In The Groove Music

What In The Groove Music does

In The Groove Music (ITG) is a Minneapolis-based, privately held music composition, production, and licensing house founded in 1995 by Darren Drew and Brian Reidinger. The firm composes original scores and curates pre-existing tracks for advertising campaigns, television programming, feature films, and video games, generating revenue primarily through synchronization licensing fees paid by brands, agencies, and production companies. ITG differentiates on a boutique, "designer brand" service model and operates a proprietary-licensed catalog of more than 12,000 exclusive titles, of which approximately 95% include stems and alternate versions.

The company's core products are ITG Studios (original commissioned composition), the ITG Music Catalog (searchable online library for self-service and supervised licensing), Music Supervision Services, and Publishing Administration. ITG has no proprietary technology stack of its own; distribution, catalog hosting, licensing e-commerce, content ID, and AI-driven search are all delivered through the SourceAudio platform, supplemented by integrations with YouTube Content ID, Google Ads, HubSpot, PayPal, Braintree, and Google Analytics. The firm released a packaged inspirational album, "In These Times," in April 2020 to extend its catalog beyond project-specific commissions.

ITG's go-to-market is sales-led, with executive producers and music consultants running direct relationships with major brands and holding-company agencies (e.g., WMLYR, Wunderman Thompson, DDB, TAG Creative). Marquee clients include Disney, BMW/MINI, Honda, Maserati, Ram Trucks, American Express, Budweiser, Bacardi, Subaru, Lexus, Toyota, Target, United Healthcare, Chase, Hormel, Reebok, and major U.S. sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NWSL), plus engagements across food & beverage, beauty, and gaming. The company remains privately held by its founding partners, with no disclosed external funding, and operates with a small specialized team (11–50 employees).

Name

In The Groove Music

Legal name

In The Groove Music

Website

https://inthegroovemusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

In The Groove Music composes, produces, and licenses original music for advertising, television, film, and video game clients. Founded in 1995 in Minneapolis, the firm serves major brands including Disney, BMW, Honda, and Maserati via a 12,000+ track catalog.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sync Music Licensing and Production

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223), Sound Recording Studios (51224)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Sync Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms (MPAIALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sync Rights Representation (Pitching, Clearance, Negotiation) (MPAIABAF), Songwriting & Composition (Topliners, Co-writers, Camps) (MPAIABAA), Brand Partnerships & Music Placement Services (Non-Exclusive Brand Deals) (MPAIALAM)

Keywords

• Sync music licensing
• Original score composition
• Music supervision services
• Production music catalog
• Advertising music production

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Music Licensing for Advertising: Compose, produce, and license original music specifically created for advertising campaigns, brand content, television, and film. Revenue generated through synchronization licensing fees paid by brands, agencies, and production companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

In The Groove Music composes, produces, and licenses original music for advertising, television, film, and video game campaigns. The company operates a searchable library of over 12,000 exclusive titles available for synchronization licensing via the SourceAudio platform, and provides full-service music supervision, custom score composition, and publishing administration for brands, agencies, and production companies.

Product overview

In The Groove Music is a music composition, production, and licensing company with over 25 years of experience serving advertising, TV, film, and video game clients. The company operates primarily through ITG Studios for original music composition and ITG Music Catalog (powered by SourceAudio platform) for music licensing, offering music supervision services and publishing administration. The portfolio includes a catalog of over 12,000 exclusive music titles available for licensing, with original scores composed by staff composers and the In These Times inspirational album as a notable release.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ITG Studios Original music composition and production services for advertising, creating custom scores and tracks tailored to brand campaigns, television, and film projects.
• ITG Music Catalog Online searchable music library containing over 12,000 exclusive music titles available for synchronization licensing across TV, film, advertising, and video games. Includes stems and alternate versions for 95% of tracks.
• Music Supervision Services Music supervision and creative sync services to source, license, and clear appropriate music for media projects including commercials, TV shows, films, and video games.
• Publishing Administration Publishing administration services for managing music rights, PRO registrations, and royalty collection for catalog owners and composers.
• In These Times Album Inspirational music album featuring 21 original tracks composed during the COVID-19 lockdown, including piano, strings, and orchestral pieces available in :60/:30/:15 versions for media licensing.

Named customers32 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SourceAudiocoreTechnology or IntegrationSourceAudio provides the technology platform for In The Groove Music's online music catalog, licensing management, e-commerce, content ID, and music delivery systems. ITG uses SourceAudio's workspace for music hosting, searchable library, and client licensing transactions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Musicbed: Musicbed licenses curated, high-quality original music to filmmakers, brands, and agencies. It is a direct competitor in the boutique sync licensing and custom composition space with a similar brand-and-agency customer base.
• Artlist: Artlist is a subscription-based music licensing platform for video creators, brands, and agencies with a large original catalog. It overlaps directly with ITG on sync licensing for advertising and digital content, with a more productized, self-serve model.
• Epidemic Sound: Epidemic Sound offers subscription-based music licensing with a large original catalog for content creators, brands, and agencies. It competes with ITG on sync licensing for digital and brand content, scaled through a tech-led, self-serve platform.
• APM Music: APM Music is a major production music library licensing original and library tracks to film, TV, advertising, and gaming. It is a direct peer in production music sync licensing with a much larger catalog and global reach.
• Extreme Music: Extreme Music is a Sony-owned production music library offering original tracks for film, TV, and advertising sync. It is comparable to ITG in the sync licensing value chain with a similar target customer base in brands and production companies.
• Audiosocket: Audiosocket licenses custom and pre-cleared music for brands, agencies, and film/TV. It is comparable to ITG in offering both a curated catalog and custom composition services to enterprise brand clients.
• Jingle Punks: Jingle Punks produces and licenses custom music and sonic branding for advertising and media. It is a direct peer in custom composition and music branding for brand advertisers, overlapping with ITG Studios.
• De Wolfe Music: De Wolfe Music is a long-established production music library providing original tracks for film, TV, and advertising. It is comparable to ITG as a boutique production music and sync licensing house, though primarily UK-based.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Production Music: Universal Production Music is a major-label production music division with a vast global catalog. It overlaps with ITG's sync licensing business but at significantly greater scale and with broader geographic and rights coverage.
• Sony Music Publishing (Sync): Sony Music Publishing's sync division represents major songwriters and catalogs for film, TV, and advertising placements. It is comparable to ITG in sync rights representation but at a vastly larger scale, with major-label catalog rights.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/itgmusic
• Facebookfacebook.com/inthegroovemusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inthegroovemusic
• Instagraminstagram.com/inthegroovemusic/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 In The Groove Music