Stephen Arnold Music enjoyed a strong showing at the annual NewscastStudio Broadcast Production Awards, winning nine awards including Best Overall Use of Music for its work on Al Jazeera Arabic’s 25th Anniversary rebrand. Other honors came for custom music for CNN’s flagship morning program New Day, Nexstar Media Group’s NewsNation, Las Vegas station KTNV and New York City station WPIX. The Vault, Stephen Arnold Music’s production music library, picked up awards for Theme and Entertainment and for Production Music Album.
For Al Jazeera Arabic, the world’s leading Arabic language news channel, Stephen Arnold Music created an expansive, fully-orchestrated sonic branding and original music package that evokes the networks’ history while launching it into the future. The project featured a complete sonic toolkit, ranging from mnemonics and sound design to show themes and promo tracks. The studio also reimagined the channel’s iconic sonic brand, used in a myriad of innovative ways throughout the broadcast day.
“We wanted to preserve the heritage of the channel’s sonic brand while presenting it in a new way,” says Stephen Arnold Music VP/Creative Director Chad Cook. “It required more than different instrumentations. We refashioned the melody, employing unexpected flourishes, novel arrangements, unusual chords and harmonies. So, while there are familiar aspects, the music is presented in a fresh, reimagined and contemporary form.”
Additionally, Stephen Arnold Music’s music for a spot promoting Al Jazeera’s rebrand was a winner for Promotional Spot. Conveying the core values of the rebrand, the music was written in a modern, cinematic vein with live orchestration. “The sound is as bold and rich as a movie score, communicating the epic scale of the Al Jazeera Arabic brand and its global reach,” says Cook.
The studio’s theme for CNN’s New Day, a winner for Custom Theme, was produced to support Brianna Keilar’s debut as the show’s co-anchor alongside John Berman. The modern, assertive, confident theme sets the table for CNN’s flagship morning program and its coverage of the day’s news.
The studio’s win in the category Custom for Promotions came for a music score supporting NewsNation’s “News For All America” image campaign. The music, optimistic and richly orchestrated, plays under an emotionally laden montage of imagery and messaging. Building on the network’s overall theme, the music represents its centrist values and authenticity in journalism. See it here.
For Scripps-owned KTNV, Stephen Arnold Music provided the music for a spot titled Home Is Las Vegas highlighting the station’s connection to its community. Winning for Image Campaign, that song echoes themes of multiculturalism and shared purpose, ending with the refrain, “Together, together, together…Home Is Las Vegas.” See it here.
Winning for Custom Music for a Promotional Spot was an edgy promo song for WPIX (PIX-11), New York, focusing on the city’s two Major League Baseball teams, the Yankees and the Mets, which both have broadcast homes on the station. The music is a hard-rock/rap riff off of the station’s theme “We Are New York’s Very Own.” See it here.
The Vault won top honors in the Production Music categories Theme for Positive Start, utilized for The Faulkner Focus, and Entertainment for The Evening from The Artist Collection – The Soulkillers’ album All My Love. The Vault also took the award for Production Music Album for Storytelling for Modern Mallets, an album released via Stephen Arnold Music.
About Stephen Arnold Music:
Often referred to as the most-heard, least-known composers in the world, Stephen Arnold Music's creativity is experienced every day in more than 500 million homes worldwide. Based in Dallas, Texas, with additional studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, The World Leader In Sonic Branding® has more than 25 years of success delivering impactful, brand-defining music that makes a difference for today's top broadcast networks, cable channels, television stations, digital media outlets, production companies, corporations and advertising agencies. With multiple Emmys, Addys and Promax Gold awards to their credit, Stephen Arnold Music's specialized approach and commitment to the power of sonic branding, state-of-the-art production and unparalleled customer service is at the core of its promise. Stephen Arnold Music continues to set the creative bar in a highly competitive content landscape. For more information, please visit http://www.stephenarnoldmusic.com
