MINNEAPOLIS/HOLLYWOOD — BWN Music composer Ken Brahmstedt and mixer Carl White recently launched Black Label Music (www.blacklabelmusic.com) with the goal of providing high-quality, custom music for commercials, branded entertainment, television and film. The sister company to BWN will also provide music supervision and a la carte audio branding services.
The team includes LA-based composer Joe Wong and producer/director of new business development Kari Sharff, who works out of the office in Minneapolis. Black Label wants to secede from the business of catalog licensing by volume, and return to the sole service of creating custom compositions.
Ken Brahmstedt and Carl White
“We believe there is a resurgence of interest in high-end original music, as the catalogs continue to swell to a glut of mediocre offerings,” notes Brahmstedt. “While there is a place and project for all varieties of tracks and license types, we see these huge catalogs serving as the ‘fast fashion’ of music offerings — great on-trend pieces at a bargain price; whereas Black Label is positioned to create high-end, ‘couture’ music for a wide variety of projects.”
Black Label has already been called on to work on a multi-spot campaign for Energy BBDO Chicago and Wrigley’s 5 Gum. Focused on the tagline “Life Happens in 5,” the campaign captures the exhilarating moments of teenage-hood, which is reflected in the music.