Do these sound like my favorite producer(s)?
This a comon enough question to warrant a blog-post.
We don't blow up anyone's spot, and we don't drop names. We'll never try to imply any producer or artist affiliation that doesn't exist, and we will NEVER name a sound set or library after a producer, much less a producer who isn't a customer, UNLESS they're involved in it's creation.
When you hear one of our sounds on a current record, they got it from us, not the other way around.
We don't recycle other peoples work. Our customer base is riddled with top Gold & Platinum selling producers, and thats just the very tip of the iceberg, as many loyal clients prefer their cleint status remain private, and we respect that. Our client / testimonials page has actual feedback from music industry professionals who we've provided sounds to.
Now for a rant
I'd rather not get into speaking on other sound companies, sound designers, crate diggers etc., as I do respect everyones grind. It's not easy to spend hours tweaking sounds to be musically useful, when in many cases, they started out sounding useless. I saw something recently that disturbed me though. A producer, with plenty of credits to his name, promoting his own sound set in a lengthy video online, without any reference the sound design process whatsoever. Did he even EQ things to his liking? I hope so. Maybe I missed that part of the video. What he DID talk about, was that his sample library is made up of his favorite drums/sounds, and he went into the way producers (including himself) 'get' sounds. That included trading sounds with friends/other producers. Seriously? Now, before you jump to conclusions, I'm not writing this to lecture anyone about trading sounds with their friends. But if you're releasing "your own" sample library, shouldn't it include YOUR OWN sounds, and not sounds your friends gave you? SMH.
1. That's a good way for OUR sounds to end up being sold on another website.
2. It's weak to put your name on someone else's work... And weak might be putting it lightly.
3. It's a good way to get sued.
If there's doubt about whether or not someone can be sued over sounds from a sample library- I'd point out that Bangin-Beats recently filed a formal lawsuit against one of the largest labels on the planet, for sounds being used in a song by one of the biggest pop stars of modern times. A song that sold over 7,000,000 (million) units.
The song's producer(s) were not licensed to use the sounds in question, or even registered Bangin-Beats users. Now, in addition to a punitive dollar amount for copyright infringement, their own (cowriting) royalties are at stake. This isn't even the only such lawsuit either. The details on these arent likely to go public (via me anyway), as I'd much rather reap the rewards of respecting a non-disclosure agreement, than be in a TMZ headline for a few days.
The moral of the story
Don't chase your tail trying to sound like someone else. By the time your record is released, the sound will have changed. Searching for drums & sounds "from" a big-name producer, or even one named after a big-name producer, suggests you're an immitator, not a creator. When you blow up, spend all your money on cars, champagne and matching 8 ball jackets for all your crew (LOL I knew someone who did that way back)- After a few years you might find yourself trying to pay the bills, and thinking about slingin your "own" sound set, made up of the BS sounds you bought trying to emulate someone else! The whole thing is clownery.
Buy sounds from sound designers. Whether it's us, or someone else. Make sure they aren't rehashing some actual sound designer's work they found in a forum online or traded with some friends. You might be buying sounds some other company owns the rights to.
As always, feel free to comment or contact me with any questions.
