CSS Music Adds 15,000 New Sound Effects To Download Site

ZOUNDS! What Sounds!

Los Angeles based CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music has just added 15,000 new sound effects to its download web site www.dawnmusic.com. The new package called “Econo-fx” is delivered in either .mp3 320 or .wav file 44.1khz file formats.

“Econo-fx is the perfect compliment to our MAX-EFX and E-EFX packages,” explains CSS/D.A.W.N. creative director, Mike Fuller. “Both MAX-EFX and E-EFX were designed by radio production people and present effects using an ‘in your face’, ‘mind’s ear’ approach. Econo-fx on the other hand is a full service 23 category package that features the natural sound techniques of master sound recordist, Ric Viers. Some really good foley effects for example. Even the electronic effects sound real.

“I’ve always said that you can’t have enough sound effects” Fuller continued, “and it’s important to cover sounds from multiple perspectives. Econo-fx does this by covering most of the sounds in MAX-EFX and E-EFX and by adding thousands more. Econo-fx makes a great cost effective addition to any sound designer’s palette.”

Econo-fx is available on a one effect per track download basis. MAX-EFX and E-EFX sounds are delivered in a multiple effect per track basis. Econo-fx tracks download for $4 each in either 44.1khz format while MAX-EFX and E-EFX tracks download in full bandwidth for $7, with a 22khz format also available for $4. Both sound effects packages have their own search system. Econo-fx offers a “drill down” approach to its 23 categories making it possible to quickly reduce results from thousands to just a few effects. MAX-EFX and E-EFX provide a pull down menu plus a user entry keyword field.

CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music offers offers more than 27,000 tracks of royalty free production music and sound effects and has served the AV/Video, film and broadcast industries since 1982. For more information, visit www.cssmusic.com or www.dawnmusic.com. or call 800-468-6874.

5 Q&A Questions About The Production Music Industry

1. What would you say is the current "leading edge" technologically speaking in the production library industry today?

I think the next wave of technology in the library business is going to be centered around what has been termed “music recognition”. Not music watermarking which requires the encryption of an inaudible identifier within a tune but rather software that can actually recognize the uniqueness of a discrete sound recording. One music recognition software developer claims that their monitoring system is so sophisticated it can recognize a tune being played on a stadium public address system, picked up by broadcast announce microphones along with background crowd noise, and do so with 95% accuracy. Another company is developing software that recognizes music compositions themselves along with key music identifiers allowing for high speed comparison of millions of tunes using a user generated set of music characteristics. The industry is just beginning to see the possibilities, from copyright infringement detection and search systems to performance tracking. There are problems of course but it’s a brave new world and a brave new technology.

2. There's a lot of buzz about the use of re-titled tunes or tunes submitted to multiple libraries but marketed under different names.
Some say it's a big deal about nothing, others say it's a copyright bomb that may go off.

How serious a problem this is is being actively debated and no consensus has been reached. But with multiple companies adding the same tune to their catalogs under different titles, it is only a matter of time before we start hearing about instances of multiple copyright claims. This will be messy and confusing at best and sadly in addition to possible legal ramifications, the end user may lose faith in the integrity of the industry which is generally very high. The music recognition technology mentioned earlier makes this problem even more likely.

3. Many are confused about what is often called "licensed music". How is this different from "royalty free music"? What are the benefits of this kind of music.

The simple truth is there is no difference and no benefit. It is a bit of “audio snobbery” on the part of needle drop (aka production blanket or annual blanket) libraries. An attempt if you will to differentiate themselves from life-time blanket (aka royalty free or buy out) music libraries. The legal theory is the same, both are licensed. The only real difference is the length of the term. In fairness, however, there still remains on average a gap in quality between needle drop and life-time blanket libraries. This gap, however, due to technological advances in music creation is very small and in many cases has been totally erased. The question then for the end user becomes “is a theoretical quality gap worth the difference in price?”

4. What are music cue sheets and why is it necessary to fill them out?

Music Cue sheets are chronological listings of all music used in a given production with basic information like production company name, production title, episode title or number, production length, total music used, cue title, writer, writer society, publisher, publisher society, use (e.g. “background”), etc. Without cue sheets being accurately filled out and submitted to the performance rights societies, the likelihood of writers and publishers receiving vital revenue from ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN, etc. is drastically reduced. It is easy to forget cue sheets in the heat of battle but it is good to remember that unless you are a broadcaster licensee, you don’t pay for the public performance of your productions. Pure and simple, copyright holders are entitled to be paid for public performance of their music under the copyright act. Yes, it is clearly a matter of fairness and law but it is also a matter of contract since most libraries require cue sheet submission in their license agreements.

5. Are CDs dead?

As a door nail. Well almost. We still have demand for CDs and other physical music delivery products but the fact is that it’s a download world because the end user is empowered. Who wants to buy a disc with maybe 1 or 2 good cuts when you can go on a web site or web sites and download exactly and precisely what you or the client needs or demands. CDs properly displayed,however, do often impress a client. And custom CD-Rs are still in demand but only because once again the end user is empowered.

CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music Offers “Double Your Downloads” Recession Buster Bulk Download Deal

Los Angeles based Royalty Free Music library CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music has announced a Spring promotion that lets Production Hub visitors establish new bulk download accounts or add to their existing accounts with the firm through May 15, 2010 and get “double the downloads”.

“We wanted to offer a promotion that offered twice the bang for a producer’s royalty free music buying buck,” exclaimed CSS / D.A.W.N. Marketing Director, Mike Fuller, “200% better than our regular plans. And the best part is that like our regular plans, these downloads don’t expire. No term. They stay online ready to work for you when you need them. You can download them all at once, one at a time or take years. It’s up to you”.

CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music offers 12 bulk download plans that normally can be purchased online ( http://www.dawnmusic.com//DAWNLoadSystem/index.cfm). But Fuller points out that those wishing to take advantage of the “Double Your Downloads” promotion should call him personally at 800-468-6874 as the online e-commerce at www.dawnmusic.com will only reflect the regular prices and downloads for each plan.

“I hope folks will call me and ask as many questions as they want about the music, our royalty free licensing or this great opportunity to save money. All of our 12,000+ royalty free tracks are available 24/7/365. They can be previewed in their entirety before purchasing a plan or downloading within a plan. Also available is our free Playlist Utility. Create as many playlists as you like for scenes, clients, projects, etc. Add notes about individual tunes. E-mail your playlists across the hall or around the world.”

About CSS Music/ D.A.W.N. Music

CSS Music / D.A.W.N. was founded in 1982 in Los Angeles, CA and is the oldest US-based royalty free music library under original management. CSS / D.A.W.N. has more than 300 CD volumes and 12,000 downloadable music backgrounds in its 17 library package. CSS Music is intended for use in AV/Video, Film, Television, Multimedia and Internet applications. Delivery formats include Individual Track Download, CD, Custom CD-R, Downloadable CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and Hard Drive. Popular CSS libraries include Super Themes, Target Trax and Repro-file.

For more information about CSS / D.A.W.N. or for more information about its library of royalty free music and background music, please visit www.dawnmusic.com or www.cssmusic.com

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NEWS RELEASE

CSS MUSIC UPGRADES ENTIRE ROYALTY FREE MUSIC LIBRARY TO SUPERIOR .MP3 320 kbs FILE FORMAT

Los Angeles, CA, October 23, 2009 -- CSS Music, a Los Angeles-based royalty free music library, has upgraded its entire collection of music tracks for the film, video, television and digital media industry to a superior quality .mp3 320 kbs file format. All 12,000 tracks on CSS Music’s website are now available for digital download in this new file format in addition to .WAV files at 44.1/48khz and .MP4 (AAC) files.

CSS Music president and founder Michael M. Fuller described the upgrade of his royalty free library delivery formats by saying, “When you're talking about compressed files in an .mp3 format, the gold standard without a doubt is 320 kbs. While our 160 kbs files were excellent, taking our royalty free music downloads up to .mp3 320 kbs was a necessary move. Today’s clients are looking for ways to stretch their dollars and at the same time they’re looking for quality. They demand quality. Now because of this upgrade our .mp3’s will sound smoother with a more transparent high frequency response.”

CSS has been offering .mp3 320 kbs files on their hard drive systems for the last 5 years, providing an effective high quality substitute for non-compressed .wav files. However Fuller added, “Clearly there’s been a shift to digital downloading. With better and faster broadband connections, we decided now was the time to make .mp3 320’s available for downloads as well. Now our clients can get the best quality in an .mp3 download without paying more." For clients not requiring the higher quality .mp3 format, CSS Music still offers a lower resolution version priced for those on a tight budget.

All of CSS Music’s file formats (.mp3 320kbs, .wav 44.1khz/48khz, .mp4/AAC) can be accessed either on a single track basis or by using one of two Bulk Download Plans. Bulk Download Plan clients can save from 35-90% compared to CSS’ regular single track download prices.

The CSS Music web site, www.cssmusic.com, offers 3 independent search systems. Each track in a search result can be reviewed in its entirey in full 44.1khz sound quality. Site users can also use a Playlist Tool to create an unlimited number of playlists for different projects, scenes, etc. Playlists can be e-mailed to clients or associates.

CSS Royalty Free Music updates are announced at their Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/cssmusic

About CSS Music
CSS Music was founded in 1982 in Los Angeles, CA and is the oldest US based royalty free music library under original management. CSS has more than 300 CD volumes and 12,000 downloadable music backgrounds in its 17 library package. CSS Music is intended for use in AV/Video, Film, Television, Multimedia and Internet applications. Delivery formats include CD, Custom CD-R, Single Track Download, Downloadable CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and Hard Drive. Popular CSS libraries include Super Themes, Target Trax and Repro-file. For more information, please visit www.cssmusic.com <http://www.cssmusic.com>

So The Economy is “Recovering”
-- But What About The Coming Inflation?
Many economic pundits tell us the recession has ended and that growth should resume in the 3rd quarter. Hopefully that’s true for the economy and for you specifically. But with all the “stimulus” and money being injected into the world economies, it’s probably a good idea to keep our seat belts fastened for the next jolt: inflation.

And worse than inflation, “stagflation”, a phenomenon not seen since the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s where there is sluggish growth combined with moderate to high inflation (6% or more on an annualized basis).

The problem with inflation is the “inflation psychology”, where you feel compelled to buy now before the price increases. Once started, this inflationary spiral or psychology actually fuels more and higher inflation. What do you do to protect yourself? You try to buy smarter. Buy only what you need, when you need it. Reward those vendors that keep prices down or help you become more productive.

At CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music, we’re pleased that we have not raised prices on downloads since we began offering them in 1997. Even with 40% inflation over the last 12 years, we’ve been able to hold prices down by being more efficient AND more importantly because you, our customers, continued to buy in greater numbers each quarter. In this last recession, however, like a majority of businesses, we’ve seen our volume flatten and decline. Costs, unfortunately, have continued to rise, prompting some who advise us to recommend finally raising prices. This in our opinion is not the best course for the future. You need great music at stable predictable prices -- and we need your support to keep prices down. Sounds like a good partnership.

Thanks for being our valued customer!

From CSS/D.A.W.N. Newsletter

New Releases! New Releases! New Releases!

4 new volumes have been added to the CSS Music / D.A.W.N.Music package-- 180 new downloadable tracks. Check ‘em out here:

Powertrax Vol. 25 “Reality Rock”
Repro-file Plus Vol. 28 “Forces of Nature”
Target Trax Vol. 50 “Filmscapes/Reality TV”
Hot Spots Vol. 19 “Uplifting Acoustic, TV Themes, Piano & Friends”

Playlists-- An Unqualified Success!

Thanks to all of you for making our new playlist tool such a big hit. Literally hundreds of D.A.W.N.loaders have opened not only 1 playlist but in some cases quite a few.

What Is A D.A.W.N. Playlist?

The D.A.W.N. Playlist system is a great way to organize music for all your various projects or just to keep track of music or SFX you like or may want to use in the future. When you find a selection you think might work, you can add it to playlist and then name the playlist for the project you’re working on (e.g. XYZ Co. New Product Rollout Show). Whenever you find new tunes, you can add them to an existing playlist or create a new one. You can also change a playlist name to update it for another project by typing the new title into the “name playlist” field at the bottom of an open playlist. If you’re working with others on a project or need client approval for example, you can simply e-mail a playlist— across the hall or around the world. You can even e-mail a playlist to yourself as a reminder or idea irker. Every tune is reviewable by clicking the .mp3 “forward triangle”. You can buy a track from a playlist by clicking the “Buy Track” button. You can also delete tunes from a playlist or delete an entire playlist as you refine your music needs and preferences.

How Do I Get Started Using D.A.W.N. Playlists?

Getting set up for D.A.W.N. Playlists is quick and simple. Click “add to playlist” under the “buy track” button in your search results. You will be taken to a sign in page. If you’re new to the process, click where it says “click here to register”. Simply enter your e-mail address and a password of your choosing and then submit. When you want to review your existing playlists, create a new playlist or e-mail a playlist, log in with your e-mail address and password. You’ll be able to log in any time you like 24/7/365.

Bulk Download Plans Really Do Save D.A.W.N.loaders Money!

There’s certainly nothing wrong with visiting dawnmusic.com and downloading a tune when you need it with a credit card. But what if your music needs can be predicted over a reasonable 3 to 6 month period or you know you have a major project in the shop? It may well be that you can save some serious money by signing up for one of two bulk download plans. It’s easy to sign up. Just choose either Plan I or Plan II and one of 6 tiers (e.g. Plan II, 12 downloads -$199).

Which Bulk Download Plan Is Right For Me?

Plan I counts down “D.A.W.N. Dollars”. It is generally best for those who tend to use 22khz bandwidth, cuts from the budget libraries (e.g. Target Trax), shorter cuts or a lot of sound effects. Plan II counts down actual downloads and is best for those who tend to use 44.1/48khz bandwidth, full length cuts, cuts from Super Themes or Digital Ditties and only a few sound effects. While our bulk D.A.W.N.loaders are pretty much split between the two plans and there really isn’t a “bad choice”, it doesn’t hurt discuss your actual situation before signing up. Give us a call at 1800-468-6874 and we’ll go over the pros and cons of each plan with you. Our goal is to get D.A.W.N.loaders the best music at the lowest possible price.



CSS Music is Available Only at www.cssmusic.com and www.dawnmusic.com

Some royalty free library packages today are compilations of material from many diverse sources. Music is provided essentially on a non-exclusive consignment basis. Some of you have asked if our music is on multiple competitive sites under the same tune title or other title. The answer is “NO”. Our music was created just for us. And because this is so, you can be sure that the ownership of material and authority to license it is never in doubt with CSS Music / D.A.W.N. Music. Our writers are selected carefully and are part of a group that works together to give our licensees the best quality and value for their money. We’re proud of the fact that the average CSS/D.A.W.N. writer has been with us for more than 10 years, some for over 20 years.