Sonoton Music claims to be the world's largest independently owned

Production Music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Background ...

Library. Formed 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich (Germany), the company owns the copyrights of over 130,000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres. With more than 35 subsidiaries worldwide, Sonoton Music licences the use of its music for TV, motion picture, advertising and internet productions.

History

1965 Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz establish Sonoton Music as a company in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Gerhard Narholz, songwriter for artists such as

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

, Bill Ramsey and Heidi Brühl, and composer for German feature films and television series, provides specific film and television music as

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

, thus introducing

library music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgroun ...

in Germany. 1965 - 1970 Sonoton continues to develop the library business in Germany. The initial TV-specific music catalogue is expanded into a variety of genres through works of other composers. 1969 Sonoton enters the international market through the British BERRY MUSIC company, who sub-publishes Sonoton productions worldwide on the library music labels CONROY, STUDIO ONE and PROGRAMME PRODUCTIONS. Sonoton enters the commercial record market, producing

Easy Listening Music Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

for Japan, which is released on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and King Records, Tokyo. 1970 - 1980 Using the a.k.a. Norman Candler, Gerhard Narholz composes, arranges and conducts over 20 LPs with his large string orchestra, the MAGIC STRINGS, internationally released on the labels Decca Records/

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" ap ...

and King Records. In 1971, Norman Candler receives the “3 Star Award” from

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily ''BBC London News'' and weekly '' Sunday Politics'' on television, ...

for “Best Album of the Year”. Sonoton expands its Easy Listening catalogue with recording artists Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Ted Heath,

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

Xavier Cugat Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City ...

Horst Jankowski Horst Jankowski (30 January 1936 – 29 June 1998) was a classically trained German pianist, most famous for his internationally successful easy listening music. Biography Born in Berlin, Jankowski studied at the Berlin Music Conservatory and p ...

and

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later, ...

. 1973

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

buys BERRY MUSIC, the former Sonoton agent in the UK. This marks the birth of Sonoton Music's own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. The unicolored album covers for library music LPs are replaced with individually designed, full color sleeves. 1975 Sonoton Music introduces the British KPM label to the German market. More international labels follow. 1981 Sonoton Music establishes its world music label SAS (Sonoton AUTHENTIC SERIES). 1984 Sonoton Music is the first library to release its music on CD. 1987 Sonoton Music establishes the CNS label (COMMERCIALS NON STOP), featuring specific commercial and promo tracks. 1991 Sonoton Music represents SONIA Classics, a collection of classical works on CD, for synchronization. 1992 Sonoton Music is the first music library to present its own music search programme, SONOfind, on floppy disk. 1993 Sonoton is represented by ASSOCIATED PRODUCTION MUSIC (APM) in USA. 1995 Sonoton Music begins operating its own music recording studio in Munich, Germany. 1997 Sonoton Music creates its own

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

s series, SONOspheres, which focuses on atmospheric sounds and effects. 1998 Sonoton Music introduces an online music search programme and makes its entire repertoire accessible via the Internet. 2001 Sonoton Music opens a new digital 5.1 music recording studio in Munich and presents library DVDs with 5.1 mixes of large orchestral recordings. 2006 Sonoton Music offers its entire repertoire on hard drive including an offline search system. 2010 Sonoton Music is the first European production music library to release its SONOfind music search program as an app for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android based mobile devices.

Business model

Based on contracts with composers and recording artists, Sonoton Music owns the Synchronization and

Performing Rights Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music's composer/lyricist and publisher (with the royalties generally split 50/50 between the two). Performances are considered "pu ...

of its compositions and recordings, and licenses these rights to the audio-visual industry on a track-by-track or project-by-project basis. In countries where a Mechanical Copyright Society is in function (such as MCPS (

Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) is an organisation that collects royalties and protects rights for music publisher, song writer and composer members, when their music is reproduced, in any format – including online, physical a ...

) in UK or GEMA in Germany), Synchronization Rights (the right to combine music with audio-visuals or/and advertising) are licensed through these societies. In all other countries (such as US) synchronization licenses have to be obtained from the local Sonoton Music representative. Performing Rights (the right to perform music publicly, live or in any media, such as TV, film, etc...) are granted through local performing right societies, which usually have blanket agreements with broadcasters. Composers get their shares of licenses either through membership of a Mechanical and/or Performing Rights Societies, and/or through Sonoton, depending on the local legal conditions.

Notable Composers for Sonoton

Geoff Bastow K.I.D. was a British musician and the 1980s Italo disco musician best known for his SAM import and club hit "You Don't Like My Music (Hupendi Muziki Wangu?!)" that entered the '' Billboard'' Club charts. The name is a pseudonym used by Geoffre ...

* John Fox * Dave Gage *

* Gordon Mulrain * Lelo Nazario * Klaus Netzle * Dieter Reith * Gregor Narholz

Credits

Sonoton Music has been featured in productions such as (selection):SONOTON - Production Music Music Library Musik Sound FX : Referenzen
* Motion Picture: ''

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and is the third in the '' Harry Potter'' series. The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of ...

'', ''

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American live-action/animated adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. The film was directed, co-written, and produced by series creat ...

'', '' Fahrenheit 9/11'', ''

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy mystery thriller film written and directed by Shane Black (in his directorial debut), and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The scri ...

'', ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the ...

'', ''

Frida ''Frida'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Julie Taymor which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Starring Salma Hayek in an Academy Award–nominated portrayal as K ...

'', ''The Mummy'', ''Platoon'', ''Wonder Boys'', ''

City Slickers ''City Slickers'' is a 1991 American comedy film, directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, and Jack Palance, with supporting roles by Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, and Noble Willingham with Jake G ...

'', ''

Born on the Fourth of July ''Born on the Fourth of July'', published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line ...

'', ''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childho ...

'' * Television: ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', ''Medium'', ''JAG'', ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', '' Friends'', ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...

'', ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'', ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character ...

'', ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

'', '' Days of Our Lives'', ''

Fifteen to One ''Fifteen to One'' is a British general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4. It originally ran from 11 January 1988 to 19 December 2003 and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's original run ...

'' (Polish version),

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...

The Loud House ''The Loud House'' is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only s ...

(2016-2019) * Video Games: '' X-Men Legends 2'', ''

Battlefield 2142 ''Battlefield 2142'' is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth game in the ''Battlefield'' series. ''Battlefield 2142'' is set in 2142, depicting a war known as "The Cold Wa ...

'', '' American Chopper: Full Throttle'', ''Shrek 3'', ''

The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation game, life simulation video games developed by Maxis and video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling ...

'' Games Series, ''

Outlaw Golf ''Outlaw Golf'' is a series of golf video games developed by Hypnotix, that are intended for adults and mature teens. ''Outlaw Golf'' was released for the Xbox (console), Xbox on June 10, 2002; for GameCube on October 29, 2002; and for Microsoft ...

2'', ''Gretsky 6'', ''SOCOM 3: US Navy Seals'', ''Saints Row'', ''The Punisher'', ''The Sopranos'', ''WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw'', ''Surf's Up'', ''

Fallout New Vegas ''Fallout: New Vegas'' is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was announced in April 2009 and released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 19, 201 ...

'', '' Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time'' * Advertising:

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coas ...

, Las Vegas Tourism Board

References

{{Authority control Production music Entertainment companies established in 1965 Mass media companies established in 1965

History

Business model

Notable Composers for Sonoton

Credits

Further reading / Articles

References