First published by Acquisition International Magazine. Issue 7, 2023.

Melodie Music (Melodie) provides a simple, affordable, and sustainable music licensing model for content creators in need of high-quality, safely licensed music. We spoke with one of the firm’s founders, Evan Buist, as it celebrates the recent award win.

In today’s digital-centric world, the amount of video content being uploaded to creator platforms is mind-boggling. In fact, YouTube alone sees over 500 hours of footage added every single minute. While creating and sharing content on social media has become second nature to many, the risks of using unlicensed music in videos are often overlooked. Uploading such content can result in copyright claims, demonetization, takedowns, and potentially expensive legal battles.

Addressing these challenges is Melodie Music, an Australian company that provides a simple solution for content creators seeking to find and licence high-quality music for their projects. One of the greatest headaches for creators has always been the complexity surrounding music licensing. In the past, creators had to navigate a lengthy and intricate process to obtain the necessary rights to use music legally. This often involved multiple copyright owners, such as publishers and record labels, to clear various rights. It posed a daunting and costly obstacle, particularly for emerging creators on a limited budget.

Melodie was created to simplify this age-old problem by offering a convenient “one-stop shop” where creators can easily discover and licence music in any style. Its exclusive and meticulously curated catalogue of original music is accessible through an online search platform equipped with AI-powered “reverse audio” search tools, ‘find similar’ functionality, search exclusions, and more. This makes it effortless to locate the perfect track for any project.

Evan Buist, the Managing Director at Melodie, emphasises the company’s commitment to excellence, stating, “We understood from the very beginning that our success would be determined by the quality of our music. That’s why we work exclusively with an exceptionally talented team of independent artists, as well as award-winning film and television composers. Via our state-of-the-art search interface, we provide consistently high-quality music, ensuring content creators can easily find and licence outstanding tracks quickly.”

Melodie’s backstory is as exceptional as its offering. Founded by composers, musicians, and sound designers who possess a profound understanding of the crucial role music plays in storytelling, the company set out with a clear objective – to create an intuitive, user-friendly music licensing platform that caters to the needs of content creators, while supporting the growth of the music creators themselves.

Melodie’s dedication to fostering a sustainable and diverse community of award-winning music contributors is evidenced by their equitable distribution of revenues to composers, providing independent artists with the necessary tools and financial resources to advance their careers.

Evan passionately states, “We transformed a complex and restrictive music licensing model into something quite simple: providing content creators with easy access to amazing music, whilst supporting the artists who create it.”

With the recent launch of its US sync division under the leadership of industry veteran, Gary Helsinger in Los Angeles, Melodie continues to gain global recognition. Its music has already been featured in popular TV shows such as “The Amazing Race”, “Bondi Rescue”, “Armed & Dangerous”, “Real Housewives”, “Matt Wright’s Wild Territory”, “Lift the Ice”, “EVOLVE”, “Ninja Warrior”, and “Outback Car Hunters”.

Melodie’s music is now heard worldwide, with over two million minutes of music broadcast on free-to-air and VOD platforms in Australia alone. Furthermore, its tech-enabled music licensing solutions now encompass the creator economy, film and TV sync, and more recently, creative technology platforms with users creating content via online video editors, podcast creation, text to-speech, etc. Platforms like Breakout Clips, Creatopy, and Pictory all integrate directly via the Melodie API, which currently handles over two million search and download requests daily.

We are honoured to recognise Melodie Music as Best Music Platform 2023 – Australia, and anticipate that its rise to success has only just begun. Indeed, Melodie continues to demonstrate its commitment to independent music with its latest initiative – an investment of $25,000 per year in the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists for music licensing opportunities via the Melodie platform – to engage and support First Nations artists through the myriad of opportunities around music synchronisation and royalties, highlighting the diversity of Australian music and culture.

Melodie: Bringing music to your ears.