News+Notes
Waxfruit™ Arts Media launches unique music
licensing site offering easy access to high-quality recordings while
supporting musicians, filmmakers and media projects
Wednesday, Jun. 6, 2007
NEW YORK,
N.Y.– Waxfruit™ Arts Media, a New York not-for-profit organization, has
just announced the launch of FlickTracks™, an innovative production
music library that streamlines matchmaking between recording artists
and other media producers for a good cause. Online at www.FlickTracks.org, the
site includes artists with successful audio placements in films such as
The Horse Whisperer, Cop Land, The Ice Harvest, and Opposite of Sex, as
well as on MTV, Dawson's Creek and The OC.
Waxfruit's select
roster of distinctive artists and high-quality recordings is maintained
with the help of expert volunteers from the full spectrum of media,
including award-winning music writers, ad creatives, musicians,
producers, filmmakers and web gurus. According to Waxfruit co-founder
Joel Mellin, these experts provide more than oversight -- they provide
artistic and industry insight.
"Slick commercial libraries
trying to capitalize on naive ambitions are popping up all the time,
but they lack personality and practicality," says Mellin. "We set out
to build an easy-to-use site that actually cares about the artists,
actually cares about quality of the music, and will actually benefit
filmmakers and agencies ."
Mellin developed an innovative
interface so users can input their project parameters to instantly
calculate and generate a customized master/synch license. The music is
immediately available for download and use once the placement fee is
paid with a credit card. All fees help support the artists and
Waxfruit's non-profit mission.
"One of the reasons I fell in
love with indie music in the first place was because of its integrity,"
says Waxfruit co-founder Jeff Mellin. "But with the death of
independent records stores, radio and even live venues, many artists
and labels are forced to 'sell-out' if they want any sort of success
and exposure for their music. We wondered, 'How can we flip this
soulless paradigm on its head for the greater good?'"
Waxfruit
artists keep 100% of their copyrights and publishing rights. Every
artist involved is sharing a portion of the placement fees to help fund
new artists, recordings, film fests and other independent media and
arts projects.
"We spend around 10-15% of project budgets on
music," says Gregor Clark of New York-based Catman & Mary
Productions. "I'd love to see that money go directly into the pockets
of artists and an organization that helps artists make music. No
question, it's great to support independent artists."
For images and more information about Waxfruit, please contact Jeff Mellin at jeff.mellin@waxfruit.org
To see and hear the FlickTracks Music Library for yourself, please visit http://www.FlickTracks.org
