If you’re familiar with the term, but always thought, ‘what is BPM in music?’ or wondered 'how to count bpm', we’re here to help.
Not to be confused with the BPM that stands for ‘business process management’ applications, what does BPM stand for when you’re using it as a music term: ‘Beats Per Minute’.
Stay tuned to find out everything you need to know about BPM.
What's BPM?
BPM is a way of measuring the tempo of a piece of music – ie, its speed or pace. So, a waltz will have a much lower BPM than a track that’s been created to make you want to hit the dancefloor, or push yourself to the max in a spin class.
Need to find music with a specific BPM for a project? Our super-simple search tool will give you a huge range of tracks to choose from.
For a quick dive into beats per minute, and how it can be useful when you’re creating content, we’ll look at:
How to count the BPM in music
What’s the most common BPM in music?
How do you use BPM?
How to Calculate BPM in Music
Working out a track or piece of music’s BPM isn’t too tricky, but if you know a bit of music theory, then it’s much easier.
Music’s tempo (its speed/pace) is typically written at the start of its score – as a time signature, in the form of a fraction (4/4. 6/8, etc).
The top number represents the number of beats in each measure, or bar.
A particular note – eg a quarter note – is specified as the beat, and the amount of time between beats is a specified fraction of a minute.
The greater the BPM, the smaller the amount of time between successive beats.
The tempo determines the speed the music is performed at – so, when you count how many beats are in one minute of a song played at a specific tempo, you can work out the beats per minute. If the tempo is 60 BPM, then there is one beat per second – 120 BPM is thus twice as fast.
If you’re a DJ, knowing the BPM of your tracks is crucial, as it allows you to mix and beat-match seamlessly.
How to Find BPM
Get some tips on how to find out the BPM of a track in this video:
Want a quick hack for how to calculate BPM? Count the beats for 15 seconds, and then multiply that by four!
Or, if you’re using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), the software allows you to tap along to a beat for a few bars, and the system will then automatically detect the tempo – useful if you’re using a sample or a drum track and don’t know the genre or bpm.
There’s also plenty of software, apps and websites that feature bpm calculators. Try beatsperminuteonline.com or drop your music file into the song analyser on https://getsongbpm.com/tools/audio and you’re sorted!
Or, you could strike it lucky with a database – if you’re looking for the BPM of a popular track, try uploading the title into one of these databases:
Tunebat.com
Songbpm.com
BPMdatabase.com
All of Audio Network’s tracks have their tempo listed on their page, to make it easy to find what you need – such as ‘Carnival Nights’, which is 120 bpm.
What’s the Most Common BPM in Music?
There isn’t necessarily a standard BPM in music, however, most genres can be classified and identified by their BPM.
Slow waltz music is around 28 to 30 bars per minute (84 to 90 beats per minute). Waltz music is in 3/4 time and the first beat of a measure is strongly accented.
The Jive is one of a number of different swing dances that developed concurrently with the Swing style of jazz music in the mid twentieth century.
This group of dances also includes the Lindy hop and West and East Coast swing. The Jive is generally danced to music in a 4/4 Meter between 38 and 44 measures per minute (152 and 176 beats per minute).
Most reggae songs are written using the 4/4 meter with heavy emphasis on the backbeat.
The average tempo of a reggae tune ranges between 80–110 BPM, slightly slower than commercial pop. Reggae also features very idiosyncratic rhythmic patterns, with plenty of off-beat rhythms, usually staccato beats played by a guitar or piano (sometimes both) on the off-beats (also known as upbeats) of a measure.
This gives most reggae music a slightly ‘jumpy’ feel.
This ends to emphasise tone and atmosphere over traditional structure and rhythm, using textural layers of sound and often being influenced by other genres, ranging from avant-garde music to folk, jazz and world music, together with incorporating sounds from nature to create its simple, dreamy feel.
Professionalcomposers.com suggests that the BPM is around 50-80 – the lower you go, the more ambient the music will be!
Hip hop is more than a genre, it’s a cultural movement.
A lot of people use rap and hip hop synonymously, but strictly speaking, hip hop is a cultural movement, including music, whereas rap is a specific music technique.
The central feature of hip hop is the interplay between the rapper and the beat and weaving different beats and melodies together, often from samples, and at a BPM of between 60-100.
The BBC reported that the average tempo of 2020’s top 20 best-selling songs is ‘a pulse-quickening 122 BPM’ – the highest its been since 2009 (124 BPM).
In more recent times, the average tempo of a UK pop single was 104 BPM. Most pop songs hover around 116 BPM, with the fastest at 150 BPM.
Hitting at around 110-170 BPM, rock music has a 4/4 time signature and is characterised by its youthful, rebellious energy, with driving rhythms, strong basslines and electric guitar riffs.
House music has a BPM of 115-130; drum and bass is obviously a lot faster at 160-180 BPM.
Named after The Warehouse club in Chicago where it originated in the early 80s, house takes disco’s use of prominent bass drums on every beat, and developed a new style by mixing in heavy synth basslines, electronic drums and funk and pop samples.
Most electronic dance music (EDM) has a BPM of 120-140 and includes everything from trance to techno, breakbeat, gabber and hardcore (which hits 200 BPM).
As the name suggests, EDM’s main aim is to get you on the dancefloor, so rhythm is paramount.
By nature, techno tends to be highly repetitive, following a regular four-to-the-floor beat, and is heavily beat-based. It clocks in at anything from 100-170 BPM.
UK Garage originated in South London clubs around 1994-6, and it’s original sound had a four-to-the-floor beat.
However, from 1997 onwards, the breakbeat-influenced 2-Step sound took off. Heavy sub-bass was joined by singers and then prominent MCs, and most UK Garage tracks feature a BPM between 125 and 140.
The tempo and feel of a track can be used to create a feeling for your audience – whether you want something fast and slapstick for comedy, or something more slow and sombre for a documentary.
Action films will need a track that’s got plenty of pace – a high bpm can really get that adrenaline rushing for an edge-of-the-seat feel.
Tracks with a lower BPM are slower, which can be great if you’re looking to create romance, or sadness – some of the classical greats are often used for romantic or sad films.
That Was Our BPM Guide
If you’ve got a general idea of what genre of music you’re looking for – even if you don’t know the exact BPM – then you can use Audio Network’s expert search options to find tracks by production genre, instrumentation, musical style or mood and emotion.
Need Music for Your Project?
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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Camera angles and the way a camera moves is tremendously important – just ask your favourite influencer. But we’re not here to discuss the catfish and selfies of social media, we’re here to explore the camera techniques used in the film industry.
As film buffs ourselves, we appreciate the significance of camera movements and the role they play in visual storytelling. Which is why we’ve taken on the task of teaching you everything you need to know about camera movements, shots and angles before you get your shot list and film treatment ready to pitch to Hollywood.
You can thank us in that future Oscars speech of yours.
Types of Camera Movements & Angles
Zoom
Tilt
Pan
Dolly Zoom
Truck
1. Zoom
Now, we’re not about to explain to you smartphone users what the term ‘zoom’ means, lest you feel patronised; but we will explore the reasons why directors choose to use zoom in their movies.
Usually, zoom is used to allow the audience to view an object in more detail – whether that be the colours of a bird's feathers or the expressions on an actor’s face.
But, on occasion, zoom is used for dramatic effect. Take Quentin Tarantino’s signature use of zoom, for example. The auteur's quirky style of directing involves zooming in a disruptive and cartoonish manner to dramatically focus on a detail or character, or to swiftly shift the story from one place to another.
Check out Tarantino’s use of zoom in Django Unchained (2012) below.
2. Tilt
Our next self-explanatory camera movement on the list is tilt, which – as one would expect – describes the up and down tilting motion of a camera.
The tilt camera movement is frequently used to add an element of surprise, revealing something pivotal to the audience.
One of our favourite uses of tilt – and one of the most famous uses of tilt of all time – is in the opening scene of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope.
In the film's opening scene, the camera tilts down from a familiar shot of stars and a moon to reveal an alien planet that’s soon to be shadowed by Darth Vader’s mean-looking star destroyer.
This scene is also an establishing shot (something we’ll discuss a little later on) as it informs the audience that this spaceship is where the next scene is about to take place.
Watch the opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope(1977) below.
3. Pan
Now for a more ‘film school’ term. The pan is a horizontal camera movement that either follows the action of a narrative or reveals more of a scene. For this movement, the camera remains still on its axis.
Although pan is considered to be one of the more basic types of camera movements, it can be used in a range of unique ways to add a touch of je ne sais quoi to a movie. And, like most things in life, the pan is best demonstrated by the one and only Mr Wes Anderson.
Just look at this collection of creative pan shots in his award-winning flick The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) below.
4. Dolly Zoom
A dolly zoom camera movement is one that smoothly moves towards the subject using, unsurprisingly, a dolly – the film industry term for a wheeled cart.
So, what’s the difference between a zoom and a dolly zoom? We hear you ask.
In a nutshell, a zoom uses the digital or optical zoom to close in on a subject, whereas a dolly zoom involves the camera moving physically closer to the subject. Check out the dolly zoom used in Vertigo here:
And, if you’re wondering what difference that makes visually, a dolly zoom makes the audience feel like they’re walking towards the subject in focus.
Or, if used for dramatic effect, the dolly zoom camera movement can create an optical illusion that makes the background of a scene look as though it’s getting wider.
This illusion was first used by Hancock in his 1958 classic Vertigo. For this reason, the dolly zoom is said to create a ‘vertigo effect’.
And see it later used by Stephen Spielberg in Jaws (1975) here:
5. Truck
Like the dolly movement, the truck is a fixed camera movement; but instead of moving forwards and backwards, the truck moves from left to right or, less commonly, right to left. Again, this involves the use of a wheeled cart or a motion track.
To help you gain a further understanding of the truck camera movement, check out this scene from Shame (2011) below.
Types of Camera Shots
Wide Shot
Medium Shot
Close Up Shot
Extreme Close Up Shot
Establishing Shot
Aerial Shot
Low Angle Shot
Over the Shoulder Shot
Point of View Shot
Rack Focus Shot
5. Wide Shot
A wide shot (AKA a full shot; AKA a long shot) provides the audience with a complete look at a character and their surroundings. Wide shots are used in films of varying genres for many different reasons.
In a car-centric blockbuster, a wide shot may be used to fit all of action into one scene; in a superhero film, a wide shot may be used to demonstrate the speed in which a hero can fly around the world; and in a fantasy epic, a wide shot may be used to display the vastness of a war or battle.
6. Medium Shot
A medium shot is, as the name implies, the perfect middle – which is why it’s been used religiously for over 100 years.
It’s a shot that allows the audience to concurrently view the setting in which a scene takes place and pay attention to a character’s body language/facial expressions.
Take a look at some of the most famous medium shots in film history below.
7. Close Up Shot
A close up shot engages viewers by revealing details of a subject – from the micro-expressions of an actress to the inscription on a headstone. These details are often crucial to the narrative, which is why it’s essential that the shot commands attention.
Watch some of the best close up shots in film history below.
8. Extreme Close Up Shot
If a close up isn’t close enough then a director can opt for an extreme close up shot to explore the intricate details of a subject – say, a teenager’s dilated iris or the engraving on a wedding ring.
Watch a prime example of an extreme close up below, taken from David Fincher’s cult classic Fight Club (1999).
9. Establishing Shot
Simply put, an establishing shot sets the scene by offering context about the next shot’s setting.
For example, every time the plot of a Harry Potter flick circles back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the audience is met with a sublime shot of the grand establishment.
Take a look at a handful of these establishing shots from the Harry Potter franchise below.
10. Aerial Shot
Also known as the God’s eye view shot and the bird's eye view shot, an aerial shot looks down on a scene.
This shot can be used in myriad ways – many of which are found in the works of the incomparable Wes Anderson. (Sorry not sorry.)
Explore how the auteur imaginatively uses aerial shots in the video below.
11. Low Angle Shot
From the sky to the ground, the low angle shot is chiefly used to make a character appear more important, heroic, powerful and threatening.
Additionally, a low angle shot may also be used to exaggerate the scale of a setting – especially those teeming with skyscrapers;
Take a look at Studio Binder’s take on low-angle shots below.
12. Over the Shoulder Shot
If there’s any shot perfect for filming conversations, it’s the over the shoulder shot – which (you guessed it!) puts the camera above a character’s shoulder.
This type of shot is used in films to constantly remind the audience which characters are conversing, placing one character in the middle of the shot, facing the camera and the other in the foreground with their back to the camera.
See the over the shoulder shot in play by watching the video below.
13. Point of View Shot
No other shot puts the audience in a character’s shoes quite like the point of view shot.
This camera technique forces the audience to adopt the eyes and ears of a character so that they may experience the scene from a first-person perspective.
Check out the Coen Brothers’ use of the point of view shot below.
14. Rack Focus Shot
The rack focus shot is a simple, yet effective camera trick that shifts focus from one subject to another.
Used to reveal something new within a scene – something that’s already in the eyeline of the audience – the rack focus shot switches emphasis between two subjects.
Check out this clip from 2006’s Casino Royale to see the rack focus shot in action.
Aaaaand Cut!
Now that you've come to appreciate the importance of camera movements, angles and shots just as much as we do, you'll be watching your favourite films with a brand new outlook, admiring the creativity that goes into each and every scene.
And, if you're looking to direct and/or produce your own film, you'll do well to remember we have all the background music you could dream of in our high-quality catalogue of over 175,000 tracks. We've got music for animation films, adventure sequels, sci-fi blockbusters, horror flicks, spy films, spaghetti westerns and more.
This page was updated 22/11/2022.
Need Music for Your Project?
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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YouTubers will use a wide range of music sources for their channels and videos, including from us!
From Vice to Buzzfeed and Zoella to Ozzy Reviews, Audio Network is used by a host of your favourite YouTube channels.
Started your YouTube channel and looking to make sure you're using music correctly?
In this guide, we’re going to give you the lowdown on everything to consider including licensing and copyright through to emotion and setting the mood - plus what we think are the best artists and tracks for YouTube.
Looking for instant inspiration? Check out our hand-picked YouTube playlists.
How Do YouTubers Put Music in Their Videos Without Infringing Copyright?
You may have noticed sometimes a YouTuber is using music that is definitely under copyright (made by your favourite artist, for instance). There’s one of two things happening:
They’ve paid for, or got permission to use it from the publisher or record label
They’re actually breaking the law
If you want to use commercially released music (such as that big chart hit) you need to clear the rights (usually by contacting the publisher) and also the rights in the recording (usually dealt with by the record label).
When they’ve found out from you how and where it will be distributed, they’ll either negotiate a fee for the necessary rights, or they may refuse permission for the usage altogether.
Time-consuming and pricey, right?
Can I Use Music That’s in the Public Domain?
Yes, you can, but you need to make sure that this is the case for every territory in which your video will be available – terms (lengths) of copyright may differ from one territory to another.
In the UK, copyright lasts for 70 years from the death of the last surviving author.
For a quick overview of music rights, watch our video:
What’ll Happen if I Upload My Video Without the Correct Licence?
You might think that with 500 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute, it’d be tricky for YouTube to keep track.
But their Content ID system automatically matches copyright content and alerts the owners. Vimeo operates a similar system called Copyright Match.
What Is YouTube’s Content ID System?
Ads appear on most videos that use copyrighted music, and the revenue (royalties) paid is shared with the music’s composers. YouTube’s Content ID system is constantly scanning newly uploaded videos, searching for all tracks covered by copyright, and there are various options if you don’t have the relevant licence to use the track.
When a match is found the copyright owners can then choose to:
Mute the relevant audio
Monetise the video by running ads against it
Block the video, territory by territory, or globally
In all cases, a Content ID claim against your video will stop you from monetising it, whether or not the copyright owner decides to do so.
If the copyright owner chooses to block the video globally, this can lead to restrictions on your account. Ultimately, they can take down your channel and even enforce a lifetime ban if you get caught three times in less than six months. Yikes.
What if I Use a Disclaimer?
Disclaimers or attribution aren’t permission – they won’t stop you from being hauled over the coals by YouTube.
Background Music YouTubers Use
So, now the boring (but really important) part is out of the way, let’s take a look at the music YouTubers use, with some great options from our catalogue.
There’s no need to spend a crazy amount of time searching for high-quality background YouTube music. Most of the time YouTubers will use some sort of stock, library or non-commercial music in their videos.
Production/library music is designed for use with video content, and the licensing’s deliberately made as simple, straightforward and speedy as possible. At Audio Network, we make it super easy. You can license a single track from our catalogue of 200,000+ tracks and songs, or go for a subscription that’s specially designed for content creators.
What Songs Do YouTubers Use in the Background?
What a successful YouTuber will be thinking when choosing their music is either, ‘what is this for?’ or, ‘what mood am I trying to set?’.
For instance, if they’re looking to make people laugh, they may go for more of a jaunty track. If they’re reviewing the latest tech release or video game, they may think they need a more contemporary electronic and bass-heavy track. If it’s a snowboarding video, they’ll be after something exhilarating, with plenty of pace.
So, it’s not so much the song they use that’s important, it’s more about the atmosphere they’re trying to create. With that in mind, let’s get into some commonly asked specifics. Check out regular Audio Network user, Philip Bloom's video on how to use the perfect music in your videos:
Who Are Good Artists for YouTube Background Music?
The best artists for YouTube background music will nearly always be ones you’ve never heard of before – as we said above, getting clearance to use big artists is usually out of most YouTubers’ budget.
Some of our personal favourites are from these nine artists who are all producing fantastic tracks that you can license – from hip hop to R&B, pop to electronic or modern orchestral.
If you’re on the hunt for good YouTube intro songs to kick off your content and set the tone, then why not check out our selection of hip hop and R&B tracks, pop or indie, ambient or electronic music?
Work out whether you want your viewer to feel intrigued or excited, calm or hyped, and make sure that your intro song captures that mood by picking the right tempo and style for your intro song.
Need a little inspiration? Give Nemi's, 'Now That I Know You' a listen for some uplifting pop and catchy ethereal vocals:
Sad Songs YouTubers Use
Not all content is upbeat; sometimes you need something more sombre.
If you’re searching for something on the sadder side, then simple piano melodies can work well, or a heartfelt pop ballad. Check out Audio Network artist Annie Drury to get you started - her album Luna promises reflective and heart warming musical builds.
Get a taste for Drury's sound in this captivating live session:
Or why not try some classical? These sad, reflective tracks from our amazing Classical Collection should hit the right note.
YouTuber Outro Songs
Choosing your outro song, again, depends on the topic and mood of the video.
If you want to finish with something happy, then look for jaunty swing or some funk.
Looking for an exhilarating finish? Get your hands on a rock track. Or if you need to finish your yoga video with a calming outro song, then we have plenty of ambient tracks to chill out with.
You can get free sound effects and the best YouTube music from a wide host of websites.
Some of our favourites, (which you can explore on our Editor's Toolkit page), include swooshes or a ticking clock (for when you’re counting down the seconds for that HIIT section on your workout video, maybe), a drone or other FX.
So, now you know about copyright, licensing and where YouTubers find the best background music, you should be well on your way to choosing some great music for your content from Audio Network’s extensive catalogue of pre-cleared tracks, just like the pros!
Need Music for Your Project?
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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What are the three popular music forms of Latin America? Well, you'll be pleased to know that there are far more than just 3! In this article we cover the different types of Latin American music and Hispanic music genres. Keep reading for everything you need to know, and get ready to explore our diverse collection of Latin music.
In December of 2019, Billboard reported that Latin music was the fourth most-streamed genre in the US on DSPs such as Spotify – and third for video streaming on YouTube. But if your Latin music go-to is ‘Despacito’ on repeat, then there’s a huge number of different Latin music genres and styles to discover, including exciting Mexican dance music genres, types of music in Latin America and Latin pop.
From vibrant salsa to romantic bachata, reggaeton to Regional Mexican, Brazilian samba and chilled out bossa nova to Argentina’s passionate tango, it’s time to explore the history of Latin music, the most popular Mexican music genres – and who are today’s most influential stars.
The Miami Super Bowl halftime concert in 2019 featured Colombian superstar Shakira and Jennifer Lopez sporting a Puerto Rican flag, performing a set full of English and Spanish hits and deftly illustrating how thoroughly Latin music has taken centre stage around the world.
Latin pop is constantly evolving, and takes in everything from salsa to rock en Español. And as Rolling Stone notes, ‘some of the most famous Latin pop songs have survived military dictatorships, war, famine and natural disasters – and they still hold up in spite of passing trends.’
Salsa is one of the best known and most popular Latin music genres worldwide.
The first salsa bands were predominantly from Cuba and Puerto Rico – the music then spread through Colombia and the rest of the Americas until it became a global phenomenon.
New York had been a centre of Cuban-style dance music since the 1940s, when Cuban artists brought Afro-Cuban son music into the USA.
Son combined with traditions from African American jazz to create a Caribbean jazz sound, which was embraced by Salsa artists across the Caribbean and the United States, especially among Puerto Ricans in New York.
When Cuban musicians could no longer go to New York after Fidel Castro had claimed control in 1959, the city’s Puerto Rican musicians quickly filled the vacuum – taking the Cuban-inspired Latin jazz sound and bringing in their own sounds, together with mambo and Latin boogaloo, to create a new style: salsa.
When a song started, apparently the bandleader would shout ‘Salsa!’ to get the crowd going, hence the name.
Salsa artists like Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Ruben Blades, Fania All Stars, Marc Antony and Celia Cruz – known as ‘The Queen of Salsa’ - helped to popularise the genre internationally.
The contemporary salsa sound coming out of Cuba is known as timba. It’s a fast-tempo salsa, with a strong Afro-Cuban influence whose songs often follow a more traditional rumba structure, with a slow start, then a core salsa rhythm with a call-and-response vocal.
Bachata
Bachata originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s, with songs produced by José Manuel Calderón – the first was ‘Borracho de Amor’ in 1962.
Bachata mixed elements from son with the pan-Latin American style bolero and its troubadour singing tradition.
It wasn’t really until the 1990s, however, that this Latin music genre became truly popular, as it changed from using nylon stringed Spanish guitars and maracas to electric steel string and guira used by bands such as Monchy y Alexandra and Aventura.
A typical bachata group has seven instruments – the requinto (lead guitar), Segundo (rhythm guitar), electric guitar, guitar, bass guitar, bongos and guiro.
Some of today’s most popular bachata artists include Romeo Santos (who was previously in Aventura), who has collaborated with Drake, Usher and Marc Anthony, Prince Royce and Luis Vargas.
Another genre to have emerged from the Dominican Republic is merengue, whose origins can be traced back to the 19th century.
With African and Spanish influences, it’s based on a repeating five-beat rhythmic pattern called a quintillo. It’s usually performed on a diatonic accordion, a tambura (a two-sided drum) and a güira, a metal scraper – merengue music often includes brass, such as horns and saxophone as well.
The merengue is also the Dominican Republic’s national dance, performed in ballroom dance competitions alongside the salsa. It became popular outside of the Dominican Republic following mass migration of Dominicans to New York City in the 1960s, and has inspired musicians such as Carlos Santana.
Other famous merengue artists include Sergio Vargas, Mala Fe, Elvis Crespo, Milly Quezada and Los Hermanos Rosario.
Tango has become one of the most celebrated Latin music genres in dance, having evolved during the 19th century in Buenos Aires’ immigrant communities.
Tango brings together a myriad of other styles, including flamenco, polka, hanabera, and milonga.
It typically features guitar, bandoneon, piano, violin, flute and double bass and is marked out with its sudden changes of dynamics and staccato phrases - together, of course, with its usually intense and often melancholic mood.
Carlos Gardel, known as ‘the King of Tango’ propelled the genre into the mainstream at the beginning of the last century; other celebrated tango artists include Astor Piazzolla, and Argentine stars on the ‘neo tango’ scene, such as Tanghetto.
Reggaeton has exploded into the mainstream, with artists such as Bad Bunny and J. Balvin killing it on streaming platforms and ‘Despacito’ becoming the most viewed YouTube video of all time – and the first to hit five billion views.
Originating with Panamanian El General (Edgardo A. Franco) in the late 1970s, and catching the imagination of youth in Puerto Rico in the 1990s, reggaeton fuses reggae and Jamaican dancehall with hip hop and Latin music such as salsa and bomba, together with dembow rhythms, rapping and singing, typically in Spanish.
Reggaeton captured a global audience in 2004, with the release of Daddy Yankee’s album Barrio Fino and breakout single ‘Gasolina’.
Daddy Yankee also featured on Luis Fonsi’s ‘Despacito’, which signalled another reggaeton revolution, and it now looks commercially unstoppable (you can even hear its influence in Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’).
Colombia’s Karol G’s collaboration with Nicki Minaj, ‘Tusa’, became the first song by two women to top Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, breaking the somewhat all-male stranglehold on reggaeton.
Samba originated in Africa as the music of former slaves and African religions, but has become an icon of Brazilian national identity. It developed in Brazil in the early 1900s, in Rio’s favelas.
A samba band consists mainly of percussion instruments playing syncopated rhythms, together with call-and-response.
The samba band leader uses an Apito (a whistle) to signal breaks and calls, with metal drums - Repinique (or the Reps) – leading introductions, played with a wooden stick and one hand; Surdo – the large bass drums which hold the beat, snare drums, shakers and agogô (double metal cow bells).
Bossa Nova literally means ‘new trend’ or ‘new wave’, and it became the music of choice for an emerging Brazilian middle class. It emerged in a period of Brazilian democracy between the early 1950s and the mid-60s, as the society left behind its colonial past and looked towards the rest of the world.
Bossa nova songs, in contrast with samba songs, focus on personal emotions, such as love, longing and nature. Samba’s themes concentrate more on politics and carnival.
Get a rundown on the current Brazilian music scene from Sarah Roston.
Latin alternative music, or ‘alterlatino’ refers to Latin rock music that combines genres including alt rock, lo-fi, chillout, metal, electronica, hip hop, new wave, punk, reggae and ska with traditional Ibero-American sounds.
It’s a genre that as Billboard.com says, is ‘pushing boundaries in multiple, unexpected directions, with exciting results’.
Established alt-female collective LADAMA, whose members hail from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the US are at the forefornt of the genre.
Strong Latin female voices are under-represented in rap, but Mexican Niña Dioz is a name to watch out for.
Dioz started rapping on stage at 18 and quickly gained attention for her experimental beats and combination of electronic, Caribbean and Latin elements in her music.
One of the pioneers of Rock en Español was Ritchie Valens, whose ‘La Bamba’ adapted a Mexican folk song, fusing it with rock melodies, in 1958.
In the 1970s, the ‘Latin Rock’ genre was coined, while Argentine artists Charly Garcia and Luis Alberto Spinetta became two of the key members of the Rock en Español movement.
The genre was booming in the 1980s as Heroes del Silencio from Spain, Los Prisioneros from Chile and Mexico’s Caifanes emerged on the scene.
Today’s stars of Rock en Español include Shakira, Y La Bamba and Natalia Lafourcade.
Joyful, passionate mariachi music is often a feature of important events and celebrations such as birthdays, baptisms and weddings. It's some of the most popular Mexican music.
Its stringed instruments and oldest rhythms date back to Mexico’s colonial history (1519-1810), with mariachi emerging from the small towns of western Mexico in the 1850s.
Radio stations and movie studios took mariachi to new audiences from the 1930s onwards, and now major annual mariachi festivals, such as the International Mariachi Festival of Guadalajara, staged every September, feature local and internationally renowned groups.
A mariachi band can consist of as many as eight violins, two trumpets and at least one guitar – the traditional guitar is the vihuela, a high-pitched, round-backed guitar that provides the rhythm and the guitarrón, a bass guitar. All of the band’s players take turns singing lead and doing backup vocals and wear highly embroidered charro outfits.
Norteño is named for its birthplace in northern Mexico, and has a rural and traditional sensibility. It’s usually played by an ensemble featuring an accordion, bajo sexto (a baritone-range twelve-string guitar), bass, drums and vocalists.
Its roots date back to the late 1800s when the Mexican population was introduced to a variety of European folk dances such as polkas, waltzes, mazurkas and redovas by German and Czech immigrants.
The genre exploded in popularity in the 1950s and by the 1970s, it was the most popular style of music amongst the working classes in Texas and northern Mexico.
Los Tucanes de Tijuana became the first norteño act at Coachella and think that, ‘with trap and reggaeton, the doors are opening for more styles within the genre of Latin music’. Listen to Los Bravos del Norte and Los Tigres del Norte for a deeper dive into norteño.
Los Tigres also perform the corrido – a narrative, poetic ballad illustrating socio-political tensions or historic events that relate to the immigrant or working class experience.
Cumbia is another hugely popular style of regional Mexican music which originated in Colombia, whose popularity has spread throughout Latin America, from Argentina to Chile, Peru and Venezuela.
Similar to salsa, it also features guitars, accordions, bass guitar and percussion.
Colombian singer Luis Carlos Meyer Castandet emigrated to Mexico in the 1940s – his album La Cumbia Cienaguera is considered to be the first cumbia record outside Colombia.
One of today’s biggest cumbia bands is Los Ángeles Azules, whose collaboration with Ximena Sarinana, ‘Mis Sentimientos’ became regional Mexican music’s most-watched video of all time and secured them a place in YouTube’s elite Billion View Club.
Streaming has also made superstars of regional Mexican music artists such as Banda MS, while the global reach of a Netflix series like Narcos has given Mexican music another boost through its soundtrack.
The importance of incorporating traditional elements into contemporary tracks is explained by Chilean singer Mon Laferte, who is now based in Mexico City.
She told Rolling Stone that, ‘I’m not a purist, and I don’t make traditional Mexican music, nor traditional salsa, But I try to take cues from it and bring it into the present, ’ as she wants to reflect the richness of the music.
Latin artists show no signs of slowing down, so whether you’re into reggaeton or Latin trap, boyband CNCO, acts such as Fuerza Regida bringing their experiences to traditional genres, or Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny collaborating with Cardi B and Balvin, you’re spoiled for choice.
Want more Latin music? Explore tracks composed, performed and produced by the world’s leading specialist musicians in our Global Music Series collection.
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If there’s one thing most of us can agree on, it’s that we need to be kinder to our planet.
Naturally, advertisers are savvy to our increasingly eco-conscious mindset, hence there are plenty of television commercials that place the environment front and centre of their campaign.
What exactly does an environmental advert look like? Well, it all comes down to what is being advertised.
To a fashion brand like Levi’s, an environmental advertisement informs consumers that they’re doing their bit to ensure that they make conscious decisions that are planet-positive.
To an environmental organisation like Conservation International, an environmental advertisement warns viewers about the consequences of the planet’s destruction.
To a car manufacturer like Mercedes-Benz, an environmental commercial often promotes a new, more eco-friendly automobile.
Below, we take a look at the best environmental ads, produced by the likes of Apple, Pangaia, IKEA and WWF.
How Do You Advertise Environmental Awareness?
Before we dive into our best environmental ads list, we thought it’d be best to answer one of the most popular questions surrounding the topic: how do you advertise environmental awareness?
To that we say that environmental awareness can be raised in a plethora of ways, as there are a variety of aspects an advertiser may choose to focus on.
Perhaps the most obvious way in which an advertiser may ensure that viewers are aware of the impact human beings are having on the planet is by literally presenting them with scenes of worldwide destruction, be that dirty oceans, droughts, wildfires or obtrusive landfills.
A second way an advertiser may open up conversations about environmental awareness is by reminding viewers of the beauty of the world. Usually, these kinds of environmental ads ask viewers to be conscious about our impact on the Earth for future generations of humans and the animal kingdom.
A third way advertisers can raise awareness about environmental issues is by presenting viewers with sustainable choices they can make to combat environmental issues – for instance, purchasing an electric car, or wearing clothes made from recycled materials.
The fourth and final way an advertiser may raise awareness about the environment is by producing an advert that pivots around a promise they’re making which involves turning towards more sustainable practices. Of course, brands often do this to entice the conscious-minded to purchase its products or use its services.
Check out this Earth Day ad from NASA for more inspiration.
The Best Environmental Ads
Toyota – Environmental Commitment: Earth Day
Pangaia – What on Earth is PANGAIA?
WWF – We Are All Connected
Apple – A Climate Change Promise
Conservation International – Nature Now
UN Environment Programme – #CleanSeas Break Up PSA
Wild – The Sustainable Natural Deodorant
Adidas Originals – End Plastic Waste | STAN SMITH, FOREVER
Mango – Making Fashion More Sustainable
Volvo Moment – Sustainability #VolvoRecharged
Toyota – Environmental Commitment: Earth Day
For Earth Day 2018, Toyota announced that they are committed to building a better world via an upbeat commercial complete with an upbeat soundtrack.
Its contribution? Eco-advanced vehicles that eliminate CO2 emissions.
Pangaia – What on Earth is Pangaia?
Eco-friendly fashion label Pangaia is concerned with finding new and unexpected ways to use natural materials to form hype-worthy clothes.
Within this 2022 ad – soundtracked by psychedelic ‘60s anthem ‘Ad Gloriam’ by Le Orme – the environmentally-friendly firm introduces themselves to anyone who’s not yet aware of the brand and its planet-positive ethos.
WWF – We Are All Connected
WWF’s 2011 ‘We Are All Connected’ commercial is a touching piano-led ad that reminds viewers that all living things on this planet are bound together – from the elephants to the birds to the people – with a little love and a lot of rope.
Apple – A Climate Change Promise
Another environmental ad that’s imbued with emotion is Apple’s 2020 ‘A Climate Change Promise’ commercial.
Essentially the ad places focus on a reassuring narrator telling a young baby named Edan that the company plans on making positive changes to the planet for the sake of future generations.
Conservation International – Nature Now
Think of the environment, and Greta Thunberg will likely come to mind.
In 2019, Nature Now gave the young activist a platform to share her message about the impact fossil fuels are having on the planet.
It’s safe to say she gets her point across with a little help from some shocking visuals and a dramatic background music track.
UN Environment Programme – #CleanSeas Break Up PSA
Yes, environmental ads can be humorous. Case in point: the UN Environment Programme’s ‘#CleanSeas’ ad from the 2018 commercial.
Inspired by archetypal movie break-up scenes, the ad focuses on a girl breaking up with ocean-damaging plastics – and, of course, it’s enhanced by some heartbreak music.
Wild – The Sustainable Natural Deodorant
Wild knows that saving the world should be a positive thing, which is why its ad focusing on sustainable natural deodorant from June 2021 keeps things light-hearted throughout.
Led by a buoyant main character walking through the woods, the ad is about as laidback as an environmental ad can be.
Adidas Originals – End Plastic Waste | Stan Smith, Forever
Who better to inform audiences about the beauty of being green than Kermit the Frog? Yoda, you say? Well, he’s also featured in this Adidas Originals ad that promotes the brand’s sustainable Stan Smith sneaker.
Plus, the shoe’s namesake makes an appearance himself, along with some soul-stirring string-led background music.
Mango – Making Fashion More Sustainable
In 2021, Mango created a commercial characterised by earthy ensembles, atmospheric music and exotic destinations that let shoppers know that it’s committed to creating clothes from materials with sustainable properties.
It’s almost as if the Spanish brand is suggesting that shopping with them can help one reconnect with nature.
Volvo Moment – Sustainability #VolvoRecharged
Many viewers gained new respect for Swedish car manufacturer Volvo the minute that they admitted in their 2019 ad that they’ve been contributing to climate change, but are looking to make some positive changes in the coming years. Finally, some transparency!
The brand's plan? Become climate neutral by placing emphasis on electric models and using renewable energy to run production plants.
Need More Ad Inspiration?
If you happen to be an advertiser on the lookout for some ad inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Audio Network, we have heaps of ad-focused articles (just like this one) over on The Edit. So, no matter what type of ad you’re looking to produce – whether that be a Valentine’s Day ad, Christmas ad, sports ad, Chinese ad or anything else – you’ll be sure to find content to seek inspiration from.
Once you’re set an idea, it’s time to start thinking about music for advertising – something we’ve also got an abundance of. The most productive way to explore our sizable catalogue? By discovering our playlists.
Download New Music Today
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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When you think of the music of Brazil, the cornerstones of its culture are carnival – and music. It’s a country with many unique music genres, including samba, bossa nova and sertanejo – plus a knack of taking other genres such as pop, funk and rap and giving them a Brazilian makeover.
The richness of Brazilian music comes from mixing tradition and modernity and tapping into both national and regional traditions – it’s constantly evolving. Samba in particular is a huge part of Brazil’s cultural identity, both in terms of music and dance, and is considered ‘the heartbeat’ of Rio’s annual Carnival – the biggest, boldest and brightest event in the Brazilian calendar.
Música popular brasileira, habitually shortened to MPB, is the catch-all term Brazilians use for Brazilian music in general. You can trace its history to the 1930s, when the national radio network made it possible for musicians to capture a national audience.
However, Brazil is home to many regional musical centres, including the city of Salvador de Baha, with its unique blend of African and Brazilian influences; Recife (home to música nordestina or northeastern music) and eastern Amazonia – home to lambada, while Sao Paulo has a thriving rock and punk scene.
The Traditional Brazilian Music Styles You Need to Know
Samba
Samba actually originated in Africa as the music of former slaves and African religions, but has become an icon of Brazilian national identity. Much like the blues in America, samba was originally a product of the sorrow of slaves who came to Bahia, a region in northeastern Brazil – ‘samba is the father of pleasure and the son of pain’ according to composer Caetano Veloso.
But its combination of music and passion transform sorrow into joy. It developed in Brazil in the early 1900s, in Rio’s favelas, with the first recorded version in 1917 ('Pelo Telefone' – ‘By Telephone’).
The original form of samba is samba de morro (morro meaning hill – it alludes to the slums located on Rio’s hillsides.) Here, the earliest samba style incorporated other music genres in the city, such as the polka, the maxixe, the lundu and the xote, creating a completely unique character.
There are various sub-genres of samba, which include samba-enredo, which is what the ‘samba schools’ perform at the Rio Carnival. ‘Enredo’ is Portuguese for ‘plot’ – this style is about singing stories.
Samba-choro is a mix of the two genres, while samba-exaltação is the most relaxed type of samba – check out 'Aquarela do Brasil' by Francisco Alves. Partido Alto has the most pronounced African influence.
As festive dance music, samba plays a huge role in Brazil’s Carnival celebrations – Carnival is a huge party that takes over the streets in the week leading up to Lent. A samba band consists mainly of percussion instruments playing syncopated rhythms and the music features call-and-response and imitation.
The band leader uses an Apito (a whistle) to signal breaks and calls, with metal drums - Repinique (or the Reps) – leading introductions, played with a wooden stick and one hand; Surdo – the large bass drums which old the beat, snare drums, shakers and agogô (double metal cow bells).
Choro
Choro pre-exists samba and literally means ‘crying, sobbing’, despite the music most often being joyous and celebratory. Its roots are in European salon music and Portuguese fado and it’s mainly instrumental, played with a flute a guitar, a clarinet and a cavaquinho – a miniature guitar introduced by the Portuguese. It’s known by some as ‘the New Orleans jazz of Brazil’ and, like much jazz, is based on improvisation and also for its dizzying speeds, and surprising changes of harmony.
One of choro’s most important composers was Pixinguinha who, in 1922, was part of the first Brazilian group contracted to play abroad when they travelled to Paris. Choro began to fall out of fashion in the mid-1950s, but underwent a revival in the 1970s and is still being played today.
Bossa Nova
Brazilian singer and composer Caetano Veloso said in an interview with the Guardian that, ‘Bossa nova is a sacred music for many Brazilians. It’s political and nationalistic and poetic. It’s a form of high modernist art that somehow became one of the most popular musics on earth’.
Veloso also revealed that it’s a rare example of music becoming popular by being more sophisticated (rather than, like rock ‘n’ roll, stripping out the complexity), as ‘it took the samba and added harmonic sophistication – extended chords and so on – and added a degree of lyrical complexity.’
One of its key architects was Antônio Carlos Jobim, a classically-trained pianist who helped to fuse elements of jazz with samba to create the bossa nova sound.
The music emerged at a very specific point in Brazilian cultural history – in a brief period of democracy between the early 1950s and the mid-60s, between two spells of military dictatorship, when industry, education, health and labour rights were all flourishing, as the society left behind its colonial past and looked out at the world.
The phrase bossa nova literally means ‘new trend’ or ‘new wave’, and it became the music of choice for the emerging smart, young, urban Brazilian middle class.
Bossa nova songs differ from samba songs in that their focus is more on the individual and the personal – love, longing and nature – whereas samba usually refers to the public sphere, with themes around carnival and politics. There’s also a difference in that there are no dance steps to accompany it, as there are with samba.
One of the most famous bossa nova tracks is 'Garota de Ipanema' – aka 'Girl from Ipanema'. The lyrics were written by a famous poet, lyricist, linguist and diplomat, Vinicius de Moraes.
The Portuguese lyrics are, however, very different from their English translation – the rhythm is displaced and the lyrics become languid, mimicking the movement of the girl passing by. Whereas in English, everything is on the beat. You can hear the difference when you listen to João Gilberto’s version.
The song, which reached No. 5 in the US pop singles chart in the summer of 1964, sung by João’s wife, Astrud, became a global hit, and bossa nova fever gripped the US, helped by its popularity amongst jazz musicians such as Charlie Byrd, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz and their fans.
The Beach Boys, with 'Busy Doin’ Nothin’ 'and The Beatles’ 'And I Love Her' brought in a bossa nova flavour, while Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald devoted whole albums to covers of bossa nova classics.
Musician Sérgio Mendes thinks the continuing appeal of bossa nova music is because, ‘it’s very sensual, it’s very romantic, and you can also dance to it. Those three components make it very, very beautiful. And it has great melodies – melodies that you can remember.’
Tropicália
In 1964, just as bossa nova was hitting big globally, Brazil’s left-wing government was deposed – replaced by a military regime which resulted in open repression by 1968. Bossa nova’s serenity and sun suddenly seemed out of touch in these darker times and a sound influenced by rock and electric guitars – Tropicália – emerged instead, as part of a wider cultural movement.
Led by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the anarchistic, anti-authoritarian music and oblique lyrics of the Tropicalistas made them a target of censorship and repression by the military junta. The pair were eventually arrested and imprisoned and subsequently sought exile in London, where they resumed their musical careers.
The 1999 compilation, Tropicália Essentials, is a good introduction to the style, featuring songs by Gil, Veloso, Gal Costa and Os Mutantes.
Axé
Originating in Salvador in the 1980s, Axé fuses Afro-Caribbean genres including marcha, reggae and calypso with Brazilian influences from frevo, forro and carixada. The name comes from a Yoruba term, meaning ‘soul, light, spirit or good vibrations’.
Axé entered the mainstream in 1992, when Daniela Mercury released 'O Canto Da Cidade' – it remained at No. 1 for months and became an anthem for the Brazilian people. Axé’s current biggest star is Ivete Sangalo – check out 'À Vontade' for a flavour of Axé rhythms and style.
Brazilian Pop Music
The biggest genre in modern Brazilian music is sertanejo. Originating from the Brazilian countryside, it’s played across the country. Although there are some solo singers, many sertanejo artists are duos, often siblings, or duos of two men, such as Henrique and Juliano.
Brazilian Rap
Lifestyle site Highsnobiety claims that, ‘Brazilian rap has always felt caught between two worlds, unsure of whether to experiment with music indigenous to the country or follow the trusted pattern of American boom-bap.’ At the moment, trap is a big influence, but there’s still plenty of traditional Brazilian flavour to its rap scene.
The Best Brazilian Music Artists and the Top 25 Brazilian Tracks You Need on Your Spotify List:
1. Eu Incomodo - Sarah Roston
Sarah Roston is a rising star, who was discovered by Ed Cortes (best-known for composing the score for celebrated Brazilian film City of God.)
2. ‘Garota de Ipanema’ – Vinicius de Morae and Tom Jobim
This is the track that many would think of as the essence of Brazilian music – it’s certainly the epitome of bossa nova. Plus, it’s the second most recorded popular song in history after The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’.
3. 'Life on Mars' - Seu Jorge
Legendary samba star Seu Jorge performed the soundtrack for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, composed entirely of acoustic David Bowie covers sung in Portuguese – he also appeared in the film, as well as in City of God and Netflix crime drama Brotherhood. His other collaborations include the Mario C. remix of ‘Tropicália’ with Beck, and a fashion collaboration with designer Rachel Roy.
4. ‘Aquarela do Brasil’ – Gal Costa
Gal is one of Brazil’s most well-known singers and this is one of her most famous samba tracks.
5. ‘Baby’ – Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes were one of the key Tropicália movement bands, whose avant-garde music blended traditional and foreign influences.
6. ‘Wave’- João Gilberto
Gilberto is credited as changing the course of Brazilian music, as he brought bossa nova to a global audience. He died last year at the age of 88, leaving a huge and much-loved body of work behind. This track was later covered by Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Ahmad Jamal.
7. ‘Alma Boemia’ – Toninho Geraes
Samba singer and songwriter Geraes has recorded more than 250 tracks. This is one of his most well-known.
8. ‘Malandro’ – Elza Soares
Elza Soares was declared by BBC Radio to be ‘the Brazilian Singer of the Millennium’ in 1999 and is one of samba’s biggest female artists.
9. 'Essa Mina É Louca’ – Anitta
Anitta is one of Brazil’s most popular mainstream artists. The funk pop singer was born in Rio de Janeiro and this is from her award-winning third album – the title translates as ‘This Girl is Crazy’.
10. ‘Você Partiu Meu Coração’ – Nego do Borel
Nego do Borel is a contemporary funk singer – this track features both Anitta and the sertanejo artist Wesley Safadão.
11. ‘Balada’ – Gusttavo Lima
National heartthrob Gusttavo Lima’s songs are mostly about love and relationships. He had a hit in Europe with his single ‘Balada’ (Party).
12. ‘Trains and Boats and Planes’ - Astrud Gilberto
She may be best-known for singing ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, but Astrud had a long and successful solo career internationally. ‘Trains and Boats and Planes’ was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and showcases Gilberto’s ability to capture emotion.
13. ‘Essa Novinha é Terrorista’ – MC Kevinho
One of the big hits at Carnival, this is a song about a girl and her friends dancing at a baile funk party, which involves a dance similar to twerking, by one of Brazil’s most popular funk artists.
14. ‘Rap da Felicidade’ – Cidinho e Doca
Born and raised in the notorious favela Cidade de Deus, Cidinho e Doca became famous for promoting peace within the unstable community – the song begins, ‘I only want to be happy, to walk calmly in the favela where I was born.’
15. ‘Sorriso Negro’ – Dona Ivone Lara
Samba track ‘Sorriso Negro’, which translates as ‘black smile’ is a popular track played during Rio’s Carnival and is one of Dona’s most popular.
16. ‘Ponta de Lança’ - Rincon Sapiência
Hailed as Brazil’s great crossover rapper, Rincon Sapiência is loved by purists, and casual listeners alike and manages to incorporate both Brazilian funk and trap into his music. However, his popularity doesn’t stop him writing directly about racial injustice in his country.
17. ‘Rosa de Plástico' - Mariana Mello
Mariana started out as a model and fashion icon with a big Instagram following, breaking through with EP Mariana. The production, message and video of ‘Rosa de Plástico’ will be right up your street if you’re a fan of M.I.A.
18. ‘Perdendo o Juízo’- Flora Matos
In a country with high levels of hate crimes against LBTQIA+ and few legal protections, Flora Matos subverts traditional male rap themes, and defiantly sings about a woman who’s in love with her.
19. ‘Detalhes’ – Roberto Carlos
Carlos is knowsn as ‘O Rei’, which is Portuguese for ‘The King’. He was originally part of a famous teenage band, Jovem Guarda, before going solo and becoming famous across all of Latin America. He’s famed for his gut-wrenching love songs.
20. ‘Vamos Fugir’ - Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil began as a bossa nova artist, and then began experimenting with reggae, African music and rock. Later in life, from 2003-8, he served as Brazil’s Minister of Culture.
21. ‘Insensato Destino’ – Almir Guineto
Guineto used to be the director of famous samba school Salgueiro before starting on his solo career – this is one of his most famous songs.
22. ‘Ainda é Tempo pra Ser Feliz’ - Beth Carvalho
Beth Carvalho’s career spanned over 40 years, starting with bossa nova and then becoming a huge samba star. Known as ‘madrinha do samba’ (the godmother of samba), she worked with a range of legendary sambistas.
23. ‘Tristeza Pé No Chão’ - Clara Nunes
Nunes was considered one of the greatest samba and MPB singers of her generation, and was the first female singer in Brazil to sell over 100,000 copies of a record with ‘Tristeza Pé No Chão’. Her achievements earned her the title of ‘Queen of Samba’.
24. ‘Playsom’ - BaianaSystem
Hailing from Salvador, and rooted in the Jamaican soundsystem tradition, BaianaSystem are best seen live, where they fuse reggae and dub, Afro-Brazilian pagode and samba with electronic production to produce a blood-pumping live set.
25. ‘Me Deixa Legal’ - Maglore
Tie-dyed pop-rock and singalong hooks have made Maglore popular in their home country since their 2011 debut full-length album Veroz.
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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The music industry: it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl. From Beyoncé to Whitney Houston to Adele, women constitute a large percentage of music’s pantheon of greats – but who is the top female artist? Well, that’s actually a very tricky question to answer, as the word ‘successful’ can be defined in numerous different ways, especially when considering global superstars and influential female solo artists UK has produced.
Below, we answer all of the key questions surrounding inspiring women in music, such as ‘Who are the bestselling female artists of all time?’, ‘Who is the most popular female solo artist?’ and, ‘Which female artist has sold the most albums?’
Most Successful Female Artists
Madonna
Céline Dion
Rihanna
Adele
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Beyoncé
Ariana Grande
Selena Gomez
Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey
J. Lo
Diane Warren
The Bestselling Female Artists
Madonna
The Queen of Pop, Madonna, is the bestselling female artist of all time.
She’s released 14 studio albums, three soundtracks, five live albums and six compilations, plus 63 UK Top 10 singles. Since 1983, she’s sold an estimated 335 million albums and singles worldwide.
Madonna’s biggest seller is The Immaculate Collection (30 million copies and counting), and five of her singles are estimated to have registered sales of over five million units, including 'Like a Virgin' and 'Hung Up'.
Only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson have sold more records worldwide than Ms Ciccone; plus, she’s clocked up 20 gold, 17 platinum and 12 multi-platinum album awards. Over a 40-year career (she first signed with Sire Records in 1982), the 'Material Girl' is estimated to have amassed a net worth of roughly $850 million.
Makes sense considering she’s the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, with over $1.4 billion in ticket sales.
Céline Dion
Second on the list is Céline Dion, the bestselling Canadian recording artist and bestselling French-language artist of all time.
The Quebec-born superstar has released 27 studio albums, 19 compilation albums, seven live albums and 137 singles – as a result, she’s sold over 250 million albums and singles worldwide.
Plus, she’s been touring almost non-stop since the mid-80s; the singer currently finds herself on her 15th concert tour (18th, if you include her three residencies).
Of course, Ms Dion has reaped the rewards of her hard work over the years: not only is she estimated to be worth around $800 million, but she also has 239 awards to her name, including five Grammys, six AMAs and seven Billboard Music Awards.
Rihanna
It’s rather incredible that Rihanna, the 30-something, Barbados-born singer who last released a record in 2016, is the third bestselling female artist of all time.
Like Céline, Rihanna has sold over 250 million copies of her music worldwide; her fans have 52 singles, eight studio albums and two remix albums to choose from.
Currently, Rihanna is the richest female musician in the world, estimated to be worth $1.7 billion. And although this is a lot to do with her beauty and fashion ventures, the Caribbean multi-hyphenate is known to have made stacks of cash during the ‘00s and ‘10s when she embarked on seven concert tours, five of which were worldwide.
Reportedly, her Diamond World Tour alone made over $140 million.
The Female Artist With The Fastest-Selling Album
Adele
Debuting at no. 1 in 32 countries and breaking first-week sales records just four days after its US release (it clocked up 3.38 million in its first week – over 5.77 million worldwide), Adele’s third studio album 25 became the world’s bestselling album of 2015, with over 17.4 million copies sold.
Plus she became the first female to have three top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.
Alongside her record-breaking sales, Adele was the first artist to win an Oscar for her Bond theme and only the second female artist to take home six Grammys in a year – nabbing the big four: 'Album of the Year', 'Best New Artist, 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year’ in 2012.
Plus, she’s a YouTube queen – she has racked up almost three billion views on her ‘Hello Video’ and 247 million views on the 2021 ‘Easy on Me’ video (it racked up 27.7 million views in its first 24 hours alone).
The Most Viewed Music Videos By Female Artists
Katy Perry - 'Roar'
Katy Perry’s 'Roar' (2013) has clocked up an astonishing 3.5 billion views (and 'Dark Horse' takes the number two spot with over 3.2 billion).
Stranded in the jungle after a plane crash with a quickly-dispatched, selfie-obsessed idiot, Katy proves herself a resourceful gal (evidence she’s a Bear Grylls fan, perhaps?).
She soon makes friends with a selection of animals and birds who, in turn, crown her the Queen of the Jungle, which just goes to show that she doesn’t require a Tarzan-type guy to save her.
Taylor Swift – 'Shake it Off'
Snapping at Katy’s heels, this single from Taylor Swift’s album 1989 saw her shaking off her country crown and shifting to pure pop. Clearly she was onto something as the video currently has over 3.1 million views.
Tay-Tay’s hater-crushing video proved too controversial for some, garnering accusations of cultural appropriation. However, the fact remains that it’s irritatingly catchy – you’ll quite literally have to sit on your hands to stop them reenacting Swift’s ‘shake, shake, shake’ move every time you hear the bop.
The Most Influential Performance From A Female Artist
Beyoncé
‘Let’s just cut to the chase: There’s not likely to be a more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year, or any year soon, than Beyoncé’s headlining set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’ – New York Times.
In 2018, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella. The modern-day icon performed for almost two hours and was joined on stage by more than 100 performers – a masterfully synchronised and colour-coordinated army of singers, dancers, majorettes, drummers and marching band members.
Plus, there was a reunion with Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for 'Say My Name’, an appearance from her sister Solange during ‘Get Me Bodied', and husband Jay-Z came out for their duet, ‘Deja Vu’.
A masterclass in Black history, feminism and the iconography of historically Black colleges and universities’ (HBCUs) half-time shows, the set was a superpowered fusion of hits, covers and iconic black anthems, with spectacular choreography and blistering vocals throughout.
The Female Artist Who Has Won The Most Awards
Beyoncé
Beyoncé claimed the crown for the first music act in the Billboard 200 chart’s history to debut at no. 1 with their first six solo studio albums.
And her success during the 2000s saw her recognised as the Recording Industry Association of America’s 'Top Certified Artist of the Decade' as well as Billboard magazine’s 'Top Female Artist of the Decade'.
Altogether, the Houston-born singer has accumulated 542 awards, including 28 Grammys. Unsurprisingly, she is the most Grammy Award-nominated female in history – she has been nominated a grand total of 79 times!
The Most Streamed Female Artist
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is the most streamed female artist on Spotify, with over 29 billion streams to her name.
The only men that stand between her and the overall top spot are Drake, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny and The Weekend. Her most-streamed album? Thank U, Next, a fifth studio record that just so happens to contain her most-streamed song, ‘7 Rings’.
The Most Popular Female Solo Artist (According To Instagram)
Selena Gomez
Although people are often coming for her crown, Selena Gomez is the most popular female solo artist on Instagram, with over 299 million followers.
Right behind her are Ariana Grande (296 million followers), Beyoncé (239 million followers) and Taylor Swift (200 million followers).
The Most Albums Sold Ever By A Female Artist
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard is the third bestselling of all time – an estimated 45 million copies sold worldwide – and bestselling album from a female artist, helped in large by Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton classic ‘I Will Always Love You’.
The film may’ve made a movie star out of Whitney (playing singer/actress Rachel Marron), but you’ve actually got co-star Kevin Costner (aka Frank, her bodyguard) to thank for 'I Will Always Love You'.
The final song was slated to be a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted', but as production got underway, a Paul Young cover of the song was featured in Fried Green Tomatoes. Costner, a country fan, suggested the Dolly Parton song should be the replacement and that Houston sang the introduction a capella to add more emotion.
The Most Streamed Christmas Hit By A Female Artist
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey’s 'All I Want for Christmas is You' was written in 1994 – and unbelievably didn’t actually hit no. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list until 2019, earning it the accolade of the ‘longest trip to no. 1’.
But now, it’s Spotify’s most-streamed Christmas song of all time, and with estimated sales of over 16 million copies, it’s the bestselling Christmas single by a female artist and the third bestselling Christmas song of all-time.
The Top Latin Female Artist
J. Lo
Jennifer Lynn Lopez does it all – she sings, dances, acts, designs, produces and runs multiple businesses. She has sold over 75 million records worldwide and remains the highest-paid Latin actress (she was paid over $1 million for taking on the titular role in biopic Selena.)
In 2018, Time named the multifaceted artist one of the most influential people in the world.
And all that was before starring in Hustlers, which gave J-Lo her highest opening weekend for a live-action film, and awards nominations at the Golden Globes, SAG awards, Critics’ Choice and Independent Spirit Awards.
The Most Important Female Songwriter in The World
Diane Warren
When Diane Warren became the first songwriter in Billboard history to have seven hits – all by different artists – on the singles chart simultaneously, the UK’s former Chairman of EMI Music Publishing, Peter Reichardt credited her as ‘the most important songwriter in the world’.
Warren has penned tunes for everyone from Elton John to Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga to Reba McEntire and Aerosmith (for the latter, she wrote the Oscar-nominated 'I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing' for the Armageddon soundtrack). Her songs transcend genre – for instance, 'Don’t Turn Around' has been recorded by eight different artists as varied as Tina Turner, Aswad and Ace of Base.
Warren has been named ASCAP Songwriter of the year six times, and Billboard’s 'Songwriter of the Year' four times. Plus her publishing company, Realsongs, was named one of the top five music publishing corporations and the most successful female-owned and operated business in the music industry. Both as a prolific songwriter and a businesswoman, Warren can be considered a tour de force.
Who Are The World’s Most Successful Female Artists?
In summary, the world’s most successful female artists are those who’ve been vital to the success of the industry and those who’ve kept the world – especially their fanbase – engaged.
Whether that’s reflected in their record sales, streaming stats or social media popularity doesn’t really matter as the music industry is constantly evolving, meaning it’s hard to compare one era’s golden girl to another.
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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The history of music in Japan is incredibly rich, with some experts classifying traditional Japanese music into over fifty genres. From gagaku to noh and kabuki, many of the genres are characterised by the traditional Japanese instruments that feature in them.
Traditional Japanese music includes everything from solo music to chamber, court, festival and folk music, together with a variety of theatre music. Historically, Japanese folk music was strongly influenced by music from China, with some of its forms being imported from China more than a thousand years ago. Many popular Japanese musical instruments also originated in China and were then adapted to meet local needs.
The Earliest Music in Japan
Japan’s earliest classical music style was imported via monks who had been sent to China to study. Gagaku – meaning elegant or refined music – entered Japan around 589 (the term was first recorded in 701) and became popular in the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Up until the 10th century, the music was adapted to Japanese tastes, and new pieces were composed. But since then, the repertoire and the style of performance are almost exactly the same today as they were a thousand years ago.
A Gagaku ensemble has three types of instruments – percussion, wind and string. The percussion section features different sized drums, together with gongs and cymbals. The wind section includes the sho (a mouth organ), three different transverse flutes and the hichirikai, a short, double-reed instrument like an oboe. There are three main stringed instruments, the wagon, a 7-stringed table zither, the gaku-biwa, a 4-stringed lute, and the gaku-so, a 13-stringed table zither that’s a precursor to the koto.
Three of today’s best-known traditional Japanese instruments date back to that time – the biwa, the koto and the shakuhachi.
Traditional Japanese Stringed Instruments
The most popular Japanese stringed instruments are the koto, the biwa and the shamisen.
Koto
Historians think the koto was invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, with the 13-stringed version coming to Japan during the Nara period (710-794).
This large, wooden instrument is played with picks worn on the fingers, and uses movable bridges placed under each string to change the pitch.
Of these traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and the most popular in Japan – it’s regarded as the country’s national instrument. During the New Year holidays Haru no Umi, a duet with the shakuhachi, is often piped in as background music, and during the cherry blossom (sakura) season, the popular tune Sakura, Sakura is performed on the koto.
Biwa
The biwa – a short-necked lute with a pear-shaped body played with a large plectrum – has many variations, but typically has three to five strings, and four to six frets. This is another instrument whose origins are Chinese, and it’s mainly used to accompany narratives and storytelling.
Taisho-goto
The taisho-goto is a uniquely-shaped type of koto, similar to a guitar, invented in 1912 when a Japanese musician, Gorō Morita, travelled overseas to perform and study. He was inspired by the variety of Western instruments, while the idea for adding buttons to change the pitch was taken from looking at typewriters! The taisho-goto uses metal strings, strummed with a pick, whilst pressing the key buttons.
Shamisen
The shamisen resembles a guitar, with a long, thin neck and a small rectangular body covered with skin. It has three strings, with the pitch adjusted by tuning pegs on the head, like a guitar or violin, but without frets. It’s played with a large triangular plectrum that’s used to strike the strings.
Sanshin
‘Sanshin’ translates as ‘three strings’ and the instrument’s ‘male’ string, middle string and ‘female’ string produce the lowest, middle and highest notes respectively. The sanshin is often compared to the banjo, but it’s a plucked instrument. Made with snakeskin and originating in Okinawa, the sanshin is often played at graduations or other special ceremonies there.
Traditional Japanese Percussion
Taiko
Taiko drums are seen at many summer festivals in Japan, and come in a variety of sizes. The most dramatic are the oo-daiko, which are the large drums positioned at the back of a taiko ensemble.
It’s said that taiko or wadaiko were used by feudal lords during war times to command troops and raise morale – the drums create an incredibly powerful sound.
Contemporary composer and taiko drummer Joji Hirota says that, ‘I love the range of the sound dynamics of the taiko drums – it goes from very delicate to really loud! There aren’t many comparable instruments. It’s partly to do with the leather they’re made from; it’s very durable. The resonance hits you directly; it’s able to deliver a lot of energy to the listener.'
Traditional Japanese Wind Instruments
Shakuhachi
The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that’s played by blowing on one end.
Sometimes called a ‘five-holed bamboo flute’ in English, it has four holes on the front, and one on the back, and is characterised by its distinctively poignant tone. Shakuhachi music was originally used by Zen Buddhists as a spiritual tool for meditation practices known as ‘suizen’, ra-ther than public performances.
Nohkan
Used during noh performances, the nohkan is a transverse flute which creates a unique sound that produces a feeling of tension. It’s used to accompany the historical figures and deities in noh theatre who are ‘not of this world’ when they appear on the stage – the nohkan’s high-pitched sound changes the atmosphere for the audience.
Shinobue
The shinobue is another transverse flute, which plays an important role in noh and kabuki theatre music, together with Shinto music and traditional Japanese folk songs. There are two types of shinobue, the Uta or ‘song’, which is suited to solo and ensemble playing and the Hayashi or ‘festival’, which is more often used for festival or folk music, as it’s louder and higher-pitched.
Sho
One of the key instruments used in gagaku, the sho is a bundle of seventeen bamboo pipes, fifteen of which are fixed together with a metal reed. The instrument produces sound when air is inhaled or exhaled, causing the reeds to vibrate.
Its sound has been described as ‘a light shining down from heaven’, and it’s said that it also imitates the call of a phoenix, especially as the shape of the sho resembles a bird with its wings raised.
Explore these different aspects of Japanese music culture with our shamisen, shakuhachi and koto tracks.
Performing Traditional Japanese Music
In common with martial arts and other traditional Japanese art forms such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy, performing Japanese music has a spiritual character, and so the music is highly ritualised. The musician’s self-expression is minimized, which is the most obvious way in which Japanese performance differs from Western music.
Only a few genres in Japanese music are purely instrumental – most are songs with an instrumental accompaniment. However, even if there’s more than one singer, all vocal music only has one melodic line, and most songs are accompanied by a single type of instrument.
Modern Music with Traditional Japanese Instruments
Various contemporary artists bring traditional Japanese instruments such as shamisen and taiko drums into their music, giving them a whole new life. Often fusing them with Western instruments to give their tracks a unique personality, these are the bands to check out:
The Yoshida Brothers
The Yoshida Brothers have brought shamisen music up to date – their song Kodo was used in Nintendo Wii ads in the US. Their style pushes the shamisen’s sound into jazz, experimental music, rock ‘n’ roll and pop by combining it with more modern instruments.
Kodo
Elite taiko drummers Kodō (prospective members spend two years in training before joining) regularly tour in Japan and the United States, spending around a third of the year travelling the globe. Their shows also include other traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shamisen, together with traditional dance and vocal performances.
Wagakki Band
The Japanese band play rock music including electric guitar and bass fused with wagakki (traditional Japanese instruments), such as shamisen, taiko, koto and shakuhachi.
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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Looking for love? Wish your life could be soundtracked like a movie full of romance movie songs? Us too.
A successful soundtrack for a romantic film has to convince you to fall in love with the characters and their story – and make you believe in both.
The swooping highs and lows of love need to be expertly matched by a composer or songwriter to make you swoon – whether it’s heart-breaking or heart-warming.
1) Shallow - Lady Gaga & Mark Ronson (A Star Is Born, 2018)
Lady Gaga wrote Shallow with Mark Ronson, Dirty Pretty Things’ Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt.
As Gaga told Zane Lowe, ‘It’s two people talking to each other and talking about the need and the drive to dive into the deep end and stay away from the shallow area.’
In A Star is Born, Shallow marks a big emotional moment as the jumping off point for both the relationship between Lady Gaga’s Ally and Bradley Cooper’s Jackson, and the launch of the former’s career, whilst the latter’s begins to slide.
Gaga’s performance in the stadium scene as the song builds blasts out of the screen, instantly convincing you of Ally’s star power.
Gaga wrote the song with Mark Ronson, Dirty Pretty Things’ Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt.
As Gaga told Zane Lowe, ‘It’s two people talking to each other and talking about the need and the drive to dive into the deep end and stay away from the shallow area.’
If you need any further persuasion that this might be the most romantic song of 21st Century movies, the video of Shallow has had nearly 800 million views…
2) City Of Stars - Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone (La La Land, 2017)
La La Land’s soundtrack won the Oscar for Best Original Score – and Best Original Song for the gorgeous CityofStars.
From the glorious, sweeping opening ensemble tracking shot of LA’s commuters singing and dancing around their cars on the highway to the jazzy, upbeat strains of AnotherDayofSun, the scene is set for a technicolour, Old Hollywood romance. As the overture, it establishes the film’s musical style as a blend of the contemporary and the traditional.
Ryan Gosling, as jazz obsessive Sebastian, famously learned to play the piano from scratch for the part, and the soundtrack takes in everything from a lush orchestral waltz for the magical Planetarium sequence to the dizzy joy of the Summer Montage/Madeline sequence and then the delicate, almost melancholic CityofStars, which first appears as a solo by Gosling, and later as a duet between him and co-star Emma Stone.
Gorgeous leads, amazing dancing and music, magical, romantic and just a little bit sad – you can see why it’s a modern classic.
3) I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard, 1992)
In terms of movie love songs, they don’t come much bigger than I Will Always Love You.
The soundtrack to The Bodyguard became the biggest-selling of all time (an estimated 42 million copies sold worldwide), helped by Whitney Houston’s cover of the Dolly Parton classic spending 14 consecutive weeks as Billboard’s No. 1 song on the Hot 100 Singles chart and 10 weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
The film may have made a movie star out of Whitney Houston (playing singer/actress Rachel Marron), but you’ve actually got co-star Kevin Costner (aka Frank, her bodyguard) to thank for I Will Always Love You.
The final song was slated to be a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, but as production got underway, a Paul Young cover of the song was featured in Fried Green Tomatoes. Costner, a country fan, suggested the Dolly Parton cover as a replacement – and that Huston sang the introduction a capella to add more emotion.
Looking For Inspiration for a Romantic Soundtrack? Check Out These Top 5 Tracks From Our Catalogue:
4) It Had to Be You - Harry Connick Jr (When Harry Met Sally,1989)
Is WhenHarryMetSally the best romcom of all time? We say yes, and Harry Connick Jnr’s cover of ItHadtoBeYou won him a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance.
Norah Ephron’s brilliantly-drawn Harry and Sally might seem destined never to get together, but the lyrics sum up exactly why the opposites eventually attract: ‘For nobody else gave me a thrill/For all your faults I love you still’.
It’s quite spiky, for a love song, but captures loving someone when you know all their infuriating quirks as well as their loveable ones.
5) She - Elvis Costello (Notting Hill, 1999)
Another cover, this time of She, Charles Aznavour’s classic from 1974. Costello’s version soundtracks ordinary chap Will (Hugh Grant) and global superstar Anna (Julia Roberts’) unlikely romance in Richard Curtis’s NottingHill.
Aznavour’s version was originally used in the film, but American test screening audiences didn’t respond well to it, so Curtis brought in Costello to record the cover.
Girl meets Boy in Dublin and helps him to put together a demo of his music as they fall in love, portrayed through their songs in indie hit Once.
The love song FallingSlowly has a dash of Damien Rice in its stripped-back arrangement of piano and guitar and in the melding of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s voices – which took them to a win for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
7) Kissing You - Des'ree (Romeo + Juliet, 1996)
Des’ree appears in Baz Luhrmann’s colourful, kinetic reimagining of Romeo+Juliet, performing Kissing You as the lovers catch sight of each other for the first time during the ball at the Capulets’ mansion.
8) Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer (She's All That, 1999)
For more teen romance, check out super-sweet Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer on the She’sAllThat soundtrack.
A classic romcom, Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook) is transformed from geeky art student into potential prom queen with the help of popular jock Zach (Freddie Prinze Jr). Kiss Me is the backdrop to the Big Reveal of Laney post-makeover.
9) Up Where We Belong - Jennifer Warnes & Joe Cocker (An Officer and a Gentleman, 1983)
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' Up Where We Belong played a crucial role in making audiences go wild for the super-romantic ending of An Officer and a Gentleman, when Richard Gere’s character – in full Naval uniform – comes into his girlfriend’s (Debra Winger) factory workplace and literally sweeps her off her feet.
Writer Douglas Day Stewart said that in the first edit, everyone laughed at the ending. Then director Taylor Hackford put Up Where We Belong over it, ‘and when that version of the film was shown to an audience, they went crazy. We realised then that it worked.’
10) It Must Have Been Love - Roxette (Pretty Woman, 1990)
It’s got a banging soundtrack, some beautiful frocks, much-repeated lines (‘Big mistake. Biiiig. Huge’), Richard Gere (again) and Julia Roberts’ megawatt smile.
The sexual politics may be questionable, but Pretty Woman ends with Vivian refusing to be Edward’s mistress and getting the fairytale she wants, seemingly on more equal terms (Edward: ‘So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?’ Vivian: ‘She rescues him right back.’)
If, however, you haven’t got your ‘fairytale’ ending and you’re suffering from a broken heart, crank up Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love – acclaimed by TheGuardian as ‘the greatest 80s power ballad of them all, and perhaps the greatest breakup song…
It follows the old Motown blueprint in perfectly blending ecstasy [musical] with agony [lyrical].
Nobody thought that pottery was sexy till Ghost put that sequence of Demi Moore throwing a pot with The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody.
The song was originally written for a movie about life in prison, Unchained, way back in 1955.
From its humble origins, and post-Ghost, in 1999, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers called it one of the 25 most-performed songs and musical works of the entire 20th Century.
12) (I've Had) The Time Of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (Dirty Dancing, 1987)
Dirty Dancing's soundtrack is a clever combination of period pop with smashes like co-star Patrick Swayze’s She’s Like the Wind, Eric Carmen’s Hungry Eyes and Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’s Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life gave the soundtrack broad appeal.
The duet expertly mirrors Baby and Johnny’s dance – and the lyrics, ‘I’ve had the time of my life/And I owe it all to you’ fits the summer romance plot perfectly.
The soundtrack sold over 32 million copies, spent 18 weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 album chart and went multi-platinum. Thus proving beyond all doubt that nobody puts Baby in a corner.
13) Come What May - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge! 2001)
‘I believe in truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things, I believe in love’, declares impoverished writer, dreamer and grade-A Romantic Christian (Ewan McGregor) in Moulin Rouge!
The first musical nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 10 years, director Baz Luhrmann’s fizzing fin de siecle romance throws everything at its soundtrack, from an operatic version of Queen’s The Show Must Go On to a sample of Chamma Chamma from the Hindi movie China Gate, via a quick blast of The Sound of Music and 12 songs in the Elephant Love Medley alone.
With kinetic editing that several critics compared with music videos, writer Christian, showgirl and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) and the rest of the Parisian cabaret crowd whizz through so many pop classics it took two years to clear all the rights.
David Bowie’s Nature Boy gives way to the frenetic stomp of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and there’s a memorably bonkers turn from Jim Broadbent sashaying around to Madonna’s Like a Virgin, whilst The Police’s Roxanne is given a sinister tango workover. Spectacular, spectacular, indeed.
However, Christian and Satine’s gorgeous love song, Come What May unfortunately missed out on a Best Song nomination at the Oscars, because it was originally written for – but not used in – Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
14) Don't Stop Me Now - Queen (Shaun of the Dead, 2004)
The first ‘rom-zom-com’ may have seemed an unlikely hit on paper, but is fabulous fun, although interestingly, Pegg has said that while the film is a romantic comedy, ‘People always think it’s a romantic comedy about Shaun and [girlfriend] Liz; it’s not. It’s a romantic comedy about Ed and Shaun.’
The film ends, after all, with Shaun and his now zombified mate playing video games in a shed, accompanied by Queen’s You’re my Best Friend, offering a bit of bromance for V-Day.
15) Iris - Goo Goo Dolls (City Of Angels, 1998)
Nicholas Cage plays an angel sent to help humans make their transition to the afterlife – but when he falls in love with a woman (Meg Ryan), he has to choose between love and eternal life.
Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls encapsulates his struggle – the band’s frontman, John Rzeznik said that ‘I was thinking about the situation of the Nicholas Cage character. This guy is completely willing to give up his own immortality, just to be able to feel something very human. And I think “Wow! What an amazing thing it must be to love someone so much that you give up everything to be with them.” That’s a pretty heavy thought.’
16) Love Is All Around - Wet Wet Wet (Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994)
Richard Curtis approached Wet Wet Wet about covering a song for Four Weddings – the band had their pick of three songs, the other two being Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, and Barry Manilow’s Can’t Smile Without You. Marti Pellow decided that they could make Love is All Around their own.
It proved the right choice: the song was Number One in the UK charts for 15 weeks, and spent so long knocking around the Top 75 (20 weeks), that the band eventually took the decision to delete the record from sale as so many people were fed up of hearing it (it was apparently still selling 120,000 copies a week). It’s sold 1.9 million copies in the UK, making it the best-selling love ballad of all time.
Not bad for a song which Reg Presley of The Troggs said that he knocked out in 20 minutes, at home with his family in 1968…
17) Kiss From A Rose - Seal (Batman Forever, 1995)
Director Joel Schumacher chose Seal’s Kiss from a Rose for the Batman Forever end credits, propelling it to Grammy wins for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1996.
The song is a total belter and has appeared everywhere from Lip Sync Battle to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bones and animated animal X-Factor caper Sing.
18) La Valse d'Amélie - Yann Tiersen (Amélie, 2001)
Whimsical French comedy-romance Amélie has a soundtrack inspired by its heroine’s unique, quirky character.
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet had Michael Nyman in mind to write the music, but a chance listen to a CD by French musician Yann Tiersen led to the film’s eclectic blend of toy piano, banjo, mandolin, accordion, melodica and vibraphone.
La Valse d’Amélie is a joyous accordion waltz that instantly conjures up Paris’s cobbled streets. A waltz needs two people and the theme chimes with Amélie playing hide and seek with her ‘other half’ and also demonstrating her emotional interactions with the film’s characters, as she seeks to secretly bring happiness to strangers wherever she goes.
19) You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall & Oates (500 Days of Summer, 2009)
It’s a story of boy meets girl, but as hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) tells you from the start, ‘this is not a love story.’
For sheer put-a-skip-in-your-step happiness, though, the sequence where Tom dances, high fives and beams his way through the park to Hall & Oates’ 80s classic You Make My Dreams takes some beating.
There are fountains, there’s a marching band, there are cartoon bluebirds, there’s old-school Hollywood musicals choreography – it exactly conjures up the giddy joy of falling in love in one two-minute scene.
20) April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel (The Graduate, 2009)
Interestingly, all the Simon and Garfunkel tracks used in the film were originally put there as placeholders, as the duo were supposed to be providing new tracks, but failed to deliver.
Deciding that the songs (The Sound of Silence; ScarboroughFair/Canticle, The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine and April Come She Will) perfectly underscored the emotions of the scenes, Nichols left them in.
But what fans remember as the film’s most iconic track, Mrs Robinson, doesn’t actually appear in its full version, as it hadn’t been completed in time.
Nichols needed a song for when Ben is racing to break up his girlfriend Elaine’s impending marriage. Garfunkel told Nichols that Simon was working on a song called ‘Mrs Roosevelt’; one name change later, and you’ve got a future classic.
Except, there was no verse, so in the film, you hear, ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’ – as Garfunkel confessed, ‘that’s called a song not written yet – only the chorus was there.’ The final version was released as a single in 1968, and appeared on the duo’s next studio album, Bookends.
21) Baby You're My Light - Richard Hawley (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 2008)
New York teenager Nick (Michael Cera) is heartbroken after a recent breakup and is still making mix CDs for his ex-girlfriend to try to win her back (aah, the nostalgia of mix CDs.)
Nick’s heartless ex bins the CDs, which Norah (Kat Dennings) finds and they bond – over the course of a single night - through their shared musical obsessions.
Amongst tracks from Devendra Banhart, Vampire Weekend and Band of Horses, Richard Hawley’s Baby You’re My Light is understatedly lovely.
22) Take My Breath Away - Berlin (Top Gun, 1986)
Berlin’s Take My Breath Away is the 80s power ballad.
The song was written by Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by his frequent soundtrack collaborator Tom Whitlock and used over the romantic scenes between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.
23) I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith (Armageddon, 1998)
If you’re feeling in the need for OTT with a side of cheese, then whack Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing on the Spotify playlist. Armageddon starred Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv. U2 were originally slated to perform the song – the idea for Aerosmith performing it only came about after Liv was cast.
The song was written by Diane Warren, and inspired by a TV interview where actor James Brolin said to his wife Barbra Streisand that he didn’t want to fall asleep, ‘’Cause then I’ll miss you.’
Warren had originally thought the song would be sung by a diva like Celine Dion, but ‘for a guy to sing that song… it just makes it more compelling. That’s what women never usually hear their boyfriends or husbands saying, right?’
It’s got power, it’s got passion, you can belt it out at karaoke – as Big Songs go, it’s the perfect movie love song.
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
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The history of Japanese music is rich and varied, from its traditional folk music to JPop’s global takeover.
Here’s our overview of the different forms and instruments used in traditional Japanese music, many of which are showcased in our Sounds Of Japan collection.
Historically, Japanese folk music was strongly influenced by music from China, with some of its forms being imported from China more than a thousand years ago.
Many popular Japanese musical instruments originated in China and were then adapted to meet local needs.
Traditional Japanese Music
Traditional Japanese music usually refers to Japan’s historical folk music. Two forms are recognised as the oldest forms - shōmyō, or Buddhist chanting, and gagaku, or theatrical court music.
Shōmyō & Gagaku
Shōmyō is a ritual music sung in a Buddhist ceremony by a group of Buddhist monks – literally translated, the word ‘shōmyō’ combines the characters for ‘voice’ and ‘wisdom’.
Gagaku is the oldest of Japan's musical traditions and includes dances and songs in two styles – kigaku, which is instrumental music, and seigaku, a form of vocal music.
Kabuki & Noh
There are several Japanese dramatic forms in which music plays a significant role. The main ones are kabuki and noh.
Kabuki is known for its highly stylised dancing and singing, together with its elaborate make-up (sported by a predominantly male cast).
Noh is a form of classical Japanese musical drama which has been performed since the 14th century. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature, with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating the story – usually involving a mask being worn.
Noh has been dubbed ‘Japanese opera’ and is a ‘chanted drama’, but the singing is dependent on a limited tonal range. The music has many blank spaces (ma) between the sounds; the negative blank spaces are in fact considered to be the heart of the music.
The accompaniment is provided by a hayashi ensemble of three drummers and a flautist.
Instrumental Japanese Music
Traditional Japanese music is meditative in character, with highly ritualised performance – sharing much in common with martial arts, and other Japanese art forms such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy.
The music often looks to represent natural sounds, and the sounds of life, through percussion, wind and stringed instruments.
An interesting feature of classical Japanese music is its sparse rhythm and absence of regular chords. All of the rhythms are ‘ma’-based and silence is an important part of the songs.
Japanese Music Instruments
The key instruments used to play Japanese music are:
Shamisen
Shakuhachi
Koto
The shamisen resembles a guitar, with a long, thin neck and a small rectangular body covered with skin. It has three strings, with the pitch adjusted by tuning pegs on the head, like a guitar or violin.
It’s played with a large triangular plectrum that’s used to strike the strings. The shamisen makes some of the best japanese violin music.
The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that’s played by blowing on one end.
Sometimes called a ‘five-holed bamboo flute’ in English, it has four holes on the front, and one on the back, and is characterised by its distinctively poignant tone.
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Historians think the koto was invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, with the 13-stringed version coming to Japan during the Nara period (710-794).
This large, wooden instrument is played with picks worn on the fingers, and uses movable bridges placed under each string to change the pitch.
Of these traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and popular. During the New Year holidays ‘Haru no Umi,’ a duet with the shakuhachi, is often piped in as background music, and during the cherry blossom (sakura) season, the popular tune ‘Sakura, Sakura’ is performed on the koto.
Explore these different aspects of Japanese music culture with our shamisen, shakuhachi and koto tracks.
Traditional Japanese Artists
Many of the popular musicians playing the traditional music of Japan release albums and tour globally, bringing their music to a Western audience.
For a great introduction, have a listen to:
The Yoshida Brothers
Their debut album sold over 100,000 copies and since then they’ve toured the US and recorded an album in Los Angeles, attracting international fans.
Their music was also used in the TV commercial for Nintendo’s Wii. Their style pushes the shamisen’s sound from traditional music into jazz, experimental music, rock ‘n’ roll and pop.
The Nenes
The Nenes (‘sisters’ in Okinawan) are four women who sing Okinawan folk songs, performing on traditional instruments and in traditional costumes and reflecting the history of Japanese music.
Ryuichi Sakamoto recorded with them and took them on a European tour in the mid-1990s, which gave their music global recognition.
Kodō
Kodō are one of the elite taiko drumming groups and have been a major force in the post-World War II revitalisation of taiko drumming, regularly touring in Japan and the United States.
Their shows also include other traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shamisen, together with traditional dance and vocal performances.
We have a wide variety of Japanese music in our catalogue – from the traditional to the contemporary sounds of J-pop. One of our featured composers and artists is Joji Hirota.
Born in Hokkaido, Joji is a multi-percussionist, shakuhachi player, singer and Taiko drummer.
He founded Joji Hirota and the Taiko Drummers and was awarded the Ambassador’s commendation award by the UK Japanese Embassy for his contribution to musical activity outside of Japan in recognition for his achievements in a three-decade long career.
Where to Download Japanese Music
Looking for Japanese music? Audio Network’s Sounds Of Japan series showcases high quality, authentic music from shamisen-based rock to JPop, and delicate yet powerful Japanese instrumental performances.
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