Posted inNews

TikTok wants to help brands license music to use on its app

The boundary between user-generated content and sponsored or branded content is important for music rightsholders, who feel strongly that if a video on a social app or video service is being paid for by a brand, it should be a proper sync.

But what about brands who want to use original music for their own content? One of those services, TikTok, is trying to help with its new ‘Sound Partners’ program.

Posted inSandbox

The Sandbox Guide to.. The future of sync, and what it means for you

Today, hundreds of thousands of artists release music and an equally huge number of content creators require music for their output. Sync has become a more nuanced instrument for all involved – and one that’s still a moneymaker and a powerful marketing tool. We’re taking a look at how sync has changed, what the real needs […]

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Posted inNews

Epidemic Sound revenues grew in 2019; so did operating losses

Swedish production music company Epidemic Sound saw its revenues grow by 66% to SEK 375.3m (around $42.1m) in 2019, but the company’s operating losses grew by 152% to SEK 206.7m ($23.2m) according to its financial results.

MBW has published the figures, which were released in Sweden earlier this summer. The financials offer a snapshot of the company’s business a few months before it made 79 of its 419 staff redundant in May.

“Covid-19 has just accelerated this transition into becoming a digital-first company, and supercharged it,” CEO Oscar Hoglund told us at the time.

Posted inNews

Beatleap video-editing app includes Epidemic Sound music

Lightricks is the developer behind popular photo and video editing apps like Facetune and Videoleap, with more than 350m downloads so far. Now it’s launching a new creativity app with a music twist.

It’s called Beatleap, and it’s a partnership with production music firm Epidemic Sound. The app helps people to edit their videos to fit with more than 1,000 songs from the latter company’s catalogue.

“Utilising machine learning, the app determines the exact moment to slow down or speed up a user’s video to perfectly align with the beat of the music,” is how Lightricks put it.