As an online, full service licensing platform, Musicbed takes the confusing and daunting parts out of the licensing process. It even makes it somewhat fun to find music for your project. With a roster of about 650 indie artists spanning a wealth of genres, Musicbed promises to help you find the perfect score, license it at a very reasonable price, and make sure you’re covered legally without overpaying for uses you don’t really need. The process is smooth. And the website is pretty sleek, too.

You’ll still want to familiarize yourself with terms like Sync/Master Use licensing, perpetual use, single use, and commercial vs non-commercial works. A good place to start is Musicbed’s Knowledge Base, but be sure to also see our other posts on music licensing.

Without further ado; Trousdale.

Trousdale is a pop/folk band out of the University of Southern California’s esteemed Popular Music program. Known for their emotive harmonies and haunting lyrics, Trousdale’s music is defined by its beautiful arrangements and truthful stories. Their five members came together in the fall of 2014 and have been inseparable ever since. Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene and Lauren Jones make up Trousdale’s vocals, with Jack DeMeo on guitar and Madi Vogt on drums/percussion.

You can visit Trousdale on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or SoundCloud. Or simply enjoy their ROUND 1 submission, Lure Me In, right here:

Next in our artist spotlight series is Jesse Walton.

By the age of 16 Jesse had already been trained in classical and acoustic guitar, piano, and had an accomplished understanding of music theory. He went on to study Music and Music Technology at the East Sussex Academy of Music, where he excelled in composition and performance. He has completed a degree in Commercial Music at Canterbury Christ Church University, and is now taking his experience and expertise forward into what is sure to be a long and successful career in composition for film and television.

Please enjoy his song, I Hit The Ground:

And so the producers of the film teamed up with us to conduct a Song Search, hoping to find the perfect artist (or artists) for the soundtrack.

ROUND 1 of the Song Search generated a ton of great submissions and presented the producers with a lot of inspiration for how to move forward. Of the many submissions, six were chosen for ROUND 2, in which the songwriters are asked to write and record a rough demo of an original song specifically for The Storyteller. The six are now hard at work and we’re pleased to introduce them all, one by one.

And so, please meet Frank Cogliano.

Frank Cogliano is an Emmy nominated composer and multi instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He has produced songs and composed scores for in dozens of TV shows and films, and also produces pop music with up and coming vocalists. He also regularly performs as a guitarist with internationally touring live acts.

We’re excited to hear what Frank will be writing for us for ROUND 2 of the Song Search!

ROUND 1 of the Song Search generated a ton of great submissions and presented the producers with a lot of inspiration for how to move forward. Of the many submissions, six were chosen for ROUND 2, in which the songwriters are asked to write and record a rough demo of an original song specifically for The Storyteller. The six are now hard at work and we’re pleased to introduce them all, one by one.

And so, please meet Billy Bouchard.

Billy Bouchard is an independent singer and songwriter with roots in folk, punk and garage. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Bouchard grew up listening to almost entirely country music radio in his working class boyhood home. As soon as he could force his hand to shape power chords, Bouchard started forming punk and hardcore acts playing in and around the Providence area. The first time he set foot in a studio his band would be signed to a label (Atlantic Records). The independent ‘noise’, art rock and theatre scenes in Providence would prove to have a lasting effect on his approach to music in the years to come. After a decisive move to Oakland, California, Bouchard would go on to collaborate with dozens of artists (Bart Davenport, Christian Burns, Aaron Pfenning of Chairlift, The Greater Good, The Plus Ones, Samiam) recording for a slew of labels, write and record with grammy award winning producers (Jeff Saltzman, Chris Dugan) and playing live in over 40 different countries.

Residing in Brooklyn for the better half a decade now, has furthered the evolution in Bouchards approach. The influences are many and Bouchard seems able to humbly meander from one aesthetic to it’s kin with aplomb. If you weren’t paying close enough attention you might dismiss him as another in a series of folky troubadours pawning off their nostalgic wares without shame. But upon closer inspection, it’s clear Bouchard is reaching much deeper. Touches of psyche, country, blues and a strong penchant for fascinating guitar approaches (including some adept finger styles) get sprinkled into his repertoire. Bouchard has come a long way from his humble start, but if you’re listening closely enough, it’s chronicled beautifully.

You can learn more about Billy Bouchard on his website, on BandCamp or on SoundCloud.

Please enjoy Billy’s submission for The Storyteller Song Search, Brackishly:

Allow us to introduce to you, one of the six; Rachel VanSlyke.

In the spring of 2008, this adventurous music maker set out on a 26 plus-city tour sprawling from South Florida to Canada. Many of the shows involved raising awareness and funds for local community bike co-ops and community centers – which explains why she did this 4,100-mile journey on a bicycle. This solo/self-supported, pedal powered trek was both to promote the new album, and raise awareness for sustainability and environmental issues. Her most recent release, Help is on the Way (February 2015), has all ready received 4 songwriting awards.

You can find Rachel’s music on ReverbNation and on iTunes, where you can purchase three of her albums. Please enjoy one of her submitted songs, Leaving:

First up is Anielle Reid.

Anielle Reid is an American singer-songwriter and banjoist based in NYC whose music has scored the Australian short IN TUNE, has been featured in the benefit album for the non-profit RAINN, and has been featured on non-commercial radio including NPR.

Anielle has a single and an EP available for purchase on Google Play, iTunes and Amazon. You can also visit her on Facebook, Youtube, her official website or follow her on Instagram.

Here’s a beautiful video for her song submission, Morality:

And it was not an easy task. Even though film is a visual medium, sound (and music in particular) plays an important part in conveying emotion, setting mood, pacing, character development and so on and so forth. With a story like The Storyteller the music plays an even more integral part, as it serves as the glue that brings all of the main characters together. The story follows several people who have lost or repressed parts of themselves, and explores how they find their way back into authentic relationships with themselves and each other through music. The music in the film parallels the journey of the characters, and as such it builds and grows along with the relationships. Needless to say, choosing the right composer or songwriter for a project like this, is not a task to be taken lightly.

And so with that said, here’s who the producers have selected for ROUND 2. These six artists will now write and record a rough demo of an original song, specifically for The Storyteller:

Billy Bouchard

Frank Cogliano

Quinn D’Andrea

Anielle Reid - read her Artist Spotlight and watch the video for her song, Morality.

Rachel VanSlyke

Jesse Walton

These were all chosen based on their strengths in the use of strong and (for lack of a better word) complex guitar parts, haunting and unusual arrangements, emotional melody lines and powerful lyrics. These are the qualities the producers would like to hear on the original songs for the film.

To give you a better sense of the selection process, we will – with permission of the artists – post their submissions in subsequent posts. Links will be added to the artists’ names above, as the songs are posted. Please enjoy – and support the artists in whichever way you can. Follow the production of The Storyteller here.

When Heika Burnison and her team at White Light Audio Inc. begin post-production on any given project, they are taking it through what’s been aptly dubbed ‘The Seven Stages of Sound Design.’ Order and approach varies, but all seven will at the very least be carefully considered. So what exactly are these seven stages of sound design?

ADR. Foley. Dialogue Editing. Sound FX. Background Editing. Music – and Final Mixing.

Heika, co-founder of White Light Audio Inc., will take you through the specifics.

White Light Audio Inc. is a new and exciting sound studio specialized in both on-set recording and post-production. For more about their services, check out their website, and enjoy a quick pitch about what sets them apart from other studios.

As you’ll see, this is particularly important to know if your script calls for a character writing a song or playing in a band, but also if you need a song with lyrics or a melody specifically tailored to a certain scene. For example, in The Storyteller – the feature film for which we’re currently conducting (pardon the pun) a song search – music is an integral part of the story and several characters are singing and playing a song, which will be written specifically for the film.

Jongnic is a Los Angeles-based composer who has worked on anything from feature films to TV episodes to trailers to commercials to short form webseries. And no matter the medium, he approaches the project with the same level of respect, knowing that the music will have a profound impact on the viewer’s connection to the visuals.

We have many more videos with Jongnic on the way, so be sure to check back often. Or even better, subscribe to our newsletter and/or YouTube channel and we’ll let you know when the next one is online.