A new outlet for Vermont musicians

BY TAYLOR ANTONIOLI Special to the Observer

Big Heavy World has launched a new initiative to help Vermont artists license their music.

The organization, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting Vermont-made music with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, has published an online platform at https://bigheavyworld.com/licensing. The website describes it as a place “where Vermont-made music can be purchased easily to use in media projects with the state’s artists benefiting directly.”

“Big Heavy World has operated as the state’s independent (nonprofit) music development office for 27 years, and this project is a natural expression of its mission,” said Big Heavy World

Tom Pearo

Big Heavy World

Executive Director James Lockridge.

Tom Pearo serves as music licensing director at Big Heavy World and is leading the project.

“If you’re advertising a Vermont product … wouldn’t it be appropriate to use Vermont music?,” he asked rhetorically. “But you don’t see a lot of that.”

To his knowledge, the new platform is the first and only way to search for Vermont-specific music, making it easier for those who want to use local music in their marketing. Pearo expects the new platform will facilitate artists and businesses working together.

Regarding pricing, Pearo said that Lockridge had initially asked him to go with the industry standard. But, according to Pearo, there isn’t one.

“A large part of these deals is usually negotiation,” he said. “Some projects cost $5,000, others as little as $50.”

He explained that this is why they settled on a specific price, making budgeting easier for those purchasing the music and a better deal for the artists producing it.

He said submissions would ideally be 3-5 minute tracks. Still, any length can be submit- ted. He’s accepted anything from 30 seconds to eight minutes. He suggested that artists re-mix old works or remove the vocals and focus on adapting the instrumental aspects, which work well for ads.

The site has about 40 artists with tracks posted, and Pearo said traffic to the site is increasing.

His proudest moment of the project so far has been reaching the first-year goal of 500 tracks, something he didn’t expect to hit this soon. He hopes to triple that number within the next year.

“I’m looking forward to being able to just help the music community get their music out there,” he said.