With capabilities ranging from composing and writing lyrics to recording and editing, Sound Images is a one-stop shop for music and sound. And with those capabilities, Sound Images has welcomed actors like Josh Hutcherson ("Bridge to Terabitia"), video game developers like EA Sports who create Madden NFL Football and singers like Sarah McLachlen.

Singers and bands on tour don't stop working on their albums on the road. Instead, they stop at Sound Images to make the music magic happen. The dynamic duo Gnarls Barkley used Sound Images to record a little but mostly to edit previously recorded tracks, says Jack Streitmarter, founder and president of Sound Images.

"What they really wanted was just the ambience of having a nice room to be creative. It's better than sitting in their hotel room all day," Streitmarter says.

While big-name celebrities do make their appearance in the Sound Images studios, the majority of their business revolves around fashioning images and products with sound. The composers, writers and other creative geniuses work with other companies to put sound to the products, whether those products are commercials, movie trailers or physical merchandise for sale.

The key to what the folks at Sound Images do is in targeting an emotion, Streitmarter says. That romantic comedy you love wouldn't bring you to tears so easily without the uplifting sounds added to the scene, and your kids, nieces or nephews wouldn't have quite as much fun if their TONKA Truck's motor didn't make any noise.

"You have to analyze what you're trying to do, what type of emotion you're trying to pull out of your consumer, and that listener has to get it. Usually music can do that," Streitmarter says. "We always say that music sells the sizzle, music sells the emotion of the product."

While music sells the emotion, emotion is what leads consumers to purchasing the product, so music literally plays a major role in sales and revenue. With this huge impact, having the perfect sound to match the product is essential, so much so that some Sound Images clients have spent a million dollars just to have writes to a song for a 15 to 30 second commercial.

For companies who don't have the big bucks to spend on well-known music, Sound Images can help in creating original songs and lyrics. "We use classical musicians. We use rock-and-rollers. We use hip-hop artists. We use whoever it takes, and it's up to us to find these people," Streitmarter says.

So when the big-name artists and the big-name companies haven't scheduled the studios out, Sound Images offers a "poor band" rate, which is an after-hours discount studio rate for unsigned musicians. "It's always fun to have some bands come in, and the advantage we have is we get to hear some really good singers that might just be getting a start, or really good players who are just getting a start, so it keeps our talent pool fresh," Streitmarter says.

For more information about Sound Images, check out SoundImages.com.

PHOTO CREDITS
Photo courtesy of Sound Images

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