Extreme Music

What Extreme Music does

Extreme Music is a London-based production music company that creates and licenses music for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. The company operates a web-based platform through which registered media professionals search, preview, download, and license tracks using one-time fees that cover all versions and stems; pricing is project-dependent and varies by usage, with credit-card online purchase available in select countries and custom licensing handled through a global network of local offices. The platform organizes content into 30+ specialized sub-brand labels spanning cinematic score, contemporary pop, hip-hop, Latin, Americana, retro, and trailer music, with flagship offerings including the acquired KPM catalog (historic British production music from 1830), Death Row Pro (launched with Snoop Dogg in 2024), Space Tones, X-SERIES, Q-SERIES (produced by Quincy Jones), Moonshine, El Dorado, and Saint Rogue, among others.

The catalog is anchored by an A-list composer roster that includes Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, Atticus Ross, Snoop Dogg, Steve Lindsey, James S. Levine, and other Grammy/Emmy/Academy Award-winning talent, with ongoing album releases spanning genres from classical and orchestral score to hip-hop and Latin. Technology is centered on a digital asset management system that delivers professional-grade audio in 48k WAVs and 320 kbps MP3s, with discovery tools including a natural-language "Ask Me Anything" search, reference-track Similarity Search with BPM and vocal filters, Lyric Search with metadata drill-down, Playlist Tracking, a Cue Sheet Creator, and an EDL Upload Tool. Extreme Music Library Ltd. operates as a privately held entity with references to Sony Music Entertainment appearing in regulatory disclosures.

Revenue mechanics combine transactional one-time license fees (the dominant stream), free streaming presence on Spotify/iTunes for personal listening, and enterprise custom-licensing sales through local offices. The customer base is concentrated in music supervisors, commercial producers, and broadcast/media professionals, with documented flagship placements including BBC's 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast (scored by Hans Zimmer) and PBS's Primates documentary (scored by Denise Santos and Adam Lukas of Bleeding Fingers Music), both of which have won industry awards. Geographic reach is global with operational offices in the US, UK, France, and Canada, and known exclusions on the KPM catalog in the US, Canada, and France.

Name

Extreme Music

Legal name

Extreme Music Library Ltd.

Website

https://extrememusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Extreme Music is a London-based production music library licensing music from A-list composers such as Hans Zimmer and Quincy Jones for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. The platform serves media professionals and music supervisors worldwide through 30+ sub-brand labels and a digital self-serve plus local-office sales model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Production Music Licensing

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Sync Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms (MPAIALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Music/SFX Asset Libraries & Licensing Platforms (MPACABAM)

Keywords

• Production music
• Music licensing
• Sync licensing
• Library music
• Music catalog

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Music Licensing: One-time license fees for music tracks used in TV, film, advertising, and online media projects. License covers all versions and stems of a track. Pricing varies based on project type and use.
2. Digital Downloads: Registered media professionals can download tracks in 48k WAVs or 320 kbps MP3s. Downloads require a registered account with approved access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Extreme Music operates a web-based production music licensing platform that allows registered media professionals to search, preview, download, and license music tracks for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. The platform provides access to a deep catalog featuring A-list composers and iconic sub-brands/labels spanning genres from classical to hip-hop, with project-based one-time licensing that covers all versions and stems.

Product overview

Extreme Music is an A-List talent-driven production music company that creates and licenses music for television, film, advertising, and online media. The company operates a web-based platform through which media professionals search, preview, download, and license production music tracks. The portfolio spans over 30 specialized labels and sub-brands including KPM (acquired iconic British catalogue), Death Row Pro (Snoop Dogg partnership), Space Tones (celestial/epic score), X-SERIES (contemporary pop/EDM with 1,388 releases), Moonshine (Americana), El Dorado (Latin music), Q-SERIES (Quincy Jones-produced Black American music), Saint Rogue Records (emerging artists), Superpop (pop hooks), Directors Cuts (cinematic scores), Two Steps From Hell (epic orchestral), MADE (Midi Mafia hip hop), STEM (science/technology), and others covering genres from country and blues to world music and horror scores. Supporting platform features include MyTrax (playlist management), Fastrax (customer support), Similarity Search (upload-based discovery), Lyric Search, Playlist Tracking, Cue Sheet Creator, and EDL Upload Tool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Death Row Pro: The iconic Death Row sound for professional users - a label bringing the West Coast sound of Death Row Records to professional music users for sync licensing.
• SUPERPOP
• X-SERIES
• MADE
• A-TONE
• SPACE TONES
• Q-SERIES
• MOONSHINE
• EL DORADO
• SAINT ROGUE

Products and services

• Extreme Music Platform Web-based production music licensing platform enabling media professionals to search, preview, download, and license music tracks for use in television, film, advertising, and online media.
• KPM Iconic British production music catalog featuring celebrated TV themes from the 1960s-70s including Wimbledon, Mastermind, and Grange Hill, exclusively available on Extreme Music following acquisition.
• Death Row Pro Production music label bringing the iconic West Coast sound of Death Row Records to professional sync licensing users, launched in partnership with Snoop Dogg.
• Space Tones Celestial-inspired themes and underscores created by the multi-award-winning team behind The Planets, The Universe, Apollo: Missions to the Moon and 13 Minutes to the Moon, featuring 59 releases of space and science-themed score music.
• X-SERIES Front-of-house contemporary pop music label spanning EDM to rage metal, with 1,388 releases across sub-labels including HYPE, EPIC HOOKS, BEATHAU5, and TWISTED.
• El Dorado Latin music label ('La casa oro de musica latina') featuring 41 releases of cumbia, vallenato, mariachi, and traditional Latin styles.
• Q-SERIES Soul-filled Black American music anthology produced by Quincy Jones, with 6 releases covering gospel, blues, jazz, funk, R&B, and hip hop, executive produced by the 27x Grammy winner.
• Moonshine Heritage-heavy Americana music label featuring 46 releases of jazz, rock, country, folk, blues, and holiday music rooted in American traditions.
• Saint Rogue Records Rebel hit factory label featuring emerging artists produced in Los Angeles, with 38 releases spanning country, R&B, pop, and folk genres.
• MADE Radio-ready tracks produced by multi-Grammy-winning team behind 50 Cent, Frank Ocean and G-Unit, executive produced by the Midi Mafia.
• A-TONE Production music label created by the world's greatest studio musicians, curated by super-producer Steve Lindsey (behind Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Bruno Mars).
• Superpop Super-catchy, super-produced pop hooks label featured as a prominent label on the homepage.
• LAW & AUDIO Forensically-profiled, case-cracking crime scores created by James S. Levine.
• GORE & AUDIO Heart-stopping horror and darkness-themed music from James S. Levine.
• Reality Check Real-life scores for unscripted television and reality programming.
• STEM Music label created for those who explore, educate, and inspire, amplifying the wonder of science, technology, and knowledge.

Quantifiable outcome

• BBC's 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast won 2 Webby Awards for Best Original Music/Sound Design & People's Voice Award
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Death Row Records / Snoop DoggflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Death Row and Sony's Extreme Music joined forces to launch 'Death Row Pro' for sync licensing, bringing the iconic West Coast sound of Death Row Records to professional music users.
• KPM MusicflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023The iconic KPM catalog (historic British production music company founded in 1830, known for 60s/70s TV themes like Wimbledon, Mastermind, and Grandstand) is now exclusively available on Extreme Music (excluding US, Canada, and France). This merger combines two major production music catalogs.
• BBCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Partnership with BBC for the 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast, featuring music composed by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg. The podcast won 2 Webby Awards. Selected tracks available on Extreme Music.
• Bleeding Fingers MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSony-owned custom score production house providing premium scoring capabilities. Composers include Emmy winners and nominees working on major productions like BBC documentaries and feature films. Extreme Music hosts their catalog and distributes their compositions.
• Shashwat SachdevminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndian composer with exclusive album releases on Extreme Music, including 'Shades of Cashmere' and 'Euphoria'. Has won Indian National Award and Production Music Award for Best World Music.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Universal Production Music: Universal Production Music is the production-music arm of Universal Music Group, offering one of the world's largest catalogs of pre-cleared music for sync and broadcast use. Comparable as a major-label-backed broad incumbent serving the same TV/film/advertising buyers with an overlapping catalog-licensing model.
• Warner Chappell Production Music: Warner Chappell Production Music is the production-music division of Warner Music Group, providing pre-cleared music for film, TV, advertising, and gaming. Comparable as a major-label-backed broad incumbent in the same production-music licensing space.
• Sony Music Entertainment: Sony Music Entertainment is the major record label that owns Extreme Music (via Bleeding Fingers Music and UK Modern Slavery Act references) and supplies Extreme with distribution, marketing reach, and catalog access. Comparable as the parent/affiliate incumbent within which Extreme operates.

Direct peers

• Pond5: Pond5 is a royalty-free music and stock media marketplace serving video producers, agencies, and content creators. Comparable as a creative-asset marketplace licensing music to the same media-professional buyer with a similar searchable catalog and per-project licensing model.
• Epidemic Sound: Epidemic Sound is a subscription-based music licensing platform used by YouTubers, podcasters, and content creators for royalty-free commercial music. Comparable as a competing production-music licensing destination serving media professionals with a searchable, downloadable catalog.
• Musicbed: Musicbed is a curated production-music licensing marketplace serving film, TV, advertising, and wedding/brand filmmakers with indie and award-winning composer rosters. Directly comparable to Extreme Music's core sync-licensing marketplace model and target buyer (music supervisors and production companies).
• Artlist: Artlist is a subscription-based royalty-free music, SFX, and stock-footage licensing platform targeting video creators, agencies, and brands. Directly competes for the same media-professional buyer, especially in the online-video and advertising segments Extreme also targets.
• Audio Network: Audio Network is an independent production-music library offering original, broadcast-quality music for film, TV, advertising, and digital media across global territories. Directly comparable as a peer production-music licensing platform selling to media professionals.
• APM Music (Associated Production Music): APM Music is one of the largest independent production-music libraries with thousands of albums across genres, licensing for film, TV, advertising, and broadcast. Closely comparable as a long-tail, multi-label production-music library operating in the same sync-licensing vertical.
• Getty Images Music (iStock/Getty Music): Getty Images Music offers royalty-free and rights-managed music for licensing across advertising, film, and broadcast. Comparable as an established sync-licensing platform with searchable catalog and per-project licensing for the same media-professional buyer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/extremeallaccess
• Facebookfacebook.com/extrememusic
• Instagraminstagram.com/extrememusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/extreme-music

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Extreme Music