created in-house cues, but also stock music in the royalty-free model.

RSCP's stock music cues were resourced by Digital Juice for its BackTraxx section in 2001.

Incidentally, Taft Broadcasting is located in Cincinnati, which also births Ted Turner (CNN).

Tennessee also houses Ted Turner (CNN), Pat Robertson (CBN), Cascom and Steven Wenger.

For The Music Bakery, it is a royalty-free stock music label being founded in 1990, just 12 years after Sound Ideas began in March 1978.

Stock music largely used traditional music, notably orchestral and jazz, before the KPM 1000 Series.

From the mid-1960's to the early-1980's, some of the typical styles being used in the stock music scene included cinematic Hollywood, top forty, laid-back and electronica.

In addition to specially-composed tunes, stock music composers also made soundalikes of the top forty songs à la funk and Hollywood-like film scores used in low-budget films/television.

Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks turned stock music into a network television sound.

Besides this stock music scene via Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe, Alfonso Corelli also worked with Shirley Temple Black, Mitzi Gaynor and Eva Gabor.

Incidentally, both Shirley Temple Black and Mitzi Gaynor have a connection to 20th Century-Fox.

20th Century-Fox also has iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, with whom Mitzi Gaynor worked.

Eva Gabor worked with the Walt Disney Company, which, in the late-2010's era, merged with the 20th Century Fox film studio.

The Disney-Fox merger, announced on December 14, 2017, creates a unique contrast between Disney's traditional magical approach and Marilyn Monroe's sex figure status.

Yet, the Disney-Fox merger did place Marilyn Monroe's Fox film catalog under the Disney umbrella.

Plus, the Disney-Fox merger placed the 20th Century-Fox movie catalog being utilized by both Shirley Temple Black and Mitzi Gaynor under Disney, as well as Eva Gabor's Disney catalog.

Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey formed Mannheim Steamroller in 1974.

Omaha, Nebraska is the home base for both Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller.

Named after a German city based in Baden-Wurttemberg, Mannheim Steamroller combines European classical music with modern pop trends.

Whereas Meyer de Wolfe built his independent network of composers to own and license music, Chip Davis founded his own label.

Besides, Meyer de Wolfe avoided relying on standard commercial sheet music publishers with his own label, and Chip Davis circumvented major labels trying to apply classical-rock fusion.

Pamela Anderson is in Scooby-Doo (2002), the live-action film iteration of the franchise created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

Ken Spears, with whom Joe Ruby worked, is not related to Britney Spears, an iconic and world-famous figure with whose surname is being shared.

Britney Spears makes a cameo appearance in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), similar to Pamela Anderson making a cameo appearance in Scooby-Doo (2002).

Marilyn Monroe is a key idol for Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson.

Incidentally, Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson are blonde girls whose natural hair colour is brown.

Similarly, both Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson make cameos in the intro sequences of the Warner Bros films being released in 2002: Austin Powers in Goldmember and Scooby-Doo.

Horizontal Hold, which Jan Stoeckart, under the pseudonym Jack Trombey, had made for a music label founded by fellow Dutchman Meyer De Wolfe, is used for the NFL Today on CBS.

Super Bowl X is when Horizontal Hold was first used for CBS' NFL coverage.

The 1981 NFL season is when Horizontal Hold was remixed in a punchier iteration, and again in Super Bowl XVIII in January 1984.

Industrial Gallop, a.k.a. inds_01 or inds_01.mid, is a MIDI tune in Corel WordPerfect 7.

For Industrial Gallop (inds_01/inds_01.mid), it resembles Nadia's Theme, an iconic and famous theme tune having been used for The Young and the Restless since its March 1973 inception.

Incidentally, Nadia's Theme was co-written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.

Plus, Industrial Gallop (inds_01/inds_01.mid) uses a similar emotional texture to Nadia's Theme (and themes being used on news broadcast intros).

Ode d'Cronkite, a.k.a. inds_07 or inds_07.mid, is also a MIDI tune in Corel WordPerfect 7.

Named after the legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite, Ode d'Cronkite (inds_07/inds_07.mid) has a similar sound to a theme tune being used on a news broadcast intro.