News music

News music features the rhythm of a teletype machine or Morse code, together with two of the loudest instrumental groups in the Western orchestra: brass and percussion.

During the 20th century, teletypes and Morse code are major methods being used to transmit news and information, especially in newsrooms before computers and telephones become widespread.

The Tar Sequence, an orchestral cue from the movie Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin, is one of them having a second life as a news theme completely eclipsing its original purpose.

For Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence, what makes it a fitting music cue for newscasts, in particular television news, is a staccato rhythm resembling the teletype.

During the era prior to Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence, television news music frequently sounded ceremonial, specifically fanfares and marches.

Plus, the teletype and Morse code were simple news sounders with no music to play in.

Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence combines cinematic orchestral elements, notably Aaron Copland's influence, with the teletype sound and the modern jazz/pop influences by Lalo Schifrin.

In order to make its sound fitting for newscasts, Al Primo selected and edited Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence as the theme tune for Eyewitness News, removing its non-news elements.

The Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence elements are adopted/adapted in modern news themes.

Many television stations in the United States and the world have either used Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence or made their own news music packages mirroring its modern cinematic sound.

Plus, Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence is more famous as a news theme than the film.

With apologies to one of Aesop's Fables, just prior to the edited Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence cue composed by Lalo Schifrin, television news music was a slow-paced tortoise.

Likewise, just before Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence, with apologies to Cinderella, television news music was a banished and isolated servant.

However, with apologies to Cinderella, Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence is a Fairy Godmother that turned television news music into a high-energy cinematic princess.

In addition, with apologies to Cinderella, Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence is a glass slipper by this television news music princess wearing a ball gown to marry the charming pop and jazz princes.

Besides, with apologies to one of Aesop's Fables, Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence made the news music tortoise catch up to (and win over) the fast-paced modern orchestral hare.

Frank Gari updated Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence into News Series 2000.

Whereas previous news music packages created by Frank Gari featured vocal-driven campaigns, News Series 2000 broke from tradition with its continuously instrumental style.

News Series 2000 updated this CHL motif made by Lalo Schifrin with contemporary orchestration and solidified Lalo Schifrin's CHL motif as a news music package.

The 1990's version of the NS2000 package by Frank Gari was News Series 2000 Plus.

Eyewitness News, which Frank Gari made after Lalo Schifrin raised the royalties, is also iconic.

For the WABC-TV version of Eyewitness News Series 1, Frank Gari created a news package without a teletype sound.

KABC-TV's Eyewitness News Series 1 version by Frank Gari featured a teletype sound based on CHL.

De Wolfe Music (or Music De Wolfe) has been a stock music pioneer since its 1909 inception.

In the late-1920's, with talkies being born, De Wolfe Music started to use recorded music cues, giving birth to modern stock music.

For the rest of the 1950's, the weekday London ITV franchise Associated-Rediffusion purchased Keith Prowse Music Publishing and Peter Maurice Music, forming Keith-Prowse-Maurice (KPM).

With commercial television having arrived through both ITV and Associated-Rediffusion, stock music became an integral and a crucial component of television music.

In 1966, KPM pioneered a modern, often instrumental, stock music sound with its 1000 Series.

The KPM 1000 Series is a juxtaposition of the traditional genres, such as orchestral and jazz, with more modern ones, like pop, rhythm & blues, soul, rock and electronica.

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.

Robin Phillips is the mastermind of the KPM 1000 Series.

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, both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge enlisted individual musicians and composets from pop, jazz and rock to create a fresh, dynamic sound for film and television.

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.

With apologies to Cinderella, just before the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge have envisioned, the stock music scene was a banished and isolated servant.

However, the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge have made, is a Fairy Godmother that turned stock music into a princess in a hi-fi and crisp modern pop sound.

Besides, with apologies to Cinderella, the KPM 1000 Series is a glass slipper being fitted by this stock music princess wearing a ball gown to marry the charming pop/rock/jazz music princes. 

Plus, with apologies to the Cinderella fairy tale, the KPM 1000 Series transformed stock music from a vintage pumpkin into a modern-sounding carriage.

Likewise, with apologies to Cinderella, the stroke of midnight marked the magical demise of this staid stock music sound, with new ones coming in.

Wardour Street had been De Wolfe's longtime headquarters until its relocation to Shropshire House on Capper Street in the late-1990's.

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.

Until its relocation to Queens House at Tottenham Court Road in the late-2010's, De Wolfe's primary location was Shropshire House on Capper Street.

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 is the first narrator for NFL Films until his 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 prerecorded 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.

KPM/EMI (and the Robin Phillips/Adrian Kerridge duo) pioneered a modern sound, but the Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio (rooted in radio jingles) changed stock music.

For this 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.

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 top forty fare à la funk, laid-back fare à la Henry Mancini 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 and television.

The Awakening, composed for the KPM label by Johnny Pearson, is a stock music cue notably used for News at Ten (ITV) and, since the mid-1990's, other ITN newscasts.

By employing a brass and string section, snare drums and orchestral percussion, Johnny Pearson's The Awakening piece, made for KPM, creates a powerful and serious mood for newscasts.

Famously, the Big Ben chimes is heard to punctuate the headlines for News at Ten (ITV) and others.

Non-Stop, composed by John Malcolm, is a stock music cue used for news.

Initially made as a piano piece as a teenager, John Malcolm's Non-Stop composition was accepted by Francis, Day and Hunter and made in an orchestral arrangement by Ivor Slaney.

With Ivor Slaney's orchestral arrangement being conducted by Georges Devereaux, and performed by L'Orchestre Devereaux, John Malcolm's Non-Stop was by ITN from the 1950's to the 1980's.

Belgium and Switzerland are nations where John Malcolm's Non-Stop cue was reportedly recorded.

John Malcolm's Non-Stop piece, notably used by ITN, has its fast-paced, cheery and upbeat sound that provides a stylistic contrast to the somber, formal tone of the BBC's news music sound.

From its 1950's debut to the 1960's, Non-Stop was the standard theme for all ITN newscasts.

In the late-1960's, Johnny Pearson's more dramatic The Awakening cue meant that Non-Stop by John Malcolm was limited to shorter and weekend newscasts for ITN.

However, the Falklands War led to John Malcolm's Non-Stop being unused as a main ITN theme.

Removing Non-Stop, in the wake of the Falklands War, meant that all ITN news themes have a more serious tone.

Fast Action, composed for De Wolfe, is a stock music cue being used for news.

What makes Fast Action, composed for De Wolfe, a fitting cue for newscasts is its dynamic and urgent sound being punctuated by brass and strings, plus rock-style drums.

Barry Stoller (Hugh Cortley) and Harold Geller (Muso Silvio) wrote Fast Action for De Wolfe.

Prestige Theme 1, written for KPM by Keith Mansfield, is a stock music cue being used for news.

What makes Keith Mansfield's Prestige Theme 1 piece, made for KPM, a fitting one for news is that it features a teletype melody.

Score Productions, based in New York and founded by Bob Israel, has been responsible for the music packages being made for both ABC News and ABC Sports under Roone Arledge.

Edd Kalehoff, who is a freelancer at Score Productions, is the go-to man for ABC music.

VideoHelper, a music company co-led by former ABC News promo producer Stewart Winter, likewise creates music for ABC News.

Joseph Saba, who was a major label artist, usually works with Stewart Winter at VideoHelper.

DreamArtists Studios, founded by Matthew Kajcienski, is also responsible for the ABC News music.

From its July 10, 1978 debut to March 1980, World News Tonight had a teletype theme tune, made for ABC News by Score Productions, innovative for Moog synthesizers on network television.

Later, an orchestral incarnation of the Moog-based teletype theme tune, made for ABC News by Score Productions, was used for World News Tonight until 1990.

A remixed incarnation of the orchestral version of the Moog-based teletype theme tune, made for ABC News by Score Productions, was used from 1990 to 1996.

Edd Kalehoff created his own World News Tonight theme tune in 1996, and revived the 1978 theme in January 1998, at the turn of the 21st century until the early-2010's and in 2020 in three remixes.

The 4-note fanfare, created for World News Tonight by Score Productions, has been rearranged and reintroduced, becoming a sonic signature for ABC News.

VideoHelper and DreamArtists Music also created other themes for ABC News.

Score Productions also did music for the Satellite News Channel, which ABC co-owned.

The Mission is a music package for NBC News.

John Williams, an iconic and world-famous film score composer, is the composer for The Mission (for NBC News).

Hollywood-like orchestral music is the basis for John Williams' The Mission (for NBC News).

Recorded with an 80-piece orchestra, The Mission (for NBC News) changed the news music sound by moving towards fully-orchestral cinematic Hollywood film music.

CBS News, in response to the popularity of The Mission (used for NBC News), commissioned a more modern and orchestral theme by John Trivers, Elizabeth Meyers and Alan Pasqua.

Recorded with a full orchestra at a 20th Century-Fox soundstage, the modern-sounding theme by John Trivers, Elizabeth Meyers and Alan Pasqua has put music on the map of the CBS Evening News.

During the periods in which Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather were the anchors of the CBS Evening News, no music was heard in its opening and ending sequences.

In fact, the sound heard on the CBS Evening News in its opening and ending sequences, during the eras when Douglas Edwards and Walter Cronkite ruled the airwaves, was the teletype.

Walter Levinsky (Score Productions) created a teletype-like cue being used for the bumpers of the CBS Evening News (and its long ending credit sequences) during the 1980's.

The theme that John Trivers, Elizabeth Meyers and Alan Pasqua composed for the CBS Evening News featured an Americana sound à la Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.

Rick Patterson, Ron Walz and Neal Fox created the second actual orchestral theme of the CBS Evening News, incorporating the signature melody by John Trivers, Elizabeth Meyers and Alan Pasqua.

Plus, this CBS Evening News music package by Patterson, Walz and Fox Music Productions featured a section featuring a teletype melody, which is used for the opening headlines.

From 1989 to 1997, Edd Kalehoff's CBS News Special Report theme, which incorporated the signature CBS Evening News theme by John Trivers, Elizabeth Meyers and Alan Pasqua, was used.

James Horner, who, like John Williams, was a famous film composer, did the music for Katie Couric's debut on the CBS Evening News, in collaboration with Joel Beckerman.

Like The Mission (by John Williams for NBC), James Horner's music for the CBS Evening News was orchestral.

Industrial Power, written for Bruton by Johnny Pearson, is a stock music cue being used for news.

Similar to Keith Mansfield's Prestige Theme 1 piece for KPM, what makes Johnny Pearson's Industrial Power piece, made for Bruton, a fitting one for news is that it uses a teletype melody.

Talking Heads and Time Factor, both of which were composed for the De Wolfe label in 1989 by John Mealing, are some stock music cues notably used for news.

Fool's Overture by Supertramp is one of the pop music tunes also being used through current affairs programs.

CTV's W5 notably used a synth-heavy instrumental portion of Fool's Overture by Supertramp.

Dancing in the Stars by Mannheim Steamroller is likewise a pop music piece also being used through newscasts.

What makes Mannheim Steamroller's Dancing in the Stars a fitting music cue for television news is a combination of pop and orchestral elements.

The Fuzz, a music cue from the 1960's film The Happening by Frank De Vol, is a cue used specifically through newscasts.

Known for its surf-rock sound, The Happening: The Fuzz is notably a news theme in Latin America.

Xcept One by Michael Hoenig was used by RCTI for its newscasts from 1990 to 2005.

For RCTI, the Xcept One piece by Michael Hoenig uses a modern cinematic sound, which provides a stylistic contrast to the more somber, formal tone of the news music sound that TVRI used.

In 1993, as RCTI began official national broadcasts, Michael Hoenig's Xcept One was rearranged.

RCTI's morning news used its version of the Michael Hoenig cue Xcept One, with a similar style to its original; its afternoon,flagship and late-night news has a faster pace.

The title track from The Electric Horseman, an orchestral music cue by Dave Grusin, is used through newscasts and current affairs programs worldwide.

Mixing orchestral elements with disco, the title track from The Electric Horseman has a dramatic and sweeping sound.

The trend of having music being sourced from films as news themes was Al Primo's innovation, which effectively took news music to a cinematic level.

Many modern news music packages incorporate music techniques frequently utilized in film scores to enhance the emotional impact and storytelling of the news.

Gari Communications, as well as a Nashville jingle company (with its area code) and Stephen Arnold Music, famously used a synth timpani sound in the 1990's.

Plus, Gari (along with a Nashville jingle company with its area code and Stephen Arnold Music) used samplers/synths, like those from E-mu, Roland and Kurzweil, to make orchestral news themes.

Samplers/synths give composers like Frank Gari, Randy Wachtler and Stephen Arnold a chance to mix traditional orchestral elements with modern electronic precision to create sonic news brands.

Frank Gari mixes live orchestral recordings with synthetic layers as a news music pioneer.

Randy Wachtler revolutionized news music by combining traditional brass and strings with rhythmic electronic pulsing and percussion 

Stock music, also known as production music or library music, is recorded music licensed for use in various media forms, including (but not limited to) film, television and radio.

The main engines of the global stock music market are the United Kingdom and the United States.

Britain has endured significant influence for stock music, with the US as a dominant force.

Ever since the late-1920's advent of talkies, many stock music labels have used recorded music from different eras and genres.

For the corporate/industrial genre, especially in news and current affairs, stock music incorporates the sounds of technology like the teletype or Morse code.

Plus, the corporate/industrial genre in stock music uses a modern and cinematic orchestral feel, which combines grand orchestral arrangements with industrial and corporate settings in a modern age.

In compact discs, stock music albums provide many advantages, including improved audio quality and durability, compared to previous formats, like vinyl, LPs and magnetic tapes.

Plus, stock music pieces are edited to fit broadcast needs.

Labels in the stock music scene provide various versions of tracks (e.g. 60-second, 30-second, stingers, instrumentals) to help editors integrate the music into their projects efficiently.

Common edits in stock music include trimming, looping, reorchestration and fade-ins/fade-outs.

Ferdinand J. Smith is the composer of the music cue being made for the HBO in Space sequence.

Cinematic Hollywood orchestral music is the basis for Ferdinand J. Smith's HBO in Space cue.

Recorded with a 65-piece orchestra, this HBO in Space cue, which Ferdinand J. Smith composed, was being done by Score Productions, led by Robert A. Israel.

The iconic and famous HBO in Space piece, composed by Ferdinand J. Smith (and produced by Score Productions), features a 12-note motif.

Most TV themes were played by small ensembles or using synths, but the HBO in Space piece (which Ferdinand J. Smith created and Score Productions produced) was a complete opposite.

This iconic HBO in Space piece, written by Ferdinand J. Smith, has a cinematic Hollywood orchestral sound recalling the blockbuster sound of such composers as John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.

Several variants of the HBO in Space piece were made, but the main theme is the most famous of all.

Royalty-free music is done using workflows, like those based on computers, MIDI or a real orchestra.