Synchronized

Ep. 43 with Ron Mendelsohn

In this last episode before their summer break, Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb have a very interesting conversation with Ron Mendelsohn from Megatrax Production Music. With over 30+ years in the production music industry, it’s great to hear Ron’s perspective on how the industry has changed, and where we’re heading. Ron doesn’t mince his words on the disruptors, and has a strong opinion on how we should perceive this competition. Expertise, opinion and vision make a great combo for another fascinating episode of Synchronized!

In this last episode before their summer break, Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb have a very interesting conversation with Ron Mendelsohn from Megatrax. With over 30+ years in the production music industry, it’s great to hear Ron’s perspective on how the industry has changed, and where we’re heading. Ron doesn’t mince his words on the disruptors, and has a strong opinion on how we should perceive this competition. Expertise, opinion and vision make a great combo for another fascinating episode of Synchronized!

West One Music Group’s setup might well be the blueprint of the independent production music publisher of the future. What started as a British label label working traditionally with sub-publishers around the world arguably changed into the first hybrid independent global production music publisher. Besides having their own offices in London, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Dublin, Bangkok, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles they still rely heavily on local sub-publishers. What was the reason for starting their own offices in certain territories? And why do they feel they still need local sub-publishers in other territories? Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb talk with Edwin Cox, Global CEO of West One Music Group. Interested in his views on the current state of the production music industry? Check out this new episode of Synchronized!

JP Sing is YouTube’s Music Content Strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa. With his background as a booking agent, road manager and Digital Strategist at Sony Music Entertainment Africa he has enough experience up his sleeve to help YouTube navigate the world of music copyright. Besides the business side JP is still enjoying music to the fullest when playing the guitar in his band OneDaySky Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb discuss a wide variety of topics with JP. What is YouTube content ID? How does it work? How important is music to YouTube? How can music creators use YouTube to generate income & reach their clients and fans? Again a very informative episode of Synchronized!

Adam Taylor started out producing documentaries, TV Movies and Reality programming. Later he joined APM Music, (a leading US Production Music Library) and he is now President and CEO, a post he has held since 2001. He has also been the chairman of the Production Music Association (PMA) from 2017 to the present day: More than enough reasons to have a sit down with him, and talk about the state of the production music industry. Hosts Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb talked with Adam not only about the changes that our industry has seen in the past 20+ years, but also about the changes that are about to take place. What does the future of production music look like? Listen to this episode of Synchronized! and find out! Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by Harvest Media.

Cora Music claims it's providing 'the music your videos always deserved', competing with Epidemic Sound for video producers' synch in the Nordic market. It was founded by Swedish performing rights society STIM, but how is it different from all the other platforms? Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb decided to ask CEO Malte Andreasson what Cora Music is all about. Is this set up going to be an example for other PRO’s around the globe? Will Cora Music offer their services globally in the near future? Is Cora Music the future of production music or a maybe a threat to production music? This new episode of Synchronized! is yet another hour filled of information that will help you decide your strategies for the future. Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by Harvest Media.

In this episode of Synchronized!, hosts Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb talk to industry veteran Randy Thornton. Randy gives us the benefit of his wide-ranging experience in the library music business. He co-founded Non-Stop Music in 1981, and built it up to the point where it was acquired by the Warner Music Group in 2007, becoming the foundation for the Warner Chappell Production Music operation. As CEO of Warner Chappell Production Music, Randy became a worldwide leader in production music. He was appointed Chairman of the Production Music Association (PMA) in 2012, and served in that post for five years. With his children, he now owns and runs Amphibious Zoo Music, a highly successful library operating out of Utah, USA. This episode gives a sweeping view of the last forty years of the business from the point of view of a man who really has seen and done it all!

Web3, crypto currency, NFT’s, minting a sync license and a virtual fashion show by Dolce & Gabbana. You might want to grab a notepad before listening to this episode of Synchronized! Ferry van Beek & Simon Webb talk with Keatly Haldeman, CEO at Dequency. Dequency is the world’s first web3 synchronization licensing marketplace. A platform for music and visual creators to connect and collaborate on NFT art and metaverse content. Confused? You won’t be after listening to this episode of Synchronized! Synchronized! is hosted by Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb and proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

Having worked for almost 20 years at SESAC, where his last job was as SVP Strategic Development / Distribution & Research Operations; for 2 years as Executive Director of the Production Music Association (PMA), and already more than 7 years as EVP, IP and Business Development at SourceAudio, it is difficult to find a guest with more diverse and deep-rooted experience. In this episode of Synchronized! Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb talk with Hunter Williams about the state of our industry. From PRO’s to new business models, from simply being a distribution platform to becoming a generator of new income sources, there is no stone left unturned. The production music industry doesn’t just face challenges, there are plenty of opportunities too! Synchronized! is hosted by Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb and proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

Our guest in this episode, Art Munson, is the founder and owner of www.musiclibraryreport.com. This long-running website is the ‘Trust Pilot’ of library music: A forum for composers to share views on different libraries, and library practices. Art Munson’s enthusiasm for NFT’s, Crypto currency, Artificial Intelligence, and all things at the cutting edge of production music, is infectious. In a fascinating episode, this senior statesman of library music talks about all this and more: How he graduated from playing guitar with Dick Dale and The Deltones to becoming a guru of our business? The joys, for a composer, of non-exclusivity. The merits of releasing tracks on micro-stock websites? How the subscription models of the new wave of disruptors are disrupting the older royalty-free disruptors. What it's like being an octogenarian in the library world. And, what he believes the future holds….. You’ll find out all this and more in the new episode of Synchronized! Leave your thoughts in the comments below! Synchronized! is hosted by Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb and proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

This new episode features John Clifford, until 2017 Managing Director of Universal Production Music UK, and, until recently, EVP & Global Managing Director at BMG Production Music. John is now a self employed at True Road Music, and board member of the Production Music Association (PMA). In the past he has been a long-standing member of PMAG (Production Music Advisory Group) at PRS for Music. John brings a wealth of experience to the podcast. He argues strongly for the traditional publisher / sub-publisher relationship, and provides a compelling counter-narrative to some of the more disruptive and independent voices we have heard recently. It's a very interesting conversation. Synchronized! is hosted by Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb and proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

This time, in a bonus episode, we feature Epidemic Sound. Epidemic has been mentioned more times in our podcast than any other library label. And is without doubt, with a market capitalization of $1.4 billion, the major library disruptor of our time. So who are these ‘bad boys’ of library? What are their intentions? The Epidemic business model is certainly different, and Niklas Brantberg, head of music, opens the lid on this huge company. In a candid interview, Nicolas reveals (amongst many other things) the way Epidemic differs from other libraries in its relationship with both its users and its composers, how it started, what its composers earn, how it relates to the infrastructure of conventional libraries, and also gives some clues as to how best to compete with this behemoth. It’s a fantastic interview, and a must-listen for any library owner or composer who wants to look deeper into the present and near-future of our business. Love it, or loathe it, Epidemic is here to stay!

Want to know what the academic community make of our business? Then you need to hit the play button to start this brand new episode of Synchronized! It’s very revealing! Ferry van Beek & Simon Webbtalk with PhD candidates Júlia Durand & Toby Huelin. They approach our industry in an academic way and ask questions we wouldn’t but probably should. Later this year they are organising a study day about production music. Check out their website to find out how to participate! https://bit.ly/3Hs279i

In this first episode of 2022 Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb meet again with Andy Hill, CEO of I Like Music. And, of huge importance to those publishers operating in the UK, he talks about the conclusion of I Like Music's contract with the BBC, and what ILM has in store for us next. Andy looks back at how Napster slashed the profitability of the record companies in the 90’s. He predicts the same will happen to the production music labels in the near future if they don’t act on the lessons learned by the record companies. His solution? A new platform to service clients who are now moving to other worldwide platforms like Epidemic Sound. Participating production music labels will not only share in the revenues, but also become equity holders in this new platform. He strongly suggests that production music label owners should act now. Want to know how? Begin by listening to this new episode! And "Don't just kick the can down the road!" Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

Let’s talk about money! It’s safe to say that everybody would like to know how much their catalogue is worth. You also might wonder how easy it would be to sell your catalogue. Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb talk to Marzio Schena from ANote Music, and try to get the answers to these questions. Anote Music is a marketplace where people can invest in music royalties, and where rights holders can sell their rights. (A kind of Stock Market for music rights.) With this platform you can raise money to invest in further development of your catalogue, or buy that nice piece of gear that you’ve always wanted. Does this mean that music is just another commodity? Find out and listen to this fascinating new episode! Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA) and AIMS AI Music Search.

An episode just to relax! This episode is a complete hour about the documentary, The Library Music Film, and more. Travel back to the Golden Era of Library music and find out about the music you may know, and the stories you may not. Do you have any idea which famous library track was used in The Muppets? Listen to this episode of Synchronized! and you’ll find out! And you'll also find out why an Epidemic composer will never end up owning a boat! Simon Webb and Ferry van Beek had a great time with Paul Elliott the director of this highly entertaining documentary. We’re sure you will have a worthwhile hour listening to our discussion.

What do you need to get great music? Great musicians! Musiversal is a platform where you can record in real time with professional session musicians. A platform for session musicians may not sound revolutionary but Musiversal does it differently. It’s subscription based rates allow you to a certain amount of live remote sessions per month. In this episode of Synchronized! Martin Silva Quach co-founder and CGO of Musiversal, talks with Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb on how it all started, and what they want to achieve with their services. Want to know if it’s something you can use? Listen to this new episode of Synchronized!

Magda Niestryjewska is Head of Sync and Music Supervisor at Jaguarec in Poland. Jaguarec is an established publisher of a variety of production music labels and caters to clients in TV and advertising. What does she think is the best way to face the increasing competition? Should we try to imitate the disruptors? Or do traditional sub-publisher need to concentrate on their own strengths? Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb were treated to a positive outlook on our business. It’s an hour of your time but what a great way of starting off your weekend!

Jay Mistry is a music industry veteran of 30 years. He commenced his career at PRS for Music, later worked at BMG, then the Discovery Channel, all in senior positions. He is now the CEO of JMC Music Services, providing business and creative services for content producers in TV and Advertising Jay Mistry talks about his work, the path ahead for production music and the challenges and the ups and downs that we all face. Interested in his views on our industry? Just sit down and listen to this new episode of Synchronized! Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA). Let us know if you have questions or remarks. Cheers Simon Webb & Ferry van Beek.

What do you get when you combine the talents of a man who fronted the commercial development of Guitar Hero and a Grammy Award winning music producer who worked with U2, Gwen Stefani and Tina Turner? Audio watermarking version 2.0! Kelly Sumner and Simon Gogerly from SonicData talk with Ferry van Beek and Simon Webb about the possibilities of their SonicKey. Transparancy for All and All for Transparancy. SonicData is ready to open the black boxes of the PRO’s and make sure rights holders and artists stop losing money each and every year. If that doesn’t give you enough reason to listen to this episode of Synchronized! we suspect you already own the key to one of these black boxes! Synchronized! is proudly sponsored by the Production Music Association (PMA).