Walker, with shops in Portland and L.A., and the NY-based Able Baker are merging under the banner We Are Walker (in partnership with boutique audio post company Heard City).
Collaborators and competitors for more than 10 years, Sara Matarazzo and Peter Gannon, respective founders of Walker and Able Baker, regularly license and create music for leading brands and filmmakers across feature films, television, commercials, mobile and digital platforms. Via content and licensing agency We Are Walker, Matarazzo and Gannon plan to drive innovation in content creation as well as in licensing, original composition, supervision, music strategy, sound design and library services.
“Clients are not satisfied with the limited scope of today’s licensing deals,” said Matarazzo, “which is why we are creating a company that combines original content capabilities with the administrative side. When we clear a song, that is the perfect time to ask an artist or label, what else can we do together?”
Gannon noted, “There is an opportunity to not just be reactive. We invest in content creation, collaborate with artists and champion new distribution channels.”
Gannon founded Able Baker (in partnership with Heard City) last year and has since created music for Verizon, Gap, Budweiser and Google Android (including the latter’s viral hit “Friends Forever”).
In addition to supervising and producing music for Nike, Google, Coca-Cola, Old Spice and director Noah Baumbach, Matarazzo’s award-winning Walker has transformed relationships with top musicians and brands into unique projects including a holiday album for Target, a series of 7-inch records for Nike and a comic book with singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston.
We are Walker will be represented by indie firm The Department of Sales.
