Audio Network Delivers Soundtracks To The YouTube Generation

Audio Network Delivers Soundtracks To The YouTube Generation

Audio Network bypasses licensing issues to provide music for user generated films.

Audio Network, the UK’s fastest growing production music library, is the first company to open up their entire catalogue of tracks and sound effects to the booming population of contributors to sites such as YouTube and MySpace. In response to the growing problems surrounding licensing music for use on such sites, Audio Network is offering original tracks, previously only available to broadcasters and professional production companies, for £0.79 for personal use and £5.00 to use in user generated content and festivals. This is the first time home movie-makers have had access to the same resources as professional producers.

The new consumer function at www.audiolicense.net, was spurred to life by the growing number of requests to Audio Network for copies of their tracks. One track in particular, used on the Channel Four drama Sugar Rush, and called Castaway, sparked hundreds of download requests.

The first music company in the World to offer this service, Audio Network is already an established name amongst production companies. Twenty-one out of the top twenty-five UK production companies are regular Audio Network music users and subscribers and their music features in the UK’s most popular programmes, including Spooks, Doctor Who, Location Location Location and many more.

Andrew Sunnucks, MD Audio Network, says “Audio Network has always been committed to taking the headache out of buying high quality music for all productions, however big or small. The music licensing problems for individuals wanting to put content online are disproportionate, even professional production companies find that licensing music the traditional way is confusing and time-consuming. We wanted to give these burgeoning online communities access to our music to enhance their productions without tying their hands with licensing issues.”

The Audio Network catalogue spans 10,000 tracks composed by new faces as well as world renowned artists such John Dankworth CBE, Evelyn Glennie OBE, Tim Garland, Ray Davies and John Etheridge. The catalogue also has 50,000 effects created by Oscar/BAFTA winning sound supervisors.

Continues Sunnucks, “Our tracks are written and composed by award-winning musicians, so we shouldn’t be surprised that viewers keep writing and e-mailing us to find out where they can buy them. It’s a great way for people who have created videos to add the all important element of music, which as we all know, has a massive effect on a programme.”

Audio Network was launched in 2001 by Andrew Sunnucks and Robert Hurst, both ex-Directors of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers. Recognising both the existing difficulty with licensing and emerging new media usages, Sunnucks and Hurst were the first to license music on this basis in a serious attempt to make tracks easy to use around the world.