APM Music

APM Music, formally Associated Production Music, LLC, is an American production-music and music-licensing company headquartered in Hollywood, California. It supplies professionally produced music for use in television, film, advertising, trailers, video games, sports programming, digital media, and other audiovisual formats. Its business differs from that of a conventional consumer-facing record label: APM primarily organizes and licenses music for production use, helping editors, producers, music supervisors, agencies, and broadcasters locate tracks that match a particular creative brief and clear the necessary rights for publication or broadcast. The company was established in 1983 as a joint venture involving Zomba/Jive Production Music and EMI Production Music. It was founded by Sam Trust, formerly associated with ATV. Through later corporate ownership changes, the interests connected to the venture became aligned with Universal Music Publishing Group and Sony Music Publishing. APM is therefore positioned between a specialized music-library operator and a rights-management service, combining access to extensive catalogs with professional curation and client guidance. APM’s catalog is described as containing more than one million tracks and includes recordings dating back to 1900, with music representing 192 countries. Its library portfolio includes established production-music names such as KPM Music, Bruton Music, Sonoton, Cezame, Selected Sound, Kosinus, AV Music Publishers, AXS Music, Cinemusic, Berry Music, Themes International, and Castle Music. The breadth of these catalogs allows the company to serve varied requirements, from orchestral scoring and period styles to contemporary genres, comedy cues, sports themes, trailer music, tension beds, and short-form production elements. The company’s music has appeared in a wide range of prominent screen and interactive media. Examples identified in reference material include the films Dumbo, Us, Green Book, and A Star Is Born; the television series SpongeBob SquarePants; and video games such as Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Skylanders: Imaginators, Saints Row IV, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. APM recordings have also been used as ringtones in Motorola phones. Well-known catalog examples include “Heavy Action,” associated with Monday Night Football, “The Big One,” used as the theme for The People’s Court, and “Sweet Victory,” featured in SpongeBob SquarePants. A central part of APM’s operating model is curation. Rather than merely making a large archive available, the company works with music directors and production specialists who guide clients toward suitable tracks and help translate editorial or commercial objectives into music selections. Much of the catalog is created or organized with specific market needs in mind, making it useful for productions working under deadlines and defined licensing constraints. APM also participates in specialized arrangements, including an NFL Films joint venture with the National Football League for music created for NFL-related media. The company’s principal positioning is therefore as a large-scale, professionally curated production-music resource for global media production.

APM Music originated in 1983 as Associated Production Music, a joint venture formed from the production-music operations associated with Zomba/Jive and EMI. Sam Trust, a former head of ATV, founded the venture. Its creation reflected the growing need for organized, licensable music resources that could be supplied to television, film, advertising, and other professional media producers without requiring each production to commission a complete original score. In its early business model, APM was primarily established to distribute third-party music libraries. Rather than operating mainly as a consumer record company, it brought together specialized catalogs and made them available for professional production use. This model depended on catalog administration, rights management, metadata, client service, and the ability to help production teams identify music suitable for specific editorial and commercial purposes. The corporate interests connected to APM later became associated with the music-publishing businesses now represented by Universal Music Publishing Group and Sony Music Publishing. Universal’s side includes catalogs such as Kosinus and Bruton, while Sony’s side includes KPM Music. APM consequently developed as a joint-venture platform bringing together extensive production-music resources from both sides of the publishing industry. Over time, the company expanded its library scope through a broad collection of catalogs and labels. The documented portfolio includes KPM Music, Bruton Music, Sonoton, the NFL Music Library, Cezame, Selected Sound, Kosinus, AV Music Publishers, AXS Music, Cinemusic, Berry Music, Themes International, and Castle Music. The catalog is described as containing more than one million tracks, including recordings dating to 1900 and music representing 192 countries. This breadth supports many different production requirements, including dramatic scoring, comedy, documentary, advertising, sports, trailers, broadcast branding, and interactive entertainment. APM’s role also evolved beyond passive distribution. Its core activity includes curation and guidance, with music directors and other specialists working with clients to select material for particular projects. Many tracks are created, acquired, or organized with a defined market need in mind. This makes the company a practical resource for producers and editors who need searchable music, rapid recommendations, and licensing support within the constraints of a production schedule. The use of APM music across recognizable entertainment properties illustrates the reach of its catalog. Listed examples include the films Dumbo, Us, Green Book, and A Star Is Born, as well as SpongeBob SquarePants and a range of major video games, including Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Skylanders: Imaginators, The Godfather II, Red Dead Revolver, Saints Row 2, Saints Row IV, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. APM music has also appeared in Motorola phone ringtones. Its catalog includes “Heavy Action,” associated with Monday Night Football, “The Big One,” associated with The People’s Court, and “Sweet Victory,” used in a SpongeBob SquarePants episode. The company has additionally participated in a joint venture between NFL Films and APM Music, through which music is composed for NFL-related media. This reflects APM’s ability to operate in specialized sports and broadcast environments as well as in general-purpose licensing. APM Music remains positioned as a major production-music supplier whose value rests on catalog scale, rights availability, professional curation, and service to media creators.

1. 1983APM Music is established

   Associated Production Music is formed as a joint venture involving Zomba/Jive Production Music and EMI Production Music, with Sam Trust identified as its founder.

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2. The venture becomes linked to Sony and Universal music-publishing interests

   Following later corporate ownership changes affecting the founding production-music businesses, APM becomes a joint venture between interests now held by Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group.

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3. APM builds a large international production-music catalog

   The company’s catalog grows to more than one million tracks, with recordings dating from 1900 and music representing 192 countries.

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4. NFL Films music joint venture

   NFL Films and APM Music establish a joint venture to create music for NFL-related media.

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A professionally curated production-music library and licensing partner for film, television, advertising, sports, games, and digital media.

• APM Music production-music catalogProduction music library

  APM’s principal offering is a large catalog of licensable music for professional media production. It covers film, television, advertising, trailers, sports programming, games, digital video, and other audiovisual uses. The catalog is organized to support search and curation, allowing production teams to find tracks by style, mood, instrumentation, period, genre, or intended use and then obtain the permissions required for their projects.

• KPM MusicProduction music library

  KPM Music is one of the established libraries represented within the APM portfolio. Its recordings contribute historical depth and stylistic breadth to the wider catalog, giving producers access to music suitable for screen, broadcast, advertising, and other licensed media applications.

• Bruton MusicProduction music library

  Bruton Music is a production-music library included in the APM network. It forms part of the catalog resources available to media professionals seeking pre-cleared or licensable music for editorial, commercial, broadcast, and audiovisual projects.

• NFL Music LibrarySports and broadcast music

  The NFL Music Library is connected to the NFL Films and APM Music joint venture. It provides music composed for NFL-related media and supports sports broadcasting, promotional content, highlight programming, and other football-related audiovisual productions.

• Music curation and licensing supportMusic rights service

  APM provides professional guidance alongside its catalog access. Music directors and specialists help clients identify tracks that fit a scene, campaign, program, trailer, game, or brand brief, while the company supports the licensing and rights-clearance process needed to use the selected music in production.

1. APM Music