LBB’s Great American Music Tour Continues in New York

'New York, New York' - the iconic Sinatra song is perhaps the most famous musical embodiment of the Big Apple. As Frank says, it's the city that doesn't sleep - and it's also one of the most influential musical hotspots on the face of the planet, let alone in the US. For the second leg of LBB's Great American Music Tour - following our start on the sunny Californian coast -  it seems only right that we make our pilgrimage over to the East Coast and explore what NYC's hottest music and sound companies have to say, sing, and play.

The diverse boroughs of New York City have been a fertile proving grounds for artists of all genres to develop in over the years - whether it's Brooklyn's Biggie Smalls, Yonkers' Ella Fitzgerald, The Ramones from Queens or the who's-who of artists out of Manhattan - such as Lady Gaga and The Strokes. Not to mention the islanders; Rhode Island's Talking Heads, Long Island's Blue Öyster Cult, and Staten Island's Wu-Tang Clan. And this is just a brief selection of the all-time greats that NYC has produced in every style you can think of.

A hub for television and music-alike, the bright lights of New York City have attracted both homegrown talent and the world's best artists to its many iconic venues. Throughout the decades, anyone who is anyone has graced the stages of CBGB, Webster Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Apollo Theatre, and the Cotton Club, to name a few - some still standing, others unfortunately now on the great tour poster in the sky. Even TV platforms like 'The Late Show' with David Letterman - and now Stephen Colbert - filmed at the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway, have been the launchpad for many a successful career in the music business.

Unsurprisingly, this sleepless city is now home to many of adland’s most exciting music and sound companies. So as LBB's Ben Conway continues the Great American Music Tour, we find ourselves in NYC, to hear from the companies at the forefront of commercial music-making and explore how New York's vibrant music scene and heritage inspires them.

JSM Music

[Above: JSM's new home in Bryant Park] 

JSM is a global commercial music production leader for the world's most influential and compelling brands. Located in its beautiful, newly completed 12,000 square-foot facilities in NYC’s Bryant Park, JSM is one of the world’s most comprehensive recording and creative resources boasting a full staff of composers and arrangers. Embracing new ideas and technologies, with the goal of working towards powerful creative and quantifiable solutions for its clients, JSM has paved the way in musical equities and sonic branding.

Senior producer Andrew Manning has worked on countless amazing projects during his six-plus years at JSM, but the one that rises to the top for him is Sandy Hook Promise's 'Back-To-School Essentials' -  the 2020 Emmy award winner for Best Commercial. "Having grown up in Connecticut, only about 25 minutes from Sandy Hook, this one hits especially close to home," he says. "The concept is incredibly chilling - a familiar/cheerful advertisement for back-to-school supplies slowly transforms into students using those same items to survive a school shooting. Musically, I think it is one of the most powerful and effective things we have ever done. An intentionally cheerful, upbeat piece of music that devolves into a dark, atmospheric, horror-esque score, eventually coming to a close with a single piano note."

Being in New York City, it’s hard not to be inspired by the local music scene. The endless amount of amazing venues, incredibly talented artists, passionate musicians and dedicated producers constantly remind Andrew why he fell in love with music in the first place. "As a huge fan of alt rock, punk, and hardcore," he adds, "I’m particularly loving some of the up-and-coming rock artists from NYC - shoutout to the boys in Quarters of Change."

Sonic Union

[Above: Sonic Union composer Julian Fader on the drums at the Bowery Ballroom]

Sonic Union has always been an advocate for the creative, helping teams realise the very best version of the work they ‘hear in their head'.

Sonic Union has two studios in inspiring Manhattan parks: Union Square and Bryant Park - both relaxed backdrops for an array of music services - original compositions, mnemonics, licensing, and podcasts production. Here, the company's thoughtful, fun-loving individuals are hammering away at the most advanced audio tech available, helping people realise creative visions and, where possible, getting involved at an earlier stage of development to do so. And when the workday ends, they take full advantage of all that the city has to offer musically and artistically.

Music producer Justin Morris says, "I’m a musician in a collaborative studio teeming with fellow musicians, sound enthusiasts, filmmakers, designers, thinkers, etc. so I've carved out a niche by being meticulous in evaluating and elevating the subtleties of sound and music mixes." Helping translate clients' musical aspirations and steering composers toward tailored commercial pieces by day, Justin makes a point of supporting the performers he knows directly when outside of work. "Our composers, supervisors and industry network is made of folks who are out in the city performing, recording and creating...I’ve found some of the best shows I’ve been to are at DIY spaces and galleries in Brooklyn, Queens and beyond. [But] I still love to venture to the classic clubs of Manhattan, such as the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Le Poisson Rouge, and Rockwood."

The Music Playground

With its state-of-the-art studio and headquarters in the heart of SoHo in New York City, The Music Playground has been producing and licensing music for advertising, television and film for over 20 years. They offer original music creation, a band and artist catalogue with over 12,000 tracks available for license, music supervision and clearance, as well as sound design and audio post. Driven by a team of producers, composers, music supervisors, up-and-coming bands and artists, singers and A&R creatives, The Music Playground fosters a collaborative spirit tightly integrating all of their talent pool to provide a comprehensive approach and the best creative solutions possible for their clients.

A New York City base allows The Music Playground to connect with an incredibly dynamic and diverse range of collaborators, clients and sources of inspiration. They are constantly out seeing shows - often supporting artists on their roster like Elle Baez or Fulton Lee and they make it out (or host) a lot of industry events in the city... who doesn’t love a good happy hour?!

2023 was a busy year for The Music Playground. They worked with agency McCann NY on a series of high-energy, electro-pop original music projects for Verizon; helped 21GRAMS win a Clio for their beautiful 'Turalio' campaign with an original orchestral score; produced soup-to-nuts audio (original composition, music licensing, sound design, audio post) for Starry’s killer NBA Finals campaign; created an original track for the NY Mets 2023 in-park hype video - featuring vocals from artist Hill Harris - and landed placements for dozens of artists on their roster for shows such as 'Selling Sunset' and 'Love Is Blind'.

duotone audio

duotone is a bespoke music and sound production company that creates award-winning content for advertising, film, TV and experiential media. With a focus on creativity and community building, they aim to be more than just a production company but rather a collaborative music partner with the goal of pushing the musical envelope on every project. Some of their favourite work has involved creating a nine-minute opus with live orchestras for Rolex, recording ensembles in tiny churches in Dublin for Tullamore Dew and creating dozens of cues for the 2021 ‘Visit Dubai’ campaign. They've also worked with industry giants like Willie Nelson and Coldplay for Chipotle and had the honour of scoring films like Donate Life’s ‘Biggest A**hole’ which caused a 1000% increase in organ donation sign-ups.

"We are profoundly motivated by how music and sound stir emotions and inspire culture, and NYC is the perfect place to find inspiration," says the duotone team. "Our staff is made up of artists who keep their finger on the pulse of New York music culture and are deeply integrated into it. Through [acoustic folk duo] Civil Brother and [writer, studio manager] Annie Mullee playing shows at Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan, attending noise concerts at Trans Pecos in Queens, and Black Light Smoke DJing warehouse parties in Brooklyn, our team covers the full range of musical offerings from all five boroughs. New York is an electrifying double-espresso shot of music and culture, and it’s what energises and inspires us to stay up so late working on the music you love in films."

The Diner Music

Based out of SoHo, The Diner is a premium, customisable production music catalogue. Since 2007, it has been creating music for the advertising, film, tv, and video game industries while setting the standard for quality and authenticity.

Today, The Diner’s catalogue is a carefully and thoughtfully curated collection of over 60,000 customisable works in a multitude of genres from contemporary to traditional. With a new state-of-the-art studio in its SoHo office, a talented team of on-staff composers, and music supervisors around the globe, The Diner is a go-to production music source for the most well known brands, agencies, and creators in the industry.

Sitting atop one of NYC’s legendary music venues, Sounds Of Brazil (aka S.O.B’s), The Diner draws from NYC’s rich and robust music scene. As diverse as it is original, the birthplace of hip hop continues to be a mecca for talented songwriters, instrumentalists and producers alike. From the Diner’s headquarters on the border of SoHo and Greenwich Village, it’s always a short walk to see some of the finest talent in the world perform any night of the week, and that magic is reflected in The Diner’s culture and work. 

Halo Music & Sound

Halo Music & Sound (Peter Gannon, founder/CD and Molly Salas, music supervisor/partner) was founded to provide the best creative music and sound for their client’s projects. They partner with talented composers and collaborate with the broader music industry for original composition, music supervision and more. Looking at every project as unique, they adapt to ever changing needs and refuse to take shortcuts. They also insist on having a good time in the process. 

Some 2023 work they are proudest of includes a Ciclope Bronze-winning Bud Light spot featuring Best New Artist Grammy nominee, The War & Treaty, Moderna's film 'Thread of Life', for which they created original music, sound designed, and mixed, and the music supervision, rerecording and arrangement work they did for Lincoln's 'Heroic Wishlist' campaign.

"New York City is a huge part of Halo Music & Sound's DNA," says Peter. "We live it, breathe it and subscribe to its rhythms and cacophony. It’s gritty, aggressive, heroic and tragic, and somehow never fails to produce amazing art out of all this commerce." Molly adds, "Plain and simple, we love music and sound. We are good at music and sound. We want to make music and sound with you. Without music, life would be a mistake."