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THE DINER ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH FELT MUSIC

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Original article from: LBBonline.com

The Diner Announces New Partnership With Felt Music

Newly inked deal merges powerhouse US and UK production music catalogues giving the North American market exclusive access to Felt by way of The Diner

The Diner announces that London-based Felt Music has signed an exclusive partnership deal that will incorporate Felt into The Diner’s library for licence in North America. With a music library that houses over 700 albums consisting of nearly 11,000 original tracks, Felt is a rich and robust music collection in its own right. The coalition of Felt Music and The Diner powerfully combines two of the industry’s most cutting-edge music catalogues, creating one of the most diverse and potent sonic palates in the industry.

With this new merger, content creators from the advertising, film, TV and video game industries will now have greater access to an expansive and customisable music portfolio that spawns from the combined expertise of these two award-winning music teams.

“Felt Music is thrilled to announce its partnership with The Diner in the US,” said Felt co-founder and music director Natalie Dickens. She continued, “The careful curation and standard of music offered by The Diner team is superb. The music featured on their website aligns perfectly with Felt Music’s repertoire, mission, and values.”

“Like The Diner, Felt’s ethos is to serve not just as a music provider, but as creative partner,” said Diner president, Sydney Ferleger. “Their world-class creative team has committed themselves to innovation while staying acutely dialled into current trends in licensing and content production, and that is reflected in the relevance and success of their catalogue,” Sydney added.

Felt augments The Diner’s library with genres ranging from Indie Pop to Klezmer to Afrobeat just to scratch the surface. Creative director Christian Celaya added, “Lately, we’ve seen an increased demand for quality vocal and lyrical elements in advertising production. Felt’s library is well-known for having head-turning vocal content. This will be a tremendous asset to our clientele moving forward.” Building on the foundations of their sizable back catalogue, Felt’s tenacious production schedule will deliver multiple new albums to The Diner’s clientele monthly.

In addition to the music itself, The Diner and Felt’s music supervision teams will join forces and collaborate on client requests. “The Felt family comprises a diverse group of forward-thinking, multi-generational music enthusiasts and industry experts. Working in tandem with The Diner’s talented music supervision team, we are poised to provide clients with curated playlists that will exceed expectations in terms of quality and accuracy,” remarked creative licensing director, Charlie Cervone.

With the recent acquisition of the Felt Catalog, The Diner rises to over 60,000 thoughtfully curated songs, positioning itself as one of the leaders in the production music industry.  From SoHo to Soho, The Diner and Felt creative teams now work together to provide top-shelf, customisable music solutions to clients across North America.

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CREATIVITY SQUARED: Christian Celaya on Experimenting with All Possibilities

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Original article from: LBBonline.com

Creativity Squared: Christian Celaya on Experimenting with All Possibilities

The Diner Music creative director on constantly thinking of new ideas, thriving on collaboration and how the music industry is evolving at such a high rate

Christian has been in the music industry for 23 years; 10 as a signed and touring artist and 13 as a composer, producer, and music supervisor for the advertising, film, and TV industry. Of note, Celaya has composed, produced and licensed music for noteworthy brands such as Nike, Adidas, Chevy, Netflix and Hershey’s, TV shows including Shameless, Riverdale, Lucifer, Elementary and Silicon Valley, as well as several trailers. He has also produced and collaborated with artists such as Omar Rodriguez Lopez (At The Drive In, Mars Volta), Deantoni Parks (John Cale, Flying Lotus), and Le Butcherettes, to name a few.

Christian now serves as creative director for well-known US production music company, The Diner, where his leadership and vision provide clients access to a laundry list of well-established and sought-after creative talent, including William Ryan Key of Yellowcard, Benny Trokan of Spoon, and Travis Stever of Coheed & Cambria, to name a few. These artists, along with hundreds of others, help to create authentic music in all genres available to pre-cleared licensing for film, TV, video games and more.

Read our Q&A below to learn more about Sydney and her wealth of production experience!

Person

I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer in life and in art. Constantly thinking of new ideas and once I land on something, it’s difficult to shake my focus. And while that can be an individual process, I thrive on collaboration; open to experimenting with all possibilities and welcoming of any counterpoints. I’ve learned over the years that it’s helpful for someone in those partnerships to be the organised one and that’s usually me, given my personality. I love making lists, following a routine, and keeping track of the process and progress.

When it comes to creative stimuli, my taste and interests are diverse, which I feel has positively contributed to the work I do. Taking a “mixtape” approach and extracting elements from different genres, styles and techniques to build something new. This type of creativity is something I’ve learned over the past couple of decades as an artist and creative. While I associate my talent with starting out as an innate ability (the music gene runs deep in my family dating back over a century), I truly believe that can only get you so far and that education and/or training are just as important to developing innate talent.

Product

Creativity is a tricky and interesting thing. It is something that is completely subjective and is entirely evaluated on an individual scale. I consider a few different factors – the innovativeness, the authenticity, and the feeling it inspires.

I feel the criteria for judging art has shifted with the implementation of AI into music and design now that some artists are relying solely on that approach to create. Without investing the work to mould a creation into something that is unrecognisable from the source media, sheer laziness has begun to sprout up in the industry. It is something to be cognizant of.

When I self-reflect on the work I’ve done over the years, I judge myself on the factors outlined above. One noteworthy project that comes to mind due to the levels of authenticity and collaborative spirit is a longform spot the Diner (and our sister companies, The Music Playground and The Station) executed for the soda brand Starry. This ran during the 2023 NBA Finals and covered the history of the three-point shot. The concept covered different eras of basketball and therefore we needed to find the appropriate music for each time period depicted: the ‘70s, early ‘00s and modern day. Part of The Diner’s new creative initiative is to work with recognisable artists who are experts in their respective genres. This particular job included looping in powerhouse producer Yxsh (Aftermath, Cerebral Music) for the contemporary hip hop direction and Benny Trokan of the band Spoon for the ‘70s retro soul sound, among others. Not only was this opportunity a highlight given the clients and brands involved, but it was the perfect showcase of our initiatives in action.

As far as assessing the current level of output within this industry, I feel the field is over-saturated. Agencies, and edit and post houses have a plethora of options when it comes to sourcing music. The exciting part of that is it pushes us to innovate and elevate our production and creative process to standout in that crowd. The frustrating part of it is running into music companies setting a precedent for licensing below market rates, which devalues the music. This pushes us to emphasise authenticity and quality because in the end, you get what you pay for, and our clients, thankfully, trust us to provide that.

Process

When it comes to kicking off a campaign or creative project, it’s key to have a focused creative brief. Musical references and descriptive keywords really help us “see” the vision and allow us to deliver at a high level without any ambiguity.

In terms of staying tuned in, I’m always listening to radio and streaming charts as well as paying attention to what music is being used in ads, TV and trailers. The music industry is evolving at such a high rate that a specific sound may be fresh at the start of the year and dated by the end of it. It helps me to get a sense of what new music trends are on the horizon so that our team can get ahead of it, production-wise.

One of the things I enjoy about where I am currently is providing guidance to artists and composers who are new to the sync side of the industry. Because I’ve been in this industry for 14 years and have had so many great mentors, it’s important to me to support and encourage the knowledge transfer process. Writing songs for albums uses a different formula to write for ads and TV shows. I enjoy having conversations about these differences to support the next generation of sync artists. To this point, I’m a big proponent of sharing what I’ve learned with students and have lectured at various music schools, including BIMM Institute in Berlin.

Press

As far as my background, I grew up just outside NYC in Nyack, NY. It’s very similar to Woodstock in terms of the concentration of artists and creative spirit, with the convenience of being so close to the city. Growing up playing in bands in the ‘90s, this town had several music venues where kids could cut their teeth on stage. Of course, the goal was to be good enough to “play in the city.” Because NYC is so close, it was easy to commute to see concerts, art openings, observe fashion trends, and more.

When it comes to honing my craft, higher education was the first step. I graduated from SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music, which truly opened my mind to the history of music, versatility as a writer and performer, and forging strong creative partnerships. Both in class and outside of it, we were constantly analysing songwriting and production. Those skills were then used as an artist signed to both major and indie labels and touring the world for the next decade.

Upon transitioning into the advertising, film, and TV industries, I’ve operated in a variety of work environments. The most memorable ones fostered a culture of positivity and encouragement. I think that approach brings unity and empowerment to a team. People are more inclined to invest themselves in that environment. In those instances, the culture started at the top with upper management demonstrating their openness to new ideas and solutions. Even if they didn’t agree with an approach or idea, they were all open to that creative exchange. I think those qualities are key to getting the best out of a team.

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THE DINER ANNOUNCES BRAND REFRESH + NEW COLLABORATOR SERIES

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Original article from: LBBonline.com

The Diner Announces Brand Refresh and New Collaborator Series

Production music catalogue and industry veteran, The Diner, unveils a new sonic and aesthetic identity

NYC-based production music house, The Diner, announces a rebranding campaign that incorporates powerful new creative partnerships, new graphics, and a new website. As an established music library that has been the choice of the industry’s top creators and brands for over 16 years, The Diner’s rebrand reflects its commitment to innovate and inspire. Spearheading this reinvention is creative director, Christian Celaya.

“Our biggest initiative in the plethora of recent upgrades has been our new Collaborator Series,” says Christian. Christian was a touring musician and is a seasoned production music professional. “I’ve been tapping into my network of household name artists that I’ve toured with and performed alongside over the years. We are guiding well-known writers that are interested in spreading their wings, outside of their respective projects, into the music licensing and production music space.” “We are now working with artists who have earned their reputation by honing and perfecting their sound and craft. Leveraging each composer’s unique creative strengths and expertise into music that is curated with the content creator in mind has added an industry-redefining authenticity to The Diner’s catalogue,” adds creative licensing director Charlie Cervone.

Producing new music for The Diner’s ever-expanding library are names such as Benny Trokan from the world-renowned rock band Spoon, Travis Stever from Coheed and Cambria, and William Ryan Key from the newly reunited emo act Yellowcard – all of whom are currently selling out theatres and arenas across the nation.

“The beauty of our new collaborations is that our clients now have access to A-list talent without the astronomical licensing fees associated with popular music,” Charlie says. Christian adds, “The best part is that all of our collaborators’ music is customizable. We have splits and stems on hand and we are ready and able to sculpt these songs however our clients require.”

Refreshing the look and feel of the brand has been another key priority in the process of reinvention for The Diner. Moving towards a more modern aesthetic of sleek minimalism, their new colour palette features stainless steel set to black and white, allowing the music to shine through above all else. An updated logo in stainless steel rounds out the new look, staying true to The Diner’s name.

In addition, The Diner has a completely redesigned website, featuring more about the company by highlighting its employees, collaborators, and recent work. There’s also seamless access to its most recent albums and playlists without any extra clutter. Currently in development is a revamp on the back-end music search engine, allowing users a more intuitive way of navigating creative ideas without getting lost in a sea of subjective keywords.

“The Diner is better than ever,” says Christian. “We’re thrilled to be building on our longstanding reputation for production music excellence with our new ventures in creative partnerships, our updated look, and our redesigned user interface. Ultimately, it’s all about getting uniquely outstanding music solutions to our clients in a way that feels intuitive, easy, and fun.”

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THE SUPER BOWL ALREADY HAS A WINNER: E*TRADE

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Original article from: edition.cnn.com

New York (CNN Business)-The Super Bowl already has a winner: E-Trade.

The online broker, now owned by Morgan Stanley, is bringing back its famous talking baby for the February 13 big game.

A source close to the company confirmed that E-Trade will run a commercial during Super Bowl LVI on NBC and its streaming service Peacock that will feature the voice of comedian Pete Holmes as the chatty E-Trade baby.

NBC has said that virtually all the ads have sold out, with some 30-second spots costing a record $6.5 million. E-Trade would not confirm that the baby is making a return…or how much its ad will cost.

But the company posted a video for a commercial on YouTube, titled “The Search is On” that features two executives talking on what viewers assume is a speaker phone to a person that they are urging to come back.

The ad ends with the camera zooming in on a baby monitor, which briefly flickers, prompting one of the adults to ask if it’s past his bedtime.

The baby first appeared in an ad for the company during the Super Bowl in 2008. The cute baby, sitting in a high chair, touted how easy it is to invest online. (Holmes made his first appearance in an ad in 2010.)

“Click. I just bought a stock. You just saw me buy a stock. No big deal. I mean, you know. if I can do it. You can do it,” the baby says before spitting up milk in the original ad. (Some would argue that throwing up after buying a stock was an apt metaphor for 2008. The market plunged later that year.)

The baby starred in more ads for E-Trade, including some commercials with multiple baby friends buying stocks, until the spots were retired in 2014.

So why is Morgan Stanley (MS), which bought E-Trade for $13 billion in 2020, resurrecting the baby now? Will he be touting the virtues of cryptocurrencies and meme stocks?

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management chief marketing officer Andrea Zaretsky was coy. In a statement to CNN Business, Zaretsky said simply, “We’ve reached out to an old friend to help us” tell the story about the combined E-Trade/Morgan Stanley.

E-Trade ran a Super Bowl ad last year too, after several years away from the big game. The company also had a famous series of ads in the early 2000s (at the height of the dot-com bubble) featuring monkeys. E-Trade joked in those spots that it was wasting money on the ads.

E-Trade and Morgan Stanley said that the new commercial was created by agency MullenLowe. Tor Myhren, the creator of the original baby spots for marketing firm Grey, is now the vice president of marketing communications for Apple (AAPL).

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