Sound libraries used in RF libraries

[#tag]

hello,

i was wondering what is the general opinion here in using mainly sound libraries (loops and what else)  to produce – and i stress produce – RF tracks for music libraries.

sound libraries have improved dramatically in recent years. with performing royalties going down and the RF business paying so little and demanding such a high rate output i wonder if using libraries to assemble good quality tracks quickly, is going to be inevitable.

[MichaelL]

Not sure what you mean #tag by “sound libraries” …..samples vs live musicians, or loops vs. samples?

The danger in “assembling” tracks vs. composing is that you are one step closer to being no different than the next guy…no matter the quality.

Composing with samples, on the other hand, gives one a very broad palette, and it’s not too hard to carve out a unique sound.

If you’re thinking that RF libraries are the only place where sound libraries and loops get used go here and search the genre Dance /Electronica

http://www.dewolfemusic.co.uk/musicsearch

 

[Wildman]

I also don`t get it 🙂

Normally I compose my tracks with a guitar or a piano. After the composing process I produce the track with a daw and all kinds of vst instruments, live guitars, keyboards and real bass. I program or play the drums, depends on the project. I play in fact all the parts like an ordinary studio musician. It`s all hand made. From time to time I use percussion, drum samples, sound fx to layer but that is normal. Isn`t that the way it`s supposed to be ? 🙂

[#tag]

well there’re many ways to produce music, they’re all good and all have to be related with the kind of project your a working on.

with libraries I meant the ones that offer all the building blocks to produce a track, from drum loops to midi parts, mix and match between and you have a pretty decent sounding tune.

mine wasn’t an ethical question, wheter is right or wrong. Nor was about uniqueness, to me that’s almost a contradiction in terms with the library business.

my question was related to the business scenario that seems to emerge, very fast music production turnover, zero money upfront, decreasing pro royalties. and increasing competition (if you haven’t checked the aforementioned libraries, do it)

I don’t know if DeWolfe is using loops, but it’d be very interesting to see if anyone as been asked not to use samples especially now that tracking technology allows for very detailed monitoring of what goes on ‘on air’ or online (eg tunesat and the likes).

[MichaelL]

#tag, I think I see what you’re getting at. There will most definitely be a certain group of composers who will paste together cues in assembly-line fashion. Whether that will prove profitable  is another question, because there will be little reason to buy their music instead of other composers, who do that same thing. Certainly that music will be good enough for some buyers, not all.

On the other hand, samples, by that I mean individual instrument sounds, are an industry  standard. I’ve been using samples for 25 years, starting with the original emulator. The quality of sample instruments today is, for me, a dream come true. It would be difficult to find even a major feature film today that doesn’t involve samples on some level (even if it’s just in the mock-up stage)

As far as low back end and small sync fees go, that’s the nature of the business. It requires a composer to be efficient and prolific. You need hundreds, maybe thousands of cues. It’s a long term prospect.

[MichaelL]

As far as fingerprint technology goes, it’s not that hard to beat. It takes very little to create a unique fingerprint, even if two composers, for example , use the same loop. Once they put different layers on top, they’ve created a different fingerprint. If they use something like Kontakt’s Time Machine to change the tempo of a loop, or Melodyne to change the key, they’ve created a different fingerprint.

As far as midi loops go there are many ways to be unique. For example, take the midi loops from Session Horns and use them with Broadway Big Band horns or Chris Hein Horns instead…or layer all three. Same with midid drum loops. Put in whatever sounds you want.

These things are just tools. Like any other tool, the skill of the individual comes into play.

[axiomdreams]

Hmmm, I used a drumloop which happened to be very popular amongst TV composers. Added layers on top, my own bassline and melodies. However, TuneSat detected more than 20 times, other ppl’s works on TV. These days, when I use a sample drumloop, I’l modify it by chopping & pitching it differently first.

AxD

[MichaelL]

tunesat isn’t foolproof. Was there any portion of the loop in your cue before you added layers and your own bass line and melodies…even a few seconds?

[Rob (Cruciform)]

My 2c for whatever they’re worth these days.

If one looks at increased competition (number of composers and number of music shopfronts), falling per-track revenue and falling back-end payouts and then decides to go the road of using more loops rather than less, you are feeding back into the cycle of viewing music as a disposable easily replaceable commodity. I believe that road adds to the afore-mentioned problem rather than moving towards a solution.

Sure, the short-term result might be higher productivity but the overall direction is one of greater homogenisation. As more and more people do similarly, there is less and less compelling reason for any one particular piece to be chosen over another.

Why not look for a niche that you can exploit? Create a demand for what you do uniquely.

@ MichaelL – I found a way to do some procrastinating over here too!!! 😉

[MichaelL]

@Rob…FB now MLR! What next VI control?

Back to work with you lad!!!

[Rob (Cruciform)]

Too late. I’m headed to bed very soon! Woot!

[MichaelL]

@AxD, why I ask is because tunesat picks up clips as short as 3 seconds, so basically every inch of a loop needs to be altered.

Although, tunesat told me that the system was sophisticated enough to differentiate between performances of the same work, i.e., Beethoven’s 5th by the LA Philharmonic v. the London Symphony.

With so many people using loops and perhaps basing cues on the same well known source, e.g. a TV theme, I’m sure it creates a “feedback loop” of sorts.

I wonder what the false detection rate is?

_MichaelL

 

[axiomdreams]

“Was there any portion of the loop in your cue before you added layers and your own bass line and melodies…even a few seconds?”

No MichaelL, but there were abt 2 bars of that drumloop with bass, not on it’s own.

[axiomdreams]

Although, listening to the TuneSat detected clips. The other composers’ pieces had a lot more stuff going on ie. orchestral hits and lots of syn parts etc. Their pieces were pretty full on.

[Michael Nickolas]

My two cents worth – use loops as an arranging tool, not a composition tool. For example, I may have a complete idea for a Country Music cue. I might even actually write it on staff paper. I can record the basic tracks using real instruments that I can play. Instruments I can’t play I will try some loops. In this example maybe some pedal steel loops. These “sweetners” add a needed flavor but do not form the basis of the composition. With a good ear and basic music theory knowledge a very convincing part can be arranged.

[Author]

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