Independent artist licensing and management company DA Music — producers and curators of an international, clearance-free music library — is now offering the Quintessential Hits catalog, an exclusive collection of rerecorded, remixed and remastered tracks by the original hitmakers.
The collection features Rod Stewart with his saxophonist, Katja Rieckermann, and TMTQ on a version of the hit “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” Some other artists in the collection are three-time Grammy-winner Jimmy Haslip, the producer/performer of the Yellowjackets, and blues guitarist and Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Wright. The Quintessential Hits catalog is among DA Music’s 4,000 tracks available for placement in creative projects.
“I wanted to fulfill a much-needed gap [in the music licensing arena]. Every conceivable content creator and music supervisor I spoke with desired a better placement experience,” says Deborah Alexander, who founded DA Music in 2015 under the name DAMM. “Curating music from record labels or larger licensing groups often comes with premium pricing and several layers of red tape, which ultimately eats up time and budgets. Quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality, and no one wants to sift through endless tracks without someone who understands their specific needs. And more importantly, they don’t want to experience clearance obstacles in post, which commonly happens.”
DA Music serves all content creators and end users that need original or remastered music for their projects — not just filmmakers, music supervisors and commercial art directors, but streaming services, global advertisers, digital events, gaming, public attractions and more.
The company offers a tailored music-placement process, with the goal of delivering clearance-free tracks quickly. With 12 house composers and an in-house music supervisor who sits on the board of the UK and EU’s Guild of Music Supervisors, DA Music has the expertise and talent to meet requests for any type of music — from Greek songs to chorale arrangements. What the company doesn’t already have, it will create.
As a CBS preferred vendor, DA Music had recurring placements on the television show Madam Secretary until the series ended in December 2019. Songs from DA Music’s library have also been heard in films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, which included the Vanilla Fudge version of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” a track that was rerecorded, remastered and remixed for the soundtrack.
Among the artists in DA Music’s library are Grammy and award-winning artists the Rolling Stones; Earth, Wind & Fire and Jimmy Buffet, along with David Cassidy and a deep well of budding artists. DA Music is collaborating with Chicago’s drummer, Danny Seraphine, on several tracks and is in discussions with other prominent artists.
Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice works very closely with Alexander and had a hand in about nine songs in the Quintessential Hits catalog, including “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”
“What distinguishes DA Music from other independent groups are the relationships we’ve formed and the trust we’ve earned, which are vital when surrounded by well-known artists and those waiting to be discovered,” Alexander says. “As a woman-owned company, a culture of inclusion was important to complement the needs of everyone from beginning to end – and artists enjoy the benefits of a globally diverse audience. Moreover, we offer a comprehensive and equitable licensing structure, so artists are assured their originality will never be compromised and their music will receive the proper credits.”