Barking Owl Unveiled as #1 Music and Sound Company in North America on Little Black Book's League Table of Creativity 2024

Little Black Book has unveiled its League Table of Creativity rankings, with Barking Owl named the number one music and sound company in North America in 2024, and the fourth music and sound company overall in the all-time US rankings.

The League Table of Creativity is powered by The Immortal Awards, with every single entry into the competition scoring points. Points are attributed to all entrant companies and any credited companies which are members of LBB.

Barking Owl has come out on top in the US this year, racking up an impressive number of points from projects that it was credited on that were entered into The Immortal Awards by creative agencies, production companies and post houses that it had collaborated with.

These include ‘iSuerte!’ for Apple, (entered by Landia Mexico), adidas ‘Hey Jude’, released on the cusp of UEFA EURO 2024 (entered by Johannes Leonardo), and ‘You Don’t Know the Half of It’ for The Harris Project (entered by Love Song), among others.

Above, adidas ,'Hey Jude'

Carol Dunn, managing director at Barking Owl commented on the recognition, “It actually does mean quite a lot to be considered number one in an industry flooded with music and sound companies. There is a ton of good work out there, and I encourage my team to keep their eyes on the competition, as there is nothing more driving than wishing you'd worked on a competitor's spot. There are SO many fantastic spots out in the ether that we did not even demo on, so to be The Immortal's number one in a field of talent whose bar is being raised every year means we're not only keeping up with, but still raising that bar for our industry.”

She adds, “We worked on so many spots that stood out, but there are some highlights from the last year. KitchenAid's ‘Love The Racks’ is one that stands out in its scope – lyrics taken from actual reviews of the KitchenAid dishwasher, an all out banger of a track produced for Sam Harris to perform, in what could be mistaken as a classic ‘90s music video. In absolute contrast to that spot, we did the music for Tonal ‘Future Of Fitness’, directed by Aubes (Aube Perrie). It was one of Ari Weiss' last spots. It showcases all of his passion and craft wrapped up in what would not have come to life as a workout brand's commercial had Ari not pushed and pushed for what he knew would be iconic. It's an honour to be attached to its brilliance. We also got to work on commercials with Beyonce and Lady Gaga as well as Megan Thee Stallion's 'Mamushi’ music video.”

“In 2024 we were also honoured as Shots' number one Audio Company of the Year and Ciclope's Sound Company of the Year.”

The Immortal Awards awards director Paul Monan, commented on Barking Owl’s success, saying, "We are thrilled for the team at Barking Owl on their success in this year's League Table rankings but also for their consistency over the years. Barking Owl has regularly been a top ranking music and sound company at the Immortals, picking up a Commendation for P&G's ‘The Look’ a few years ago and, as well as sitting in first place in North America and the US this year, are an all-time top 10 ranking company."

Above, 'The Look' for P&G, which was awarded a Commendation in 2020

The League Table of Creativity is a transparent ranking of the world’s creative companies, covering creative agencies through to production companies and post production houses within the LBB member base.

Furthering LBB’s mission to celebrate creativity, the League Table can be filtered to show the top-ranking companies in different countries, regions, fields and networks. Check out some of the results below or draw your own insights from the table here.

A points system has been applied to every Immortal Awards entry, all scored by 2024's ten local, six regional and one global juries.

The League Table shows how many points each company has earned, and from how many entries, demonstrating not just the total number of points won but the quality of those points. Points will be added to the table following each Immortal Awards cycle, meaning all Little Black Book members can track their ranking and amass points year-on-year.

Above, Tonal, 'Stop Working Out in the Past'