Stephen Arnold Music, Author at Stephen Arnold Music

SAM Adds Emotional Depth to MLB’s All-Star Game Tribute to Hank Aaron

At the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Major League Baseball commemorated the 51st anniversary of Hank Aaron’s historic, record-breaking 715th home run with an unforgettable tribute created through a ground-breaking blend of projection mapping, pyrotechnics and immersive music and sound. Immersive entertainment pioneer Image Engineering produced, while sonic branding leader Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) created the soundtrack for the emotionally charged spectacle broadcast live on Fox Sports and experienced in […]

The Sound of Nostalgia

What sounds take you back? Is it the whimsical music of an ice cream truck, a commercial jingle from Saturday morning cartoons, the ‘one-up’ chime from a video game, or maybe a hit song from a summer road trip? Our senses are really good at triggering past experiences, and sound is one of the most powerful. Examining how we process the audible world can shed light on why sound is […]

Sonic Branding Ranked #1 for Brand Awareness

Wow, this is really powerful! A recent post by our sonic research partners over at SoundOut has revealed that sonic branding is the most effective brand asset when it comes to maximizing brand awareness. The article references research completed by System1 and TikTok [Source: The Long & Short (Form) of It] which analyzed nearly 900 short-form ads and 92,000 consumers. Among the findings, sonic assets (e.g. sonic logos, brand mnemonics, […]

Stephen Arnold Music Creates Sonic Branding for Sports Programming on Gray Media

DALLAS—March 10, 2025— Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) created sonic branding and custom music for Gray Media’s newly launched slate of Atlanta Braves baseball games. The package includes an original score, featuring all live orchestration, providing Gray Media with a strong and distinct sonic identity as a sports broadcaster and distribution partner. The three-minute theme has a modular structure that makes it easily adaptable to a range of programming and marketing […]

Red Headed Stranger Turns 50 and SAM Had a Front Row Seat

Many folks might not be familiar with Garland, Texas, but they have most certainly heard it, whether they realize it or not. This artsy town northeast of Dallas is home to Audio Dallas (formerly Autumn Sound Studios) where Willie Nelson recorded one of his most celebrated albums, Red Headed Stranger, in January of 1975. This year marks the 50th anniversary of this seminal work and the City of Garland decided […]

SAM New Studios | Highlights

Welcome to the new home of Stephen Arnold Music (SAM)! Our brand new studios have been custom built from the ground up and feature 5,500 sq. ft. of creative space in the newly renovated Cotton Mill building in McKinney, Texas. The new space is outfitted with a custom designed live room capable of recording everything from solo musicians to live orchestras. We’ve also constructed a state-of-the-art control room and tuned […]

illustration of a girl wearing headphones

What is Sonic Branding?

How a peacock gave birth to the first sonic brand. A true story. Way more mellifluous than a squawk. More memorable than any chirp, hoot, cluck or quack could ever be. Over ninety years ago, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) — the network that years later would be canonized as the proud peacock — aired three distinctive chimes on radio for the very first time. Chimes that global marketing experts […]

Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) Adds Licensing Pros Jeff Ryan and Kevin Richards

DALLAS—February 13, 2024—Stephen Arnold Music (SAM), The World Leader In Sonic Branding®, has added two highly regarded music industry veterans to its licensing team. Jeff Ryan joins the sonic branding agency as Director of Music Licensing, while Kevin Richards assumes the role of Director of Creative Licensing. They will report to Noelle Fowler, VP of Licensing and Sales. Jeff Ryan, Director of Music Licensing Kevin Richards, Director of Creative Licensing […]