- The Rareform Rundown: Music, Media & Sync
- Posts
- Trailer Music Contest + More on AI & The Power of Sound
Trailer Music Contest + More on AI & The Power of Sound
Nathan Fields
March 01, 2025
The Rareform Rundown #51
Hello Friends,
Nathan here—this went out 12 hours later than planned. I’m in a different time zone and accidentally scheduled it for the wrong time—hah!
This week, we’re launching the Black Sheep Music Trailer Contest, inviting composers to create bold, cinematic adventure tracks for a chance to be part of our catalog. We’re also diving into how a thousand musicians just released an album with no sound to highlight the growing AI dilemma. Finally, we explore how sound is half the storytelling experience, shaping emotion and immersion in ways visuals alone never could.
Let’s get to it!
New projects + music we are looking for
PROJECTS
Excited to share that our track "Faceless Man" by Isiah Kendall landed in this Wolf Man spot! Always great hearing our music in projects like this—huge thanks to our friends at Universal Pictures and everyone involved in making it happen.
We’ve had a few tracks placed in this campaign, though some spots are still elusive—we’re still tracking them down! Haha.
CONTEST TIME
Calling all trailer composers! We’re launching a big, epic adventure music contest and want to hear your most larger-than-life, cinematic cues. The winning track will be released on one of our forthcoming Black Sheep Music Trailer albums, becoming part of our catalog for sync opportunities and industry placements.
📅 Deadline: March 14th at 8:08 PM PST
🏆 Winners Announced: March 21st in this newsletter
Check out the brief for full details and where to submit to be considered! We can’t wait to hear what you create.
A thousand musicians just dropped an album with no sound. Not because they ran out of ideas, but because they’re making a point. Is This What We Want? is a response to proposed UK legislation that could let AI companies train on copyrighted music without asking permission. If that happens, the fear is simple: artists lose control of their own work.
Twelve silent tracks. Empty studios. No voices. That’s the message—if the law doesn’t protect artists, AI could end up replacing them. Some see it as an overreaction, others as a necessary statement. Either way, it raises a big question: Who actually owns creativity?
In filmmaking, there’s a simple truth that doesn’t get talked about enough—bad visuals can slide, but bad sound will ruin you. You’ve probably seen a movie with shaky camerawork or less-than-perfect CGI and still gotten lost in the story. But if the dialogue is muffled, the mix is off, or the sound design feels cheap, it pulls you right out.
Sound is what makes a scene feel real. It tells you where you are, what’s happening, and how you should feel about it. A quiet room with a distant hum sets a different tone than one filled with sharp echoes and heavy footsteps. A well-placed piece of music can completely shift the meaning of a moment.
Filmmakers who get this know that sound isn’t just there to support the visuals—it’s half the experience. The best ones treat it that way.
That’s it for this week!
-Nathan
Tools we use
Checkout Beehiiv, the service we use to power The Rareform Rundown
Vibe with us
Join my team's Spotify playlist to hear what we've been listening to!
Follow Me
 |