Our artists often ask me what kind of music we\u2019re looking for, and what makes good music for stores. If one of their tracks is far more successful than the others, or a track is rejected, users often ask me why. We give some guidelines, but in reality it\u2019s much more complicated than that \u2013 which is why we hire music supervisors. I dragged Mirko, our Head Music Supervisor, away from his headphones for a chat. <\/i><\/p>\n
‘I have always been a music addict,’ Mirko enthuses. After several jobs where he worked with music on the internet, he arrived at Soundreef.
\nHis taste in music takes in pretty much everything; ‘I was a new waver, but I also liked pop. Then I was a rocker in the 90’s… In the 21st century, I became an electronic and dance addict, and I was a DJ for four years, at discos and warehouses in Rome.’<\/p>\n
Mirko currently accepts about 50% of the tracks sent to him, though this can vary hugely since everything depends on the quality of the track. So how does he decide? Mirko explains, ‘We consider two main things when we listen to the tracks you’ve submitted: the quality of the production, mixing and recording, and the genre.’<\/p>\n
To be suitable for licensing as background music, your tracks must be high quality recordings that are made in a studio and sound good. We don’t want live recordings, low production quality or over-processed mixes, and we don’t accept jingles, samples or tracks shorter than 2 minutes either. ‘Our music is used as background music for businesses, Mirko says, ‘So it must be background friendly. There are some music styles that fit background broadcast and some other styles that simply don’t fit.’ Soundreef’s standard guidelines explain a little about what this means. We use both vocal and instrumental tracks<\/b>, and we prefer to work with pop-rock<\/b>, lounge and chill out<\/b>, R&B and soul, electronica\u00a0<\/b>and ambient<\/b>, dance and house<\/b>, classical and jazz<\/b>.<\/p>\n – We accept:<\/strong> pop; pop-rock; dance pop; indie pop; indie rock, singer\/songwriter; adult contemporary; easy listening; nu folk\/acoustic; r&b and soul; nu soul; nu funk; urban contemporary; contemporary hip hop; trap; jazz; swing; electro swing; lounge; chillout; downtempo; soft electronic; house and deep house; dance\/EDM; latin pop; reggaeton; traditional latin; bossanova; Christmas; children music; ethnic\/world music; relaxation music; ambient; classical.<\/p>\n And it isn’t just about genre – there are other considerations: no profanity<\/b>, or offensive, inappropriate or violent lyrics<\/b>; no music under 2 minutes<\/strong>; and no copyright infringement<\/b> \u2013 we won\u2019t use music when we think copyright might have been infringed, so please don\u2019t submit covers, samples or remixes. However, we can use alternative versions of tracks you have already submitted, as long as they are labelled as this. ‘The most requested genres are vocal pop and pop-rock,’ Mirko says, ‘Particularly radio friendly and mild vocal pop tracks.’ But can we refine this a bit further? ‘Pop’ and ‘pop-rock’ are very wide genres – can he be a bit more specific? – ‘Radio friendly generally means mild, happy, upbeat or midtempo,’ Mirko says. The mood needs to be upbeat rather than thoughtful or sad. ‘If it’s pop, clients always ask for a happy mood; if it’s lounge, they want it smooth and exotic or sophisticated; if it’s dance, they want it energetic and uplifting; if it’s rock, they want it powerful.’ To help you understand what he means, Mirko has chosen some tracks from the Soundreef catalogue and explains why he likes them.<\/p>\n Katrina Stone – What Makes The World Go ‘Round
\nThe only format we accept is mp3s, and these need to be encoded from a lossless format (such as\u00a0wav<\/a>,\u00a0aiff<\/a>, or\u00a0flac<\/a>)\u00a0at\u00a0128Kbps, 44.1 kHz, joint stereo. You need to use a lame-based encoder with the highest quality available for the\u00a0128Kbps bitrate \u2013 the best are\u00a0Winlame<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0iTunes<\/a>.<\/p>\nGenres suitable for background music<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n(Got great tunes, but not in the right style for Soundreef? Try our sister company\u00a0Beatpick<\/a>\u00a0instead \u2013 they accept a much\u00a0wider range of music.)<\/p>\nWhat does Mirko look for in a track?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nTurns out this is rather difficult to define in words, though it’s usually very obvious. ‘There is something that is immediately recognizable,’ he says. ‘It’s the sound, the mood, which is usually clear from the first notes.’ He looks for ‘Catchy songs with great melodies and sophisticated sounds.’
\nCan he give me some examples?
\nMirko suggests Life<\/i> by Des’ree. ‘It’s the feeling that makes it work,’ he explains. ‘The lyrics are about love and joy, and it isn’t intrusive.’
\nSurprisingly, academic research has found that non-famous music actually makes customers buy more; famous tracks apparently distract customers. ‘It’s not the artist’s fame that matters \u2013 it’s the mood of the track, and the way it makes people feel.’<\/p>\nThe right mood depends on the genre<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong>‘It’s a simple, catchy pop song and its flawless happy mood is perfect for radio broadcast.’<\/p>\n