TV
Cutting Edge’s White Stork Music Enters Partnership with Touchdown Films (Billboard)
Cutting Edge’s White Stork Music division, the publishing company founded by U.K. composer Tom Howe, has entered a partnership with U.K. production company Touchdown Films. White Stork will now provide Touchdown with finance, world-class music services and access to White Stork’s catalog of music for current and future productions. White Stork retains intellectual property rights to its original music composed for Touchdown’s slate of projects.
Full story available via Billboard here.
Cutting Edge Nominated for Ivor for Slow Horses Season Three Soundtrack (The Ivors Academy)
Cutting Edge has been nominated for Best Television Soundtrack at The Ivors Academy, for season three of Slow Horses.
Full story available here.
Ted Lasso Season 3: What The “Fought & Lost” Song Really Means (ScreenRant)
Ted Lasso season 3, episode 11 features the song “Fought & Lost” by Sam Ryder, begging the question of what the song itself means but also its connection and context to the show.
Ryder’s song has much more emotional meaning to Ted Lasso season 3, episode 11. The song plays toward the end of the episode, bridging the scene of Ted’s heartfelt confrontation with his mother Dottie and his return to Richmond the day after to reveal a truth bomb to Rebecca. Regarding the song itself, “Fought & Lost” has profound meaning both on its own merits and in terms of how it provides context to Ted Lasso leading into the series finale.
One of the significant strengths of Ted Lasso throughout all three seasons has been its soundtrack choices, which often provide added context to the character's stories or play off an inside joke in the script.
The meaning behind Sam Ryder’s “Fought & Lost” song centers on people’s abilities to constantly bounce back from a defeat of any kind. While this could link to a sports team like A.F.C Richmond for instance, it can mean in any aspect of life. From emotional trauma and mental health to physical injuries and everyday aspects of life, the central lyric of “Better to have fought and lost than never fought at all” encompasses the perseverance of humanity.
The song centers on the ups and downs of life, and continuing to fight is better for someone than giving up completely. Lyrics such as “We wanted it so bad, gave it all we had. Oh, but wanting it doesn’t always make it yours. This time was ours to lose. But fortune favors to those who ride the storm and make it through” typify the meaning behind the song. While people may not always win, no matter how much they want something, life will always reward those who continue to fight regardless of whether they will win or lose.
The meaning behind Sam Ryder’s “Fought & Lost” connects to Ted Lasso in two major ways. Firstly, on a more surface-level note, the song can apply to the journey of A.F.C Richmond. Despite losing heavily in Ted Lasso season 1, even to the point of relegation, Ted nor the squad gave up and continued to fight. As a result, they are now being rewarded by being on the precipice of winning the Premier League title.
However, the song also applies to Ted’s personal life, with his realization in Ted Lasso season 3, episode 11 that he misses raising his son. Lyrics like “Everybody falls, and life will tear you down to show you what’s worth fighting for” link to Ted’s realization, as the constant pain and trauma he has been through has torn him down to the point that he realized Henry is what is worth fighting for. Ted’s mother replies that parents just need to keep fighting for their children when Ted reveals his fear of getting close to Henry, something that Sam Ryder’s “Fought & Lost” exemplifies perfectly in Ted Lasso season 3, episode 11.
Full article available via ScreenRant here.
Stranger Things, Severance Win Big at Emmy Awards (Pitchfork)
Stranger Things has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Supervision at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Series music supervisor Nora Felder won the award for the episode “Chapter Four: Dear Billy,” which includes Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” The song surged in popularity this summer and was featured as a motif throughout the fourth season of Stranger Things. It was the favorite song of Max Mayfield, who was played by Sadie Sink.
It’s the fourth time Stranger Things was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Supervision, and the first time the show has won. Also, Severance won Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.
Other winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards include the Schmigadoon! song “Corn Puddin’,” which won Outstanding Music and Lyrics over Zendaya’s Euphoria song “I’m Tired.” The White Lotus won Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special, as well as Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. Severance won Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.
Full article available here.
Cutting Edge Invests in ITV's The Ipcress File (Deadline)
Altitude Television’s big-budget six-parter has already pre-sold to AMC+ and producer Andy Mayson said “Cutting Edge’s involvement and expertise has ensured the authentic sounds of the 60s feature.”
Music financier Cutting Edge Media Music has invested in ITV’s adaptation of Len Deighton’s The Ipcress File and will take full music rights to the upcoming series.
The highly-anticipated series comes from Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Hodge and Emmy-winning director James Watkins, and stars Joe Cole, Tom Hollander and Lucy Boynton. Cole stars as Harry Palmer, a Cold War army sergeant who turns to spying in order to avoid prison, cutting his teeth on The Ipcress File. The book was adapted in 1965 into a hit film starring Michael Caine as Palmer.
Full article available here.
CUTTING EDGE AND BLANTYRE CAPITAL COMMIT $125M TO ACQUIRE FILM AND TV MUSIC RIGHTS (Music Business Worldwide)
UK-based Cutting Edge Music Holdings has partnered with affiliates of London-based investment firm Blantyre Capital to acquire music publishing rights owned by composers who write music for film and TV.
The partnership has committed an initial $125 million to the strategy and a third (33%) of this sum has already been invested in music rights for productions aired by what Cutting Edge says are major networks and streaming platforms.
The four catalogs of rights purchased to date include what Cutting Edge says are successful franchises with productions broadcast on networks / streaming platforms including: Fox, FX, ABC, CBS, Disney, Paramount, HBO, TNT, Warner, NBC Universal, Hulu, Starz, Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
Blantyre manages long-term committed capital in excess of €1.6 billion (approx. $1.8bn) on behalf of institutional investors including public and private pension plans, endowments, foundations, and family offices.
Founded in the UK in the early 2000s, Cutting Edge operates as a financier, publisher, and record label.
Led by founder and CEO Philip Moross, the company provides a range of music services to such films and TV titles Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The King’s Speech, Moonlight, Drive, Star Trek: Discovery, Fury, John Wick, Sicario, Whiplash, Hacksaw Ridge, and The Walking Dead; Broadway shows Matilda, The Color Purple, Anastasia, and My Fair Lady; and triple-A video games such as: Sunset Overdrive, Assassins Creed Valhalla, Red Dead Redemption and Cyberpunk 2077.
Cutting Edge’s divisions include Lakeshore Records (Soundtracks), Music.Film (Film & TV Music Licensing Platform), Broadway Records (Musical Theatre), Cutting Edge Music Publishing (Music Publisher), and White Stork (Custom Music House).
The firm reports to have published and released the music for over 400 feature films, TV shows, and games.
CEG’s previous musical theatre releases include Matilda, The Color Purple, Anastasia, and The Lightning Thief.
Cutting Edge also operates a wellness label, myndstream, which is home to artists who it says have collectively amassed billions of streams across Spotify, Apple, Pandora, and Amazon.
Back in 2018, Concord Music acquired movie soundtrack and score label Varèse Sarabande from Film Score Records, an investor group led and managed by The Cutting Edge Group. As part of the deal, Cutting Edge itself became a client of Concord Music, which started to provide distribution, marketing, and label services to the firm on a worldwide basis.
Read full article here
Cutting Edge Music Holdings And Blantyre Capital Team For $125M Acquisition Of Film And TV Music Rights (Deadline)
One-third of the total investment has been earmarked for projects on major networks and streaming platforms. While specific names of projects and talent were not immediately made available, the companies said multiple franchises are part of the transaction. Titles are part of the slates of networks, studios and platforms including Fox, FX, ABC, CBS, Disney, Paramount, HBO, TNT, Warner Bros, NBCUniversal, Hulu, Starz, Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
Cutting Edge Music Holdings and London-based investment firm Blantyre Capital have joined forces for a $125 million acquisition of music publishing rights owned by film and TV composers.
Cutting Edge, which was founded nearly two decades ago in the UK and now has offices in New York and LA, has become a player in film and TV financing via its stakes in music. The company has become known for its moves in independent film, closing deals in 2018 for films like After the Wedding, starring Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore. With streaming sending music catalog valuations sky-high and setting off a scramble for rights, the company has aligned with pre-eminent composers and other creative partners.
Over the past decade, Cutting Edge has been involved with more than 1,000 films, TV shows and games. The company provides a range of music services to such film and TV titles as Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The King’s Speech, Moonlight, Drive, John Wick and The Walking Dead. Its Broadway roster includes Matilda, The Color Purple, Anastasia and My Fair Lady. Video games have included Sunset Overdrive, Assassins Creed Valhalla, Red Dead Redemption and Cyberpunk 2077.
Read full article here
Gustavo Santaolalla Discusses Finch Soundtrack (The Playlist)
As you can hear in the title track, “Finch,” the score for the film is just as epic and beautiful as you’d expect from a feature helmed by Miguel Sapochnik and starring Tom Hanks about a man venturing out into the post-apocalypse with his trusty dog and his newly created robot companion.
Santaolalla is no stranger to composing incredible scores. He’s one of the rare composers to actually win back-to-back Oscars, thanks to his work in 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain” and 2006’s “Babel.”
“The possibility of composing and playing for such a wonderful film as ‘Finch’ was an immediate source of inspiration,” said Santaolalla. “The unusual combination of characters and the mix of suspense, action, humor and tenderness laid out a canvas full of possibilities – from big, powerful action scenes to intimate moments where the emotions of the story and characters take over. Working once again with David Campbell as an orchestrator allowed me to move seamlessly from large orchestra to chamber-sized pieces. In this particular moment we find ourselves living, the music for ‘Finch’ has become very special to me. Happy that finally I can share it with all of you.”
Read the full article here.
Nicholas Britell, Kris Bowers and Hildur Guðnadóttir to Play at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Variety)
For Kris Bowers, “not much can beat the feeling of being in the room when a group of musicians pours their heart into a piece of music — especially when it’s your own.”
It’s an emotion the Emmy-winning composer and jazz pianist hopes to capture with “Reel Change: The New Era of Film Music,” a concert series built alongside fellow composers Nicholas Britell and Hildur Guðnadóttir in collaboration with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Taking place Nov. 19-21 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the three individually curated programs shine a spotlight on the next generation of composers across film, television and video games.
“When you are performing for an audience, you and the audience are breathing the same air. You are experiencing exactly the same frequencies and listening to exactly the same things at the same time. So the dynamics of the shared experience of the listening creates a very special atmosphere,” says Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning Icelandic composer and cellist Guðnadóttir, whose program kicks off the series.
For his program on Nov. 20, Bowers opted for medleys of his work on “King Richard,” “Bridgerton” and “Green Book,” as well as a composition of pieces from Bowers’ musical influences, from Björk to Arcade Fire to Shigeru Umebayashi.
Seeking to tap into the emotions and themes of his projects, Bowers also worked together with his wife, Briana Henry, on a series of original film shorts, paired with new poetry by Yrsa Daley-Ward inspired by the shorts’ music and themes.
“The last live performance that I attended was at the Disney Hall, so it feels nice to be coming back to live music in this way,” says Bowers.
Read full Variety article here
Joshua Moshier's "The Shrink Next Door" Soundtrack (Deadline)
Moshier, who composed the main title music for Documentary Now! (IFC), also previously working on such series as Baskets (FX) and Special (Netflix), looked to be nimble with his latest score, reflecting the varying tones of a series that could turn on a dime from warm and lighthearted to disturbing and dark. He’d ultimately pen not only its full score, but also its main title theme.
“When I first began imagining the musical interior world of Marty and Ike, I created seven short musical vignettes to evoke the arc of their relationship,” says the composer. “Georgia Pritchett, Michael Showalter and the entire team were incredibly supportive of these ideas, and of using the score boldly to tell this story.
“Their trust was creatively liberating, and I felt free to let the music find its own sound,” Moshier adds, “one as lyrical and heartfelt but also as dark and tangled as the relationships portrayed. I’m grateful to them for bringing me along to be a part of this beautiful series.”
The first exclusive track from Joshua Moshier’s score for The Shrink Next Door, which is set for digital release via Lakeshore Records on November 12, as the first three episodes of the limited series become available for streaming on Apple TV+.
Lakeshore Records is the soundtrack arm of the Cutting Edge Group. The four-time Grammy-nominated record label has previously released the soundtracks for such acclaimed titles as Bridgerton, Drive, Stranger Things, The Old Guard, Cyberpunk 2077, When They See Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror, Star Trek: Picard, Bojack Horseman, Les Misérables, Mandy, Narcos, Logan, The Walking Dead, Napoleon Dynamite, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Red Dead Redemption 2, Legion, Lady Bird, Moonlight, Little Miss Sunshine, American Factory, If Beale Street Could Talk and The Hurt Locker, among many others.
Read the full article here.