Anonymous Sounds
Library Music and Screen Cultures in the 1960s and 1970s
- 256 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Anonymous Sounds
Library Music and Screen Cultures in the 1960s and 1970s
About this book
This cross-disciplinary collection provides the first comprehensive study of library music practices in the 1960s and 1970s. Library music was inexpensive, off-the-shelf music available to license for a small fee. It was widely used in television and film as a cheaper alternative to commissioned soundtracks. The book pays attention to the different individuals, groups, organisations and institutions involved in making library music, as well as to its transnational sites of production (from continental recording studios to regional cutting rooms). It addresses questions of distributed creativity, collective authorship, and agency. Combining empirical and theoretical research, the book unveils the modus operandi of a highly secretive yet enduringly significant cultural industry. By drawing attention to the cultural ubiquity and intersectionality of library music, the collection also shifts emphasis from individual film and TV composers to the invisible community of music publishers, writers, and session musicians. It argues that the latter were collectively responsible for fashioning much of the sonic identity of 1960s and 1970s film and television. As well as providing a nuanced understanding of historical library music cultures, the collection shows how they continue to inform contemporary audiovisual cultures.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Title Page
- Series Page
- Table of Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 Industrial panorama: Visualizing labour practices in library music
- 2 Film music publishing and the rise of library music records in Italy: Between authorship and anonymity
- 3 These titles do not mean anything: Meaning-making as industrial practice in Italian library music records from the 1970s
- 4 ‘Towards this Western, American set-up’: Library music in Finnish commercials of 1968
- 5 The Benny Hill Waltz and the Blackmail theme: Library music and television comedy in the 1970s
- 6 The Sweeney – Library music use, re-use and cultural association in the British TV police procedural
- 7 ‘Funky Fanfare’, a cult library music track
- 8 Avant-Stock: Bernard Estardy, Tele Music and experimentation in French library music
- 9 Empty horizons: Library music and the occult
- 10 Sampling the obscure: The recontextualization and increased value of library music
- 11 Golden age genius and nameless hack: Contemporary views on past and present library music
- Notes
- Index
- Copyright Page