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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 […]

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A collection of classic audio formats and players, like turntables and cassette decks, representing the 'sound of nostalgia'.

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 […]

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SAM Goes Platinum at the 2025 MUSE Creative Awards

Stephen Arnold Music (SAM), The World Leader in Sonic Branding®, has been recognized for eight MUSE Creative Awards in the Audio and Experiential & Immersive categories. The MUSE Creative Awards is known worldwide for celebrating excellence and innovation in creative design, advertising, and digital media. The global competition draws creative entries from high-profile marketing agencies as well as leading brands. This year, SAM is honored to have received four Platinum […]

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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, […]

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Most Annoying Sounds In the World

What are the sounds that drive you nuts – the ones you hear and immediately think, “nope”? This is one of those topics that for those sensitive to sound (like us) presents a real challenge to research and write about. However, with grit and determination, we’ve forged through the shrieks, shrills, and scrapes to uncover not only the most annoying sounds in the world, but why they affect us so, and […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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How Sound Is Shaping Immersive Experiences

How Sound Is Shaping Immersive Experiences If you regularly follow SAM, then you know the effect sound has on our emotions and memory – watch The Science of Sound for a quick refresher. But what happens when you go beyond traditional mediums and introduce audio into real-world, immersive experiences? Attractions such as theme parks, museums, sports venues, and brand activations are dialing up visitor engagement like never before using a […]

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