Stock music via De Wolfe, KPM/EMI, Sonoton and Network/FirstCom/Killer Tracks

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.

James De Wolfe also 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-created by Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge, it juxtaposes classic and traditional orchestration with modern and upbeat 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.

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.

Linz, Austria is where Alfonso Corelli was born.

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.

Similar to Corelli-Jacobs, Emil Ascher, Inc. distributed European stock music labels.

During (and after) WWII, Emil Ascher, Inc. began distirbuting stock labels from Europe.

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.

In addition to CMS, De Wolfe Music also had its own Canadian branch until the 1980's.

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 also distributed earlier 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).

Ontario is where iconic and world-famous media mogul Jack L. Warner was born, but also houses both Sound Ideas/Westar and Canadian Music Sales Corporation (CMS).

Plus, Ontario births Joe Shuster, who co-creates Superman, a WB property.

Still in the Great Lakes region, Pennsylvania and Ohio are Jack L. Warner's early American places.

Cleveland, Ohio births Jerry Siegel, who, with Ontario-born Joe Shuster, co-creates Superman.

Not confined to Jerry Siegel, Cleveland, Ohio births Charles Dolan, who is a notable titan of the cable television business through Home Box Office (HBO).

Aside from Cleveland, Cincinnati is another Ohio city that starts with the letter C, which births both the Tafts and Ted Turner, the latter running Turner Broadcasting system, another WB property.

During its peak, Taft Broadcasting owned several television stations being affiliated with ABC through Leonard Goldenson's friendship with Hulbert Taft Jr.

The Warner brothers (including Jack), Superman, HBO, Sound Ideas/Westar and Canadian Music Sales Corporation (CMS) use WB ties, the latter 2 distributing De Wolfe Music in Canada.

Superstation WTBS, CNN, CNN Headline News, TNT and Hanna-Barbera are Turner assets from WB.

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.

For Sound Ideas/Westar, it uses sound effects from WB and Hanna-Barbera.

Jack Waldenmaier, whose secondary base Cincinnati births both the Tafts and Ted Turner, has his label called The Music Bakery.

Incidentally, The Music Bakery joins Sound Ideas/Westar, which includes the Turner Broadcast Music Library, American Music Company, Suite 4 and De Wolfe Music as stock music labels.

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.

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.