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Cuneiform Records Launches a Sister Company Devoted to Licensing Music on the Sonic Frontier!

An Existential Question: How does a 31-year old record label that specializes in avant-garde, non-mainstream music and has released over 400 albums of high-quality music to date, survive and thrive in the 21st century digital age, an era in which all music – whether popular or avant-garde – has been devalued, and in which record stores have disappeared? How does it enable the impressive music in its back catalogue to not only live anew, but also contribute to the future survival of both itself and the international composers and musicians who create that music? And how does it make the cutting-edge music it releases be financially sustainable as the century progresses, without compromising the stylistic integrity or “edginess” of that music?

A Visionary Answer: It re-imagines a radically new context, a parallel purpose, a fresh existence for the innovative music it also releases on albums. Cuneiform Records is proud to announce the creation of a new, sister company, called The Music Outpost, devoted to licensing cutting-edge music to various media including film/movies, dance, theatre, advertising, fashion, technology and more. The new company launches on August 17, 2015, when the website themusicoutpost.com goes live. Numerous licensing companies already exist, but all focus on mainstream music; licensing avant-garde music is not a priority for them. In contrast, The Music Outpost – “licensing music on the Sonic Frontier” – focuses on ‘outside’ music and aims to ultimately be the go-to place for creative media professionals to find music as adventurous as their projects. Its continually-expanding archive of music-available-for-licensing will not only feature music released by Cuneiform, but also music by other experimental, boundary-defying artists.

A selection from The Music Outpost’s music archive is currently displayed on its website. The music can be explored through listening samples or various search methods (moods, music genres, film genres, instruments, etc). Search instructions are posted on the website, and users are encouraged to email themselves a list of their “Favorites”. While only a modest sampling from Cuneiform’s catalogue is currently on display, you can inquire about licensing other music on Cuneiform while new music that can be “readily licensed” is being added to the site. The Music Outpost will continually be updated, with new albums and new artists being posted regularly, so frequent visitation is encouraged. The website includes a means to contact the Outpost for queries about licensing for a specific project; licensing fees vary for size, type and nature of project. Projects of all size – from student films to blockbuster studio projects and everything in-between – are welcome to contact The Music Outpost.

Cuneiform has long been internationally acclaimed for releasing genre-defying music, music that transforms and transcends traditional forms. Now, this innovative label has defied yet another boundary, to release music from its boundaries on turntables and iPods, and release it on dance and theatre stages, runways, and movie and other screens.

Based in greater Washington DC (Silver Spring, MD), Cuneiform Records was founded by Steve Feigenbaum in 1984 as a record label devoted to releasing innovative music from some of the best musicians in the international avant-garde. It is the sister company of Wayside Music, a webstore and distributor originally founded in 1980 as a mail-order company devoted to internationally selling and distributing music released on small labels from around the world. The Music Outpost is the newest addition to this musically-progressive family.

Prosthetic Records
(USA) / Agst 30, 2015