What's Happening: Week of May 1, 2017

I hope everyone is in fine fettle has we head into the next week. Rather than just look ahead in this post, I'd like to take some time to look back as well.

Something interesting (and good) and happened last week. If you've read my blog in the past, you may remember that I did a little experiment where I created a stock music track based loosely on a formula for a "feel good" song developed by Dutch cognitive psychology and neuroscience professor Jacob Jolij of the University of Groningen. At long last, that track "Driving Uplifting Rock," has found a buyer! Who knows, this may be just the beginning of something great (but I'm not holding my breath).

I've also experienced a significant surge in licensing revenue over the past month, including the last few days. A lot of that is coming from the podcast intros and loops I've been working diligently to develop and market since the end of January. I analyzed the sales of my podcast music thus far and wrote about my conclusions in the post from last week that I've linked to above. Since then I've had yet more podcast sales and they continue to follow the pattern I identified in that post: preferences skewing toward the longest and shortest versions.

On my Twitter feed this week I'll be featuring tracks that sold last week, and expressing a lot of gratitude to the buyers who have licensed my work. I have one loop in the pipeline. It's more of a typical stock music track than my recent podcast music intros and loops. If you're on Twitter and not following me now, please do so (@thisbrucesmith). I'm a lot more active there than I am here. Also, please check out my latest featured stock music track (it's epic!) and have a great week.

So, I'm Running a Sort of Experiment . . .

Recently, my wife ran across an article online about a formula for the best "feel good" song and forwarded it to me. It turned out to be legitimate. Dr. Jacob Jolij, a Dutch professor of cognitive psychology and neuroscience at the University of Groningen, had received a commission from Alba, a British electronics company, to develop the formula based on a survey the company had done to determine the top all-time "feel good" songs. Professor Jolij analyzed various aspects of the top vote getters and determined the main musical elements common to all of them. He followed this up later by developing a "feel good song" scale, where people can define how good a song makes them feel on a scale of 1 to 100. Based on this, the professor developed a formula, which he lists on his blog.

Dr. Jolij's formula boils the typical "feel good" song down to the following elements:

1. A fast tempo (between 140 and 150 beats per minute (bpm) seems best)
2. A major key
3. Relatively complicated chord changes (more than 3 chords, unless the key is major)
4. Positive or nonsense lyrics

A prime example of this is Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now." It has a fast tempo, major key, and a happy, whimsical lyric ("That's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit/I'm traveling at the speed of light").

So, in the "feel good" spirit of the moment, I decided that I would try to apply these principles of a "feel good" song to stock music. Last night I created and mixed an instrumental track I call "Driving Uplifting Rock." The track incorporates three of the four elements in Dr. Jolij's formula: it's 148 bpm, in C Major, and has more than 3 chords. It is somewhat repetitive, but attempts to hold interest through slight variations in instrumentation and building to a climax as it goes.

I've uploaded the track and am waiting on the curation review process. Depending on where (and if) it receives approval, I'm curious to see if the reaction to this track is different that my other work. Of course, this is not scientific at all. There are certain variables for which I simply can't account. For example, stock music sites are search-driven, so success is determined not only by the quality or style of music but also whether people are able to find it based on searches on common keywords, like "corporate," "ambient" or "cinematic" (and that's why this blog is titled the way it is!).

If nothing else, though, this little experiment has given me something else to think about in developing stock music I hope you'll find useful in your media project. Please stay tuned, and I'll try to keep you updated on the progress of this little "experiment."

New Stock Music Track: "Decision Point"

My latest royalty-free stock music track, "Decision Point" is now available to license exclusively at Pond5.

A slow (84 bpm), steady track featuring guitar over piano, strings, and marimba. The music moves around tonally and builds gradually, depicting tension around an impending big decision. A climax near the end is followed by a quiet coda that resolves the tension with a final chord in A major.

Available exclusively at Pond5

Ambient Lifestyle: Royalty Free Stock Music

Use this track to add a cool ambiance in support of contemporary lifestyle or corporate content.


License exclusively at AudioJungle

Bittersweet Memories

This lush background with strings and flute is suitable for memorials and tributes.

Add this track to your stock music library, royalty-free.

Another Dreamy, Eerie Track

Here's a track that is good for creepy things like horror movies or psychodramas where you want to impart a sense of unreality. It has a coda that's slightly different and quieter than the rest of the track. I simply call it "Dream Sequence 3."

Add this slightly creepy track to your stock music library today!

Ambient Bittersweet Track for the End of Summer

"Long Last Look" is an ambient track, awash in reverb, with long drones and a faux blues harp riding on top in the last half of the tune. This is good for those "long goodbye" type scenes, or maybe where you want to pan to the horizon. It also has (for me at least) an "end of summer" vibe.

Add this bittersweet track to your stock music library today.

A Bittersweet Flute Piece

Here is a short piece of music with a bittersweet flute melody and an accompaniment in the style of a Baroque or late-Renaissance continuo (harpsichord and cello). You could use this in a period piece or to convey a sense of mixed sadness and sweetness in your media projects.

Add this bittersweet track to your stock music library today.

Ambient Shifting

Here's a new track that's great for "reveals" in your media projects.


Add "Ambient Shifting" to your stock music library today!

A Brooding Underscore

My latest composition is a short orchestral underscore, suitable to set a contemplative or melancholy mood in your next media project.

Add this lushly orchestrated piece to your stock music library today!