MMG's Online Cue Sheet Reporting System went live last month. This is the first phase in an ambitious plan to create and new way of copyright administration. The future is now. Flash demonstration inside.

The online reporting system of MMG was designed as a "crystal ball" to allow the company to know about the activity of its clients with regards to synchronization of production music.

The system allows MMG clients to manage their projects from its preliminary stage until they reach their final decision with regards to what music they will use. All the information in its preliminary stage allows the company to project future earnings and shortens the time for reporting and billing.

Another feature is a comprehensive project management system that allows clients to store the details of all their projects and access all the information (production, billing info, types of media cleared, term of the clearance etc.)

The system includes a search engine that incorporates information from existing platforms of companies represented by MMG and a special future to alert clients if they use a track that is priced differently (Vocal Tracks etc).

The system is ISWC ready and is planed to be integrated in a state of the art copyright management and tracking system that will allow clients at both ends to receive live information with regards to the status of their copyright and earnings.

The next phase which is planned to go live during the second quarter of 2006 is an online synchronization system that will allow clients to submit requests for licenses from our POP catalogue.

The system will allow the clients to get a live report with regards to the status of their requests and receive an online license for their use.

Click here to open a Flash Demonstration (Pop up window)

The flourishing industry of documentary films in Israel is taking advantage of MMG's music supervision service.

Since the cable and DBS companies have launched documentary film channels the industry is booming. The quality of these productions have been recognized by foreign broadcasters and have been aired all over the world.Due to this new situation many production companies are using production music as the ultimate solution for world wide copyright clearing.
Here are the stories of three films that chose MMG's music supervision services.

Full Soundtrack - The Olive & the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze

When Michael Greenspan, the director of the movie "The Olive & the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze" came to MMG, he didn’t think he would find all the music he needed for his movie in one place. After a two hour meeting with Eran Sudai-Alexander (MMG's music adviser) he got a pack of albums that covered all his needs.

This hour-long documentary tells the story of the Druze, one of Israel’s most fascinating non-Jewish religious minorities, and the role played by their approach to childhood education in helping maintain the sect’s unique cultural and social identity, despite the lure of assimilation.

The Druze religion is secret -- an 11th century offshoot of Islam which developed as a separate faith -- and include belief in reincarnation. Of the approximately 700,000 Druze in the world today, some 115,000 live in the mountain villages of Israel’s Galilee and Carmel regions. Because their faith preaches loyalty to the nations in which they reside, the Druze -- unique among Israel’s non-Jewish minorities -- perform compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces and, as a result, have earned the trust of Israel’s Jewish citizens and government.

What is the secret strength of the Druze? This is the question Dr. Ruth Westheimer sets out to answer. In memorable images as well as revealing interviews with young people and adults, including recognized authorities on Druze religious issues, she travels among the Druze villages of Israel, exploring their history, theology, traditions, values and lifestyle.

"Your music was the main source for the soundtrack" said Greenspan. "We recorded some tracks on location but we didn't need to work with composers or other libraries, we were very, very satisfied with your work on this production. Basically, you provided us the comprehensive musical solution we required."

Replacing full soundtrack – Kinnert Lives

Zamir Dahbash contacted MMG after his film was sold for broadcasting in Spain. He was facing the common problem many Israeli movie-makers have to face: He used popular music for his film, under the agreement between the Israeli Music Society (ACUM) with the TV channels. So when the film was sold for broadcasting in Spain he was forced to get approval for all the tracks – which is expensive and takes a long time.
The solution that MMG provided was easy, fast and much cheaper – for each track in the film we provided a track from the library, which kept the feel, the atmosphere and the emotion of the scene.
The film brings the dramatic story of Kinneret, a beautiful girl  whose world burns down one night and she wakes up five months later to a harsh reality.
How can she deal with the burns, the multiple operations, the treatments, and most of all – how would she come up with the willpower she needs in order survive the new reality?
Kinnert Lives is a rare self-documentation of a terror victim.
http://www.kinneretlives.com

Addition tracks for soundtrack - The Holy Father in the Holy Land

The movie "The Holy Father in the Holy Land" follows the visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel during the spring of 2000. The movie was based on archivematerial that covered the visit, original footage of Christian holy places andsome original footage of illustrations of the life in the days of Jesus. The soundtrack was based on the Pope's speeches and some informative-emotive narration.
"A big part of the musical soundtrack was based on the original music that was performed at the event that the Pope was in" said Eyal Amir, the director, "but we needed more music for two purposes: Well known Christian music or with Christian motives, and some spiritual-sentimental music. We had a full soundtrack, but the client and I felt that there were some problems in some parts of the movie regarding the editing, the tempo of the movie and more. We dived into the library albums from MMG (that we had at our office from our work at HOT-news) and I found some great tracks from albums like "Winter Festival", "Early Civilizations" and more. The music fitted exactly to the atmosphere that we were looking for. We even used one of the tracks as the main theme for the movie."

Two companies from Germany and four companies from the US have joined the MMG family. The opening five for the year 2006.  Give a big hand to Roba Music Publishing, Murrah Music Corp, Andy’s Barn Music, Brothers Bounce Music, Spirit Music Group and EM TV.

Roba Music Publishing
ROBA Music Publishing has had its headquarters for more than 30 years in Hamburg.
"Music expresses what cannot be said and what makes it impossible to be silent about."  Rolf Baierle, Managing Director of ROBA has made his philosophy from these words by the French poet Victor Hugo.
ROBA owns the rights of original compositions by e.g.: DJ Bobo, Udo Lindenberg, Howard Carpendale, Hot Chocolate, Gottlieb Wendehals, the Flippers, Don Dokken…
ROBA owns or administers more than 100,000 copyrights of German and internationally renowned artists. In addition, the company-owned master catalogue enables the evaluation of further 25,000 sound carrier rights of well-known artists. Since its foundation ROBA has been honored with more than 60 gold records, some of which even reached platinum status.
http://www.roba.com

Murrah Music Corp.
Roger Murrah spent nearly twenty years as a successful staff writer for various music publishers in Nashville, before he decided to establish his own company in 1990. Murrah Music includes a catalog of songs from Phillip White, Mark Alan Springer, Neal Coty, Rachel Proctor, Joe Doyle, Kelly Shiver, Pat Terry, Jimmy Melton, Jamie Teachenor and JB Rudd.
The time spent forming the company did not slow down the outpouring of hit songs. Within two years of starting, Murrah’s new venture had achieved the prominence of Billboard Magazine’s Independent Publisher Of The Year. Hits in the catalogs of Murrah Music Corporation (BMI) and Murrah’s ASCAP affiliate, Castle Street Music, Incorporated, along with the artists who recorded them, include: two Academy of Country Music Song(s) of the Year, I’m Movin’ On (Rascal Flatts) and The Keeper Of The Stars (Tracy Byrd),and Grammy winning album JOIN THE BAND.
www.murrahmusic.com

Andy’s Barn Music
Andy's Barn Music is run by Kevin Feyen, original guitarist used by the Black Eyed Peas and the catalogue contains songs co-written with the Peas.

Brothers Bounce Music
Brothers Bounce Music is run by Brian Lapin, the original keyboardist used by the Black Eyed Peas and film/tv composer (part of the collective Transcenders which did music for the NBC program "Joey" and is just beginning work on a major feature).  Brothers Bounce catalogue includes songs co-written with the Black Eyed Peas.

Spirit Music Group
Spirit Music Group, based in New York, was formed in 1995 by Mark Fried who brought 15 years music business experience to the company.
The company is now one of  the fastest growing independent music publishers of the last decade, representing hundreds of hits and thousands of titles from the standards of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, Oak Ridge Boys and Dolly Parton, Roberta Flack, Burning Spear, A Taste of Honey , C&C Music Factory ,Ricky Martin, Go-Go's, Naked Eyes, Billy Squier, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Usher. Spirit Music's catalog reflects more than 500 charted hit songs.
www.spiritmusicgroup.com

EM TV
EM.TV Musikverlag GmbH was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of EM.TV & Merchandising AG, now known as EM.TV AG. Today the publishing house is part of EM.Entertainment GmbH, the company that is central to all activities in EM.TV's core business unit Entertainment.
EM.TV Musikverlag holds and markets all music rights owned by the EM.TV Group. The portfolio of music rights includes popular children's programs such as Sailor Moon and Rainbowfish as well as more recent co-productions such as Creepschool and sequels of Blinky Bill. To secure international marketing and rights control, EM.TV Musikverlag collaborates with a network of internationally established subpublishers.

A7 Music
A7 Music has existed as a UK based independent Publishing and Management Company for 3 years. The people behind A7 have worked in the industry for many years before that, building the careers of artists like Dido, Sasha and John Digweed, Carl Cox and Danny Howells.
A7 now represents a growing catalogue of all genres of music, from classical to heavy rock, from pop to chill out and all forms of dance music.
Among the companies key artists now ex -Shakespeare's Sister and hit maker Marcella Detroit, film music composer Sacha Puttnam, Radio 1 DJ and renowned producer Chris Coco and rock bands Headway ( Geffen Records) and McQueen.
As a 'boutique' publisher, A7 prides itself on its proactivity and the speed it can react to changes in musical trends as well as efficiency and creativity in meeting the demands of the musical requirements of the film, advertising, TV and gaming World.
www.a7music.com

The renowned French accordionist Richard Galliano has arrived in Israel for a one week tour. Accompanied by the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra Galliano had performed in Ashkelon, Kibbutz Givat Brenner, Tel Aviv, Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, Nahariya and Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh .

Richard Galliano is an incomparable accordionist and composer, who has both revolutionized the traditional music, associated with the accordion, and also legitimized that instrument in unconventional genres. He is a fine interpreter of the music of Astor Piazzolla, and has continued in Piazzolla’s tradition of modern tango. A Frenchman of Italian ancestry, Galliano is also a major figure in the movement that modernized musette, the turn-of-the century Parisian dance hall music that was France's answer to the tango .

“The French-born accordionist has almost single-handedly revolutionized the public's attitude to the seemingly wieldy instrument and what can be eked out of its numerous buttons and keys.” (Jerusalem post, Feb. 9, 2006 (

We represent this very talented musician via Dreyfus Music .

www.dreyfusrecords.com

Here are several clips of projects using our music (Publishing and library): five Israeli commercials, one Romanian commerical and two promos from YES TV for the Oscar Month.

Click on a picture to open the clip and the info in a pop up page. Enjoy.