The License Lab

08/06/2024

With crazy quick news cycles, all the sports, press-tour interviews, and an endless number of true crime mysteries to unlock, podcasts are a fantastic way to consume all sorts of stories.

But before you get into the meat and potatoes of the podcast, there's the intro.

A good intro hooks potential new followers while exciting returning ones, setting the stage for whatever comes next. And good intros (usually) have compelling music that matches the tone and welcomes the listener into your world.

In this playlist, we assembled tracks with clear cut applications along with hidden gems that stray just a bit outside the conventional. Find the right track that matches the story and makes your intro, sponsor break, or teaser stand out from the noise.

08/02/2024

Don’t underestimate the power of a musical accent.

Our Picture Puncture label is home to some of our boldest, heroic, and most dynamic music. But it’s also where we keep our collection of bespoke workparts, unique sound design elements, and textures that contribute to a standout score.

These Emphatic Elements are the details that can transform kinda creepy into bone-chilling, adventurous into awe-inspiring, and curiosity into anticipation.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/emphatic-elements

07/29/2024

Taiko drums have become a standard part of the adventure/drama soundtrack toolbox. The percussive giants contain a unique and spacious quality that adds gravity to whatever they score.

But with a continent as large and rich with musical tradition as Asia, there are so many other instruments that contain distinct characteristics, depth, and drama that tell stories of their own.

Asian Drama (MOPM-094) is an adventurous soundtrack full of twists and turns, peril and intrigue, including tracks that feature authentic instrumentation like taisho koto, hulusi flute, guzheng, and khim.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/asian-drama

07/25/2024

Get inside the creative process of multi-hyphenate artist Sean Wolcott with this interview on our blog, Lab Notes.

From creating his own "movies for the mind" film scores to restoring tapes for The Beach Boys to composing niche genre albums for Analog Champion, Sean Wolcott shares not only how he works, but more importantly why he works the way he does.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/call-and-response-sean-wolcott

07/22/2024

We began with Olympic Inspiration, a playlist created to score the journeys and struggles on the road to Paris 2024.

Now it's time for the Olympic Push.

These athletes know what they need to do to win, and now it comes down to mindset and ex*****on. Balancing out the hype and power, this playlist also features low-key good vibes that set a positive tone for the next set, race, and game.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/new-playlist-alert-olympic-stories

07/17/2024

Curation is the act of searching, sorting, and selecting from a larger body of work. An art unto itself, the direction of a cohesive collection is determined by whoever is telling the story.

This playlist has been curated by composer and songwriter Will Bush.

As one half of the synth-forward, genre-bending band Immortal Girlfriend, the man behind the cinematic, anti-hero soundtracks of Black Challenger, and composer of production music albums like retro synth inspired Under the Surface v3, Will is an ideal candidate to curate an exhibition of the synthesizer.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/curated-by-will-bush

07/15/2024

Olympic Inspiration begins with the national anthem of the 2024 host nation before an inspiring soundtrack channels the scope of the opening ceremonies. These tracks are for overcoming adversity, battling back from injury, narrowly coming up short, tragic losses, and unexpected twists in the tale.

But the road has led them to an opportunity to win Olympic gold. This playlist is all about the journey to Paris 2024.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/new-playlist-alert-olympic-stories

07/11/2024

Color outside the lines. Stand out in a crowded space.

Despite increasingly niche subgenres and cross-genre collaborations, there will always be those who push those boundaries. These Distinct Indie Darlings stretch the possibilities.

Oh, and as with all releases on our LMNTL Records label, they just happen to be crafted with the utility of production music for easy sync placements.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/distinct-indie-darlings

07/08/2024

From global events like the Euros ⚽ to domestic championships like the Super Bowl 🏈 , the calendar seems to jump from sport to sport, season to season, like a never-ending merry-go-round of athletic competition.

Until the Olympics.

For the Paris 2024 Olympics, we’ve assembled two distinct playlists for different chapters of an athlete’s dream, a team’s ambition, or a nation’s hopes.

07/02/2024

Not all heroes wear capes. But villains often do... at least in galaxies far, far away.

Inspired by the magic of bingeable fantasy sagas and summer sci-fi blockbusters, our Blades + Blasters playlist features booming, ground-shaking, and epic soundtrack options that can give your next fantasy/sci-fi saga (or podcast about an existing saga) the proper anthemic and dramatic flair.

And because new adventures are always being written, Blades + Blasters has been rebooted with inspiration straight from the "Suggested" and "Newly Added" sections of your favorite streaming service.

https://s.disco.ac/yhbfwpawlwfa

06/25/2024

If creative briefs frequently come across your desk that are born out of whiteboard brainstorm sessions with broad... perhaps contradictory keywords, add these albums featuring Ambitious Blends to your arsenal.

Full of esoteric genres not normally found in production music catalogs, our Dancing About Architecture label might just have you covered.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/ambitious-blends

06/21/2024

It's been a wild ride in Wisconsin for Season 21 of Top Chef.

Challenges have been centered around so much more than beer and cheese... though they did those too. We've seen fish boils, indigenous ingredients, cherries, sausage races, and even a little architecture shout with Frank Lloyd Wright.

If you've been waiting to binge the entire season or if you just want to little 'Sconnie insight as to why the culinary scene in Wisconsin was highlighted this season, check out this piece on our blog, Lab Notes:

Bravo’s Top Chef has brought their competition to culinary hotspots including Los Angeles, New York City, Charleston, and London. For Season 21, they set up shop in our home for over a decade: Wisconsin.

06/18/2024

Media composer, actor, puppeteer, director, voice-over artist, and overall creative polymath Andrea Giordani brings an arsenal of techniques and experience to her music, crafting scores for a variety of mediums that utilize a story-driven approach.

In this interview, we chat with Andrea about the influence of acting on her music, her thoughts on storytelling, and the process of composing for different mediums.

And of course, we couldn’t help but ask about the puppets. https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/call-and-response-andrea-giordani

06/17/2024

Music can be an instant geographical indicator 📍

And while there are many, many examples around the world, this collection of Southern Specific Sparks from our Organic Spark label zeroes in on one of the most audibly recognizable regions of the United States.

Southern Specific Sparks give the listener a taste of that distinctive instrumentation and signature attitude, instantly transporting them to Appalachia and dusty country roads.

06/13/2024

While there were plenty of dogs and soccer features in the most recent batch Super Bowl commercials, perhaps the largest trend is that so many brands used the same playbook.

But there were a few stand outs.

When we see the same basic formula over and over, it all becomes easy to forget. But there are a few stand out Super Bowl commercials that viewers may remember. Plus haikus.

06/10/2024

06/07/2024

Behind The Music with Amanda Huff available now on Universal Production Music US

The Milwaukee-based artist, singer, songwriter, and collaborator dives into how she approaches using her vocal range for different projects, braving the unknowns of new collaboration, and the artistic process both within the boundaries of production music and in her own catalog.

https://www.universalproductionmusic.com/en-us/blog/behind-the-music/spotlight-on-amanda-huff

06/04/2024

No need for time machines...

We’ve assembled a gallery of albums from our Modus Operandi Production Music label with retro themes that place a listener back in time for era-specific dramas, archival throwbacks, or comedic placements.

Time to Retro Activate and bring back the sounds of the past.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/retro-activate