ETHICS STATEMENT

The Music Bed are one of my affiliates. I have been using them for about a year. Since discovering them I have found their site and content to be invaluable for my work. A place where I can find amazing music to license for my work. There are many sites on the internet for music that are great resources. The Music Bed being one of them and my favourite. I have asked them to write a guest blog about their service as I wanted to know how they came about and if they thought the democratization of our industry could be beneficial to the music industry…There is a great discount code at the bottom of the site. Make use of it! It only runs for a limited time. I have embedded a few of my films that I have used their music, to show how amazing the stuff on their site is. For more on my ethics statement please read this page. 

 

Below are some examples of some of my work featuring tracks from the music bed showcasing the various types of music I have found there. I truly love their site and am constantly finding amazing music there. It used to take me days to find the right music. It’s so much easier now!

Ponte Tower from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

576 Megapixels from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Two Forty from Brighton: Sony FS700 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Kessler’s People:5DmkIII and Nikon D800 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Review of Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.

Review of the Canon 1DC from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.

Sony FS700 Review Part 1 from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.

 

Guest Post from The Music Bed

Every filmmaker knows what it’s like to create those “talking head pieces” they don’t really want to do but must. If nothing else, it’s a way to keep honing their craft as they wait for the opportunity to do what they love. Musicians are the same way. For many, it feels like there’s this impenetrable wall between their desire to be a full-time musician and their need to create a stable income and provide for their families. It’s a constant struggle between doing what they’re personally passionate about and doing what they have to do 9-to-5 to pay the bills.

Here at The Music Bed, we create opportunities for bands, composers, singers, and songwriters to legitimately make it as full-time artists. By partnering with them, we enable these artists to further themselves as musicians without worrying about how they’re going to make ends meet. And, as we hope you’ve experienced, our partnership ultimately assists and inspires the filmmaker.

As filmmakers ourselves, we were constantly searching for new music sources. We’d sit in creative meetings, dream up concepts for films, write scripts, cast talent, and then try to find the right music. But every time we placed a song, it seemed like we weren’t getting the feel we needed. It was as if the concept of the video was being held back by a music choice that we were forced to make from a limited pool.

I (Daniel) remember walking into my business partner’s office one morning and saying, “We literally have friends in the music industry that would KILL for $500 right now . . . .” I remember thinking, Why isn’t there a place where we can license good music? Why isn’t this possible? That was the day the idea that filmmakers and musicians can coexist and actually help each other thrive was born. And two years later, we’re thrilled that it’s come this far.

Most independent filmmakers wear multiple hats: director of photography, editor, colorist, lighting director, and when all is said and done—music supervisor. The importance of a fluid and timely pre- and post-production workflow is a big deal. No one has hours to waste trying to find the right music. While creating films through our own videography company, we’d spend hours upon hours hunting for just the right track. So our initial hope was that The Music Bed would help our fellow filmmakers save time and energy by assisting them in their search for good tracks. Our goal was to create a place where the best of the best could live—plenty of diverse options yet curated so a filmmaker can find the perfect track quickly, easily, and at a reasonable price.

Music has a way of opening doors to emotions that would otherwise remain closed. These emotions create heart-ties with the sounds a person hears, the imagery he or she sees, and even the artists behind each piece. Over and over again, we hear from users who are reaching out to connect with an artist because that person’s musical creation made a genuine impact through the film that used it. We don’t take that kind of response lightly.

We believe the most powerful part of The Music Bed is the connection that forms between artist, filmmaker, and client. It’s been awesome for us to see these relationships develop. Filmmakers share their brilliant projects that were made better by great music; artists share these same videos because they’re proud of the films that use their music. And inevitably, recurring clients and new fans are being created at the same time. Talking, sharing, and connection are all made possible by the music license. We proudly refer to this relationship as the “Triangle of Power” (or “Circle of Love,” if you prefer):

Ultimately, the small financial investment that’s made in obtaining the rights to a song carries more relational value than you can quantify. But the part that makes us the giddiest is hearing about the positive impact from the artist’s perspective. The whole process has proven to be such a value-added service to our independent musicians—an idea made apparent by Quinn Erwin, vocalist for Afterlife Parade:

All artists and musicians need moments of affirmation regarding their work that reminds them that what they are creating has value. They need small or large reminders that their work is worth paying for and that it is possible to create a living by making something that others will enjoy for a long time to come.

Doesn’t that notion apply to all of us? From one insecure creative to another, believing that other people also value our creations plays a HUGE role in whether or not we continue to create. Just knowing that what we’re doing impacts even one person is sometimes all the affirmation we need to move ahead to the next project.

Meet The Music Bed from The Music Bed on Vimeo.

During an impromptu cozy concert with Tim Halperin and Jordan Critz at the TMB offices, we all had a chance to sit down and talk about music, videos, what TMB believes in and what that means in the industry. Super fun afternoon with a lot of good folks.

BIG thanks to Shade Tree Films for coming in to shoot and edit this awesome piece. It would not have happened without these guys.

In appreciation for those who’ve licensed his music through TMB, one artist had this to say:

I have a deeper sense of commitment to continue writing and putting out music because you have made it clear that the songs we write impact you and that you feel these songs are going to impact others as well. We are deeply moved every time we have the opportunity to watch the way our music is used to tell stories and inspire change in others.

Whether your dollars literally keep the artists’ lights turned on or simply fuel their hopes, they’re definitely going right where they belong—to the creatives.

Here’s the deal . . . in just two years our company went from being a concept for a small business that we figured could provide some lunch money for a few starving artists, to where we are today—literally paying hundreds of artists’ mortgages each month. By pulling a legitimate amount of income from TMB, these musicians (many of whom used to work two to three jobs) are now released to focus on their craft.

One of our artists put it this way:

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has purchased our tracks . . . Because some of you licensed our songs, you relieved a good portion of the burden of the three jobs I was working to make ends meet after my wife lost her job in December 2011. It is because of you that I had the money to pay my bills the past two or three months.

To us, that outcome is priceless. And it was not because of TMB . . . it was because of you—the filmmakers.

So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Thanks for being so supportive of this idea and the artists on our site. We hope to provide you with killer music for years to come!

As a tangible thank-you, we’d like to offer you a 20% discount** off your next purchase.  Just click the banner above and sse coupon code “PBblog” at checkout . And just by commenting on this post and liking  “The Music Bed on Facebook, you will be entered to win $100 in music licenses! 

We’re so grateful The Music Bed has had the opportunity to license songs for many different types of projects—from promotional videos to broadcast commercials to stunning wedding videos and much more. So we’d like to share with you just a few of our favorites from 2012!

Lindsey & Andrew’s Wedding Highlights – Dallas, Texas from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

Birchbox from Birchbox TV on Vimeo.

Mission 26 The Big Endeavour from Givot on Vimeo.

 

**Coupon expires on April 15, 2013