What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, the world of production music libraries was populated by a few major, general-interest collections that found a home on the shelf of every commercial post house in the country. The tracks were used in spots of all lengths, stingers, promos, trailers…every place that needed a quick hit. Esoteric, special-interest libraries existed, but not in mass-market form.

Then in the late '80s/early '90s came a flood of libraries, many of them catering to specific areas in the market. Production values increased, competition became intense and custom scoring became a value-added proposition. The inevitable shakeout came, and the top of the market was still occupied by the top players. Around 1997-98, the Internet brought the promise of online delivery in this brave new world of targeted music and production.

“Everybody was very excited about this great new revolution in technology,” says Ron Mendelsohn, co-owner/CEO of Megatrax, founded in 1990 specifically to target the on-air promo market. “It's been a much quieter revolution than anticipated, but it's been a revolution nonetheless.” Again, a number of libraries flooded the market, buoyed by the notion that the cost of entry was lower in cyberspace. But as they soon found out, the ability to deliver tangible, physical product still served as a solid business model.

So again, the shakeout came, and the major players remained the major players. Some were bought up by major conglomerates; others remained independent. Many new libraries have proven successful, and with even more options today than in the heyday of the early '90s. However, there's a reason the libraries presented in “Music & Sound Effects Libraries: Best of 2002” have withstood the ravages of time and competition: These companies have continually adapted to new music trends and increased production values while intently focusing on client service. With that in mind, we present this advertorial supplement and hope you find it useful.