About MasterSource
N
ot many entertainment presidents have opened for Van Halen, played crunching riffs to 80,000 screaming fans, or headlined a tour of Japan. For Marc Ferrari, a heavy metal past in acclaimed major-label bands like Keel and Cold Sweat was just the beginning of the journey. When one of his songs was used in a film, Marc hit upon a new approach in music production: original songs with vocals, composed and produced by A-list talent-and licensed with a single phone call.
Today, MasterSource is the industry's leading provider of original music for film, TV, advertising, post-production, and multimedia. We caught up with Marc to get the MasterSource story and hear about some new innovations on the way.
> Was there a moment of inspiration that led to the creation of MasterSource?
My band Cold Sweat broke up in '91. When grunge happened, heavy metal guys like myself were considered pariahs. I had a song used in a B-movie. It gave me a screen credit and a few dollars, and that was a light bulb that went off in my head. It started pretty innocently. I realized very quickly that there was a great need for pop music with vocals. As well as rap and country with vocals. That's not what production music was all about at the time.
"You're not getting cookie-cutter music here, you're getting original works of art."
- Marc Ferrari
At the same time, in the 90s, music became more of a driving force in TV shows. Shows started using music more as a character. So there was the crossroads of these different events, and I identified that niche early on.
> How did that idea grow into MasterSource?
The first 4 or 5 years it was just me. I was a one-man army, composing it, getting on the phone, marketing it.
It wasn't something that I mapped out, it grew organically. It was like exploring. I found out that I was providing a much needed service to people. So I knew I had uncovered a great opportunity for a business. I used those formative years to develop relationships with studios like Disney on the film side. They advanced some funds which I used to facilitate the manufacturing of my first set of CDs and in return I licensed music back to them at a significant discount. It was a classic case of a great symbiotic relationship.
> What can new clients expect when they work with MasterSource?
We're the perfect combination of getting personalized service and the power of one of the most respected libraries, with Universal. We do in-house music supervision for anyone-it could be a local radio spot in Kansas, or a movie trailer for one of the biggest studios in the world.
You're getting real songs by real composers-Grammy and Emmy-winning composer/producers who have a lot of recording experience. You're not getting cookie-cutter music here, you're getting original works of art.
Our clients always receive the utmost attention to detail. The tracks are just the beginning. I like to follow up personally with the client, to see how the music resonated with people.
> How did you build your roster of composers?
It's been kind of like a snowball. As the business grew, we were exposed to new producer teams. We're always seeking out new talent. Now we've got 400 different writers, with a core of a few dozen A-list composers. That means we're now able to do complete custom scoring on a 24-hour-turnaround.
> In 24 hours? How does that work?
We get a call in the afternoon, I make calls to our top guys, we do the tracks that night, and the client gets them in their in-box the next morning.
We live in a more competitive environment. It forces us to be faster, better, stronger. Our advantage is that we're more attentive to our clientele.
> What other trends do you see happening in the industry, and how do you respond?
Music evolves. It's a constantly changing environment. What's popular in radio trickles down to TV, because producers want what people are listening to. So we listen to our clients, and offer packages that no one else can match. Right now we're producing exclusive packages tailored to specific clients and genres. We're starting with series of beats exclusively for Viacom-for their ears only.
> What's next for MasterSource, long-term?
Our goal is always to do it better, to keep making the process of licensing music even easier. We want to boil it down so that you can license music with one call or email, painlessly and efficiently. In fact, we've launched another great service that packages our composer team with our library, in one transaction.
> OK, the Wayne's World fans out there are saying, "Custom scoring, easy licensing, that's great. But you were the guitarist in Crucial Taunt!"
Ah yes, Crucial Taunt. Wayne's World was a tremendous experience for me. Keel had done a video with the director Penelope Spheeris, and that's how I got the gig. I still stay in touch with the music supervisor on that film. It was an eye-opening experience.