Zomba tunes in to success
'Wood' good example of philosophy: offering filmmakers one-stop shopping, Portnow sez
In addition to providing acts, songs and songwriters from its various arms for both the disc and the MTV Films/Paramount Pictures production of "The Wood," Zomba subsids own the music publishing rights, performed music-editing duties, located music cues and worked on the score for the pic.
As it is unusual for so many divisions of one company to participate in a single project, "Wood" highlights Zomba's unique ability in the industry to offer many filmmaking assets and synergize them.
'One-stop shopping'
"We were able to contribute on a number of levels," Neil Portnow, senior veep of Zomba's film and TV music efforts, told Daily Variety. "And 'The Wood' is a good example of our philosophy of offering filmmakers one-stop shopping."
The album was released on Zomba subsid Jive Records and boasts 10 of the label's recording artists. Zomba's publishing arm owns all or part of 11 of the 18 tracks on the disc.
Along with finding acts for the album, publishing execs also tapped one of their star writers, Teddy Riley, to pen "Think About You," which was recorded by Interscope Records act Blackstreet and used over the film's end credits.
The end-credits position can offer the biggest payday for an act and music publisher.
The soundtrack bowed last week at No. 16 with a tally of more than 66,000 copies. It retreated slightly this week to just north of 59,000 units and dropped into the 19th slot.
'Crave' support
Other key music placements in the film and disc include Jive artist Marc Dorsey's single "Crave," which played during the pic's key wedding scene, providing wide exposure for the newcomer's music. Dorsey also performed the tune at the film's premiere party held on the Par lot.
But Zomba's reach extended beyond what the soundtrack disc and into significant post-production arenas, something that makes the company unique in the industry.
Zomba-owned Segue Music handled the music editing of the film for MTV, while sister outfit FirstCom Production Library located music cues, such as songs that emanate from a nearby radio or TV in the film. Zomba Screen Music, Zomba's film and TV composer management company, supplied client Camara Kambon to write music for several cues in the film.
The under-one-roof aspect of Zomba was of particular benefit to the filmmakers when the pic's release date was moved up a month.
"Filmmakers can pick and choose the services they want," said Portnow, who oversees Zomba's West Coast operation. "But the filmmakers of 'The Wood' particularly benefited by it all being under one roof when the release window shrunk and it all had to be pulled together quickly."
