Too Young launches Catalog platform
September 16, 2024
Too Young, a specialist in music supervision and audio post-production, has launched Catalog. The new, curated sync platform streamlines music licensing and aims to unleash songs’ full artistic and monetisation potential in audiovisual media.
Catalog is the result of a collaborative effort between Too Young and a 20-strong list of founding partners, made up of independent labels and publishers: !K7, Athens Of The North, Beggars Group, City Slang, DFA, DMY, Double Feature Records, EPM, Erased Tapes, Hyperdub, InFiné, Kompakt, Marathon Music Group, Minimal Wave, Morr Music, Ninja Tune, Partisan Records, Public Possession, Versatile and ZE Records.
The current sync licensing process has failed to keep pace with surges in visual content, leaving producers across advertising, film, and other media struggling to find high-quality music that fits their budgets and fast turnarounds. Supervisors, brands, and producers increasingly rely on generic stock music and AI-generated tracks, a market that reached $1.3 billion in 2023 – a huge 80 per cent of music used in media today is stock. This overreliance on generic music diminishes the quality of audiovisual productions and deprives independent artists of valuable opportunities for exposure and income.
Catalog responds to this challenge by guaranteeing a diverse and high-quality offering while providing independent artists and labels with a platform to reach a global audience and monetise underrepresented gems in their repertoire.
Catalog’s streamlined licensing process, automated workflows, and user-friendly interface dramatically reduce the time and effort required to license commercial music, enabling audiovisual storytellers and rights holders to focus on their creative work. It features a curated selection of sync-ready music, with all songs available to license directly through the platform. It also offers transparent smart quoting and pricing, centralised dashboards and tracking, song and artist profiling, in-platform audio editing on film, and seamless licensing execution. Catalog leverages its proprietary Sync Smart Pricing algorithm to provide real-time, market-competitive estimates for any copyright within any scope.
Frederic Schindler, Founder & CEO at Catalog, said: “Catalog was born out of a deep understanding of the pain points in the current sync licensing system. We saw a need for a platform that prioritises transparency, efficiency, and fairness for both artists and music buyers. Simply put, we want as much outstanding, relevant artist-driven music as possible to be used in visual media. This will benefit the audience, the artists, the content producers, and the rights holders. Everybody wins. Catalog is more than just a platform; it’s a movement of like-minded people towards a more ethical and sustainable music licensing ecosystem.”
Paula Vaccaro and Aaron Brookner, Directors at Pinball London, added: “Working with Too Young has been a game-changer for our productions at Pinball London. Their exceptional music supervision, combined with Fred Schindler’s leadership, has been invaluable. Fred combines a sharp musical instinct with an unparalleled ability to negotiate for independent film & TV producers. With a multicultural team, Too Young offers deep cultural knowledge and fabulous industry connections. They have been irreplaceable partners in most of our productions. We are grateful for their support and dedication, and look forward to many more collaborations.”
The platform opened its early access applications in September, and a private invite-only Beta launch is anticipated in Q1 2025. Catalog is currently working closely with its founding partners towards the Beta launch.