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Current TV Offers Music for Consumer Video

Providing filmmakers an unprecedented new tool in creating short-form content that connects with young audiences, Current TV has signed a multi-year agreement with APM Music, the largest and most diverse provider of music for use in film, television, radio, and new media productions.

APM and Current TV are two of the first companies to empower independent producers by giving them unfettered access to the largest music library in the industry. Current will pay for all associated costs, which include synch and master fees for use on Current’s broadcast network and website.

For the first time, Current’s video producers -- what the network calls its viewer created content (VC2) community -- will have access to over 200,000 professional recordings through a cobranded version of APM Music’s website, accessible through Current’s online studio.

Producers can score their own short-form video "pods" with music that may be easily downloaded and searched by a deep array of styles and categories, using proprietary music search functionality developed by APM Music in conjunction Los Angeles-based Globalist.net, which allows content creators to easily find and audition recordings based on guided and text-based descriptive queries.

"Throughout the history of media, there was a great 'sound barrier.' The best stuff was reserved for the media elite, and everyone else got what was left over. Today, APM and Current have torn down that barrier. It’s another step in our mission to democratize media," stated David Neuman, president of programming for Current TV.

However, there's still one more roadblock to overcome. The limitations of many amateur videographers are quickly reached when they have an idea for a topic that includes video footage that's beyond their practical capabilities -- such as video of a volcano erupting.

Stock video clips, from companies like Getty Images, are a potential source of quality video content. However, this type of quality content is typically only available for legal use when a license is purchased.

Therefore, the costs to acquire this content may be beyond the means of most young amateur video mixers and arrangers. IMHO, the creative evolution of user-generated media could be greatly accelerated if there was a legal solution to this problem.

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