BBC radio documentary on Library Music

In the media biz, "library music" is music that's usually owned outright by a company and then licensed to customers who use it as soundtracks for TV shows, radio programs, industrial films. Much of it is horrendously cheezy, but there are also many true gems, especially the further back you go in history. Indeed, 1960s and 1970s library music has had a resurgence amongst crate diggers and rare groove trainspotters leading to a slew of limited edition reissues on CD. The terrific LP covers in this post are from a book on the subject, titled "The Music Library: Graphic Art and Sound." BBC Radio 4 has just produced a fantastic audio documentary about the history of the genre, titled "Into the Music Library." From the program description:

Sports themes, situation comedies, game shows, cartoons, talk shows, classic children's tv, the testcards and even Farmhouse Kitchen was brought to us all with the help of library music. Themes for Terry And June, Grange Hill, Mastermind, Match Of The Day and of course that gallery tune from Vision On are all well placed library cues. But there are reels (and reels) of gorgeously crafted, equally great stuff that never made it past the elevator door! We have been surrounded by it forever, but we know so little about it.... Where does it comes from? Who actually makes it? And how do you actually set about making music for the inside of a waiting area, a lift or for a plane before it takes off?

In this first ever documentary about library music we'll look into its history (starting in 1909), speak with the dynastic library owners (de Wolfe, KPM, John Gale), We find out what's it's like to make music to imaginary pictures by speaking to the library music makers (which could include Jimmy Page and Brian Eno), and even have a word with the Musicians Union who banned UK recording of library music throughout the late 60s.

We also talk to the modern day enthusiasts, the collectors (The Specials founder Jerry Dammers) and explore the contemporary influences of this extraordinary musical genre. And of course re-acquaint ourselves with some of the most familiar music we've never listened to!

"Into the Music Library" (via @chris_carter_)

• [w4gon]

  just incase you still want this show – i’ve uploaded it for anybody interested :)

  http://cl.ly/3M0b460L0k2m3f3I1T1K

  Jonny trunk does a fantastic show on Resonance FM – The OST Show! Keep a look out for it.

• [lewis stoole]

  loved it! great broadcast. reminded me of the funk brothers, the musicians you know but don’t know. keith mansfield, mentioned in this broadcast, i think fits that bill.

  keith mansfield: funky fanfare
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i6Cpq8XBFw

  if you want to hear more library music (i thought it was called stock music), just type in “kpm music” into youtube. kpm is a british company that provides the sound you all know.

  (side note from the broadcast: i actually thought barbara moore was robert popper)

• [Slowermo]

  That’s what I like most about this music, it reminds me of low budget movies. My favorite is how the chase scene music in the prostitute/hit woman movie Malibu High and the theme to The People’s Court are the same. I assume that was library music.

• [codeman38]

  Another classic bit of library music: “Gathering Crowds”, by Mike Vickers a.k.a. Patrick Scott. Baseball fans will probably recognize this one immediately.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBeD74f5_6w

  Ironically enough, that one was bought from KPM. One of the most quintessentially American pieces of stock music ever, in other words, was written by a Brit.

  Incidentally, a lot of KPM’s stuff can now be gotten legally on iTunes and Amazon, which is utterly awesome.

  • [lewis stoole]

    ha. i love that song. for some reason it makes me think of toho japanese sci fi (the guys dressed in rubber monster suits stomping through a miniaturized set), so maybe i also heard it in some old movie as well, or maybe it was a local sci fi movie show. it is strange what these songs bring to mind.

• [codeman38]

  Oh, yes! The famous theme from Monty Python and the Holy Grail? That’s from the DeWolfe library. All the background music in that movie is, for that matter, because the Pythons were on such a low budget.

• [defacebook]

  I’ve collected many of the library music comps that have come out over the years and written about them at my soundtrack review site http://scorebaby.com/soundlibrary.html.

  The best library music of the ’60s and ’70s is the groovy psychedelic exotica and cop show funk. I love library music’s capacity to suggest situations and settings without having a specific association (unlike an official soundtrack or pop music). It seems to exist in an alternate universe. And while some of it is cheesy and derivative, there is plenty of wholly original and innovative sounds too.

• [silly bobs]

  lovely!

  presented by Jonny Trunk, daddy of trunk records, a record label of much repute!

  http://www.trunkrecords.com

  i recommend the g-spots compilation and of course the wickerman soundtrack.

• [Jasonclock]

  Now THIS is REALLY uncanny synchronicity. I’ve just today uploaded this: http://www.kafkagarden.com/works/libmus1/librarymusic1.html

• [Gilbert Wham]

  I love me some Library Funk.

• [SidFudd]

  Love it. Now who’s into library music of the U.S.? I’m archivist for the Firesign Theatre, and we’re working on a DVD reissue of “Everything You Know Is Wrong”. We’ve lost any documentation on the library record of martial music that was used to provide the background cues for the original EYKIW LP and would love to track it down. Here’s the famous “Golden Hind” theme:

  http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/wtf/EYKIW%20End%20title%20credits.mp3

  And of course we’re always looking for an ID for the old “Doctor Memory” theme:

  http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/wtf/1970-05-24%20mysterious%20theme.mp3