Music News from Leading Sonic Branding Agency

image of histovery alamo surrounded experience

Stephen Arnold Music Creates Immersive Soundscapes for Histovery’s “Surrounded: The Alamo Augmented Experience”

DALLAS—December 3, 2024 — Stephen Arnold Music (SAM), the world leader in sonic branding, recreated the sounds of the most storied site in Texas history for Surrounded: The Alamo Augmented Experience now on view at The Alamo in San Antonio. SAM produced stunningly realistic, immersive soundscapes for the groundbreaking AR attraction, which takes visitors on a journey through The Alamo’s 300-year history. The sound environments bring vividly to life the […]

Interpreting Paintings Through Sound | Clyfford Still

Inspired by immersive audio work we’ve done with museums and attractions, and discussions we’ve had with the National Federation of the Blind, we were curious to explore music as a means of interpreting visual art for the sight impaired. We chose a painting entitled ‘PH-432, 1964’ by Clyfford Still, an American abstract expressionist similar to Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, whose color field paintings are expressed through dramatic strokes of […]

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 […]

elephant and donkey playing music, red white and blue background

Campaigns Sonified: How Candidates Use Music to Seduce Voters

“Don’t Stop [Thinkin’ About Tomorrow]”; “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”;“Hold On, I’m Coming.” This time of the year, you don’t have to dial up Spotify or Apple Music to hear popular tracks, you’ll encounter them all along the campaign trail. Sonic branding for political campaigns is a real science. From the very founding of the Republic, candidates have been using popular songs to tug at the heartstrings of constituents and […]

Human vs. Machine, Round 2: Can AI Write Better Songs Than Taylor Swift?

Earlier this year we put generative AI to the test to see if it could out-create a human composer when given specific musical briefs. The results (featured in Forbes) showed that while our human composer proved superior, AI’s creations rated highly for musical appeal. Its primary weakness, however, was emotional accuracy — inconsistently conveying specific emotional attributes in its creations. With rapid advancements in generative AI music platforms, we decided […]

Thriller Werewolf dancing on the street at night

Thriller: A Sonic Branding Masterclass

It’s December 2, 1983. You finish dinner early, throw the dishes into the sink, and race to secure your spot on the couch, perhaps fending off a sibling or two in the process. Shortly, MTV will air the world premiere of Michael Jackson’s highly anticipated music video, Thriller. The music world will never be the same. This was a fairly common occurrence in the early days of MTV. The build […]

Have you heard your social posts lately?

With more than five billion people accessing social media daily, savvy brands understand the importance of cultivating a strong social identity. They devote massive resources toward brand awareness, audience targeting, content strategy and community engagement. Yet, while they know that social platforms are critical to boosting sales and attracting new customers, many neglect one of the most effective tools for connecting with consumers: sonic branding. Marketers often associate sonic branding […]

Stephen Arnold Music + WETA sonic branding

SAM & WETA PBS Hit All the Right Notes

At SAM, we’ve been creating music for PBS stations since we got our start over 30 years ago, and we’re especially proud of the collaboration we have with WETA PBS. Last year, SAM’s audio identity for WETA was rated one of the fastest growing sonic brands in the country according to The SoundOut Index 2023 report — a leading authority in sonic brand testing. Their research shows that listeners, including […]

The Sweet Sound of Travel

Every destination has a distinct vibe, from the people and culture, to the food and entertainment, to the imagery, colors, and yes, even sounds. Stephen Arnold Music — friends call us ‘SAM’ — has been creating custom and production music for over 30 years. As the world leader in sonic branding, we’ve worked with destinations and tourism clients around the globe to ensure their advertising, social content, logos and more […]

What’s new from The World Leader in Sonic Branding – Summer Edition!

Our team at SAM has been busy this year with exciting projects for the Paris summer games, trending social media spots, experiential sound, news, trailer music and more. Hey, we’re even giving you a sneak peak at SAM’s new studio headquarters! Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been up to lately: Aiming for Gold Paris – CNN Worldwide For the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, CNN approached Stephen Arnold Music […]

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