What is Production Music?
If, as Paul Claudel wrote, "the eye listens," then why not consider that the ear sees?
Ways of Conceiving Film Music
There are two ways to conceive film music.
The first, and most well-known, consists of calling upon a composer who will write a score, record it, and thus allow the director to use it during the film’s editing and mixing.
The second way involves using pre-existing recorded works. These can be known songs or instrumental music, but also music composed and recorded specifically for the soundtracks of films or audiovisual programs, regardless of genre.
In Search of a Denomination
This music is subject to a specific form of publishing known in France as “musique d’illustration” or “illustration sonore”. In Anglo-Saxon countries, it was first known as recorded music library, or music library, hence the other French denomination of “librairie musicale” or “illustration sonore”. However, this literal translation can be confusing as it more readily evokes sheet music stores. It wasn’t until the early 80s that it became “production music”, that is, music intended for audiovisual production.
Today, in many films and series, music supervisors use a combination of original music, known songs, and production music, often for diegetic music; that is, music that participates in the sound environment according to places or situations and that actors are supposed to hear, as opposed to non-diegetic music that only the viewer hears.
The Evolution of Media
Unlike classical music publishing, where the score is the main medium of distribution, production music publishers have, since its inception, used practically all sound media. 78 rpm records, 10 and 12-inch vinyl until the mid-80s, then compact discs until the end of the first decade of the 2000s. These compact discs, designed around various themes, were made available to audiovisual professionals such as directors, editors, producers, etc. The themes of these albums could be musical genres, documentary or reportage subjects such as industry, space adventure, communication, etc., or different time periods. During the decade roughly from 2005 to 2015, the hard drive partly replaced the compact disc, but today, it is naturally through websites with search engines allowing listening, selection, and downloading that production music publishers distribute their repertoires. Although the hard drive is still used in some cases, the future of production music undoubtedly lies in websites and search engines.
Good to Know
The distribution of this music generates rights that composers and their publishers receive via Collective Management Organizations (Performing Right Organizations – PRO) such as PRS in the UK, SACEM in France, GEMA in Germany, JASRAC in Japan, or ASCAP and BMI in the USA, to name only the most important ones (see complete list).
The role of Collective Management Societies is to collect and distribute royalties from broadcasts. Production music publishers and composers, in their capacity as artists and performers, also receive royalties for the use of their recordings. These rights are called synchronization rights.