Sonic branding for news brands
Sonic branding for news brands gives a paper, site, or channel a sound its audience recognizes in the podcast, the video series, and breaking news. That sound often starts in the newsroom itself. Part of the rhythm in the video below comes from typewriters that The New York Times recorded in its own office.
- For
- Newspapers, news sites, publishers, and more
- News work
- The New York Times, with Studio Dumbar
- Where it plays
- Podcasts, video, broadcasts, and more
What your newsroom might need
Every format starts with a different intro
The podcast, the video series, and breaking news often each open with a different piece of music, and together they don't sound like one paper. A single theme with a version for each format changes that, and your audience starts to recognize you before anyone says the name.
Your newsroom already has a sound
For the 175th anniversary video of The New York Times, the paper's own typewriters, recorded in its New York office, run through the beat and also sound on their own. The brief asked for urgency without drama. Live drums push the fast cuts forward, and the music pulls back for the quiet moments in the story.
Your reporters and hosts do the talking
When people speak, the music has to leave them room. We keep the arrangement simple under a voice and mix it so every word stays clear.
You work with a design studio
The studio behind your brand can brief us directly, and we write to their images. The New York Times video at the top started from a concept by the paper's own team and Studio Dumbar, a Dutch design studio.
Not sure which format comes first
The theme can start in the format your audience hears most, often a daily podcast or a video series, and the others follow on the same melody. Send us your current intros and we'll suggest an order.
Another format altogether
Your newsroom may run a documentary, a live show, or a news app with its own alerts. For those we write scores, themes, and alert sounds.
More of our work
Work for and contributions to projects involving these brands.
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The New York Times All music and audio for the 175th anniversary video View case
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Janssen × Johnson & Johnson An electronic track with drive that makes room for the employees' stories View case
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Tommy Hilfiger Voice-over and music for an internal company video View case
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Addikt showreel One sound for a showreel full of different styles View case
How it works
Step 1
Send us your brief
Your formats, your current intros, and the studio behind your brand. Someone from our team gets back to you with a proposal.
Step 2
A few directions
You hear short demos in different styles and choose one, together with your design studio if you like.
Step 3
The theme and its versions
We write the theme in the direction you chose, with a version for every format that uses it.
Step 4
Ready for your producers
You get final files in every format you need, mixed to sit under a voice.
Questions about news sound
Who writes the theme music for a news brand?
Usually a composer or studio hired by the newsroom or its branding agency. Our composers write the theme, and someone from our team works with your designers from the first demo, as we did with Studio Dumbar on the video for The New York Times. Send us your brief.
What is a news music package?
A set of themes and short stings for the parts of a news show, like the opening, the headlines, and breaking news, all on one melody. A sting is a musical cue of a few seconds. We write the package for your brand and your formats. Send us the running order of your show.
What does breaking news music sound like?
Short and urgent, with a pulse that starts on the first beat, leaves room for the anchor's voice, and stops on cue. We write the breaking news version on your own theme. Ask us for a proposal.
What are some examples of sonic branding for news brands?
NBC's three chimes started on the radio around 1930, and in 1950 they became the first purely audible mark registered in the US. When CBS refreshed its brand in 2020, the new sound grew out of the announcer line "This is CBS," used on its radio and TV since the 1930s. Both turned something the network already had into its sound, which is where we'd start with yours.
What is the best sonic branding for media companies?
There's no single best one. It depends on where your audience hears you and what your brand already has. The New York Times video at the top shows one approach, music built on sounds from the paper's own office. Ask us what we'd do for yours.