Music Outpost

Licensing Music on The Sonic Frontier

...Cuneiform...revel in blurring the lines between different musical genres, not getting caught up in dogmatic views of music, but merely releasing music determined on merit.  –  jazzandblues.blogspot

...an absolutely unexpected gem from the delightful Cuneiform label-which between showcasing some of the world's brightest and most adept contemporary composers and spotlighting older...works by unsung masters, is...the most adventurous record company out there...  –  Yahoo! Music

...this company has...artists who aren't timid about swimming against the tide.  –  Sounds

The wondrous Cuneiform label does the business again...This is glorious, joyous, fierce music...  –  BBC

Where do you go...to hear innovative, adventurous music? Cuneiform...has long been...supplying...music that satisfies even the most discriminate underground tastes.  –  Surreal [Detroit]

...one of the most consistently exceptional is the Cuneiform label...music that reaches beyond the standard progressive rock stylings into the truly inventive completely original forms....  –  Exposé

...no two artists sound the same, yet most sound radically different than anything you've likely heard before.  –  Exposé

Cuneiform Records has a long history of releasing genre-destroying artworks from some of the most icconoclastic musicians on the planet.... one of the most challenging and rewarding catalogs of music ever assembled.  –  Stereophile

Kudos to Cuneiform Records for yet again releasing some of the finest progressive music of the year!  –  Music Street Journal

Cuneiform releases...always "push the envelope" and thrill my international audience with the joys of where jazz is going!  –  Russ Davis, Voice of America/MOJA Radio

...eclectic avant-garde music that spans jazz, rock, and classical… support Cuneiform because we need labels that allow for this kind of music.  –  Burnside Writers Collective

...great music outside of the norm. Cuneiform is one of the few labels which has consistently interesting and adventurous music which is also really good.  –  Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition

Thank you and Cuneiform for helping music stay fresh and important.  –  Trevor Stottlemyer, Ambassador Radio

"You may notice some labels making recurrent...appearances on this [Top Records] list... These labels have become successful, forward thinking purveyors of boundary stretching music, so it is not surprising they are attracting the best of the best. Cuneiform has a long history in this field..."  –  Guitar Moderne, Top Records of 2014

You gotta hand it to the people at Cuneiform, when it comes to tracking down innovative music they take second place to no one.  –  Progressive Ears

Welcome to The Music Outpost

The Music Outpost: Licensing Music on the Sonic Frontier provides access to music that is readily available for licensing for use in various audiovisual media, including motion pictures, television, videogames, dance or theatrical productions, and much more. Our archive is ideally suited for filmmakers and media professionals who are looking to license music that is as original and as visionary as their own projects.

Our archive features unique, adventurous, strikingly original, and high-quality music of various genres and styles, created by some of the most gifted, cutting-edge, composers and musicians in the world. The distinctive music found on The Music Outpost is not available on any other music licensing site. We are continually discovering new music and artists. We promise you ongoing musical adventures, new songs that surprise and entice.

Licensing music on the sonic frontier, The Music Outpost offers a fresh alternative to the tunes overused in too many soundtracks. We invite you to explore our site, and we promise you'll find a world of breathtaking music to set your productions apart.

Legal Notice: All materials contained in this website are property of Cuneiform Records and its content providers, and are protected by United States and international copyright laws. The content on this website is provided only for informational purposes, and no rights are granted or implied for unauthorized uses without prior consent. Read Terms of Service. Instructions on how to license content from Cuneiform Records can be found under "Licensing."

How to use The Music Outpost »

Recent News

The Music Outpost Adds a Music Promotion Division, Expanding Beyond to its Music Licensing Services - Thu 20 Sept. 2018

The Music Outpost is expanding. On September 1, 2018, it launched a new department – Music Outpost Promotion – run separately from its Music Outpost Licensing services.  Music Outpost Promotion provides an array of services to artists and record labels, including album, concert & festival promotion to national and worldwide press and radio; assistance with social media, and more. Formed by Cuneiform Records' former Promo staff when the streamlined label shaved off that department, Music Outpost Promotion has extensive experience in new and traditional media, and broad expertise at promoting a wide range of cutting edge music by well established and emerging artists, including jazz, rock, electronic and classical/new music and especially, various hybrids and experimental/avant garde variants. For more info, contact Joyce at The Music Outpost.com.

Music Outpost to Expand Throughout 2018 - Thu 4 Jan. 2018

2018 promises to be a special year for The Music Outpost.  Keep your eyes on our site in the months to come for new music, new content -- and new activities. Onward!

Cooking up New Music during Summer 2016! - Tue 21 June 2016

Summer's begun, and so have prepartions for a cascade of new music available for licensing on The Music Outpost.  Stay tuned for the late-summer debut of steamy tracks by Sao Paulo Underground, Raoul Bjorkenheim's Ecstasy, & more!

 

New Music by French electronic musician Richard Pinhas added to Our Library - Mon 30 Nov. 2015

Announcing the addition of songs by French musician Richard Pinhas to our library. Pinhas founded the legendary group Heldon, and famous for fusing various genres to create fresh new music. Pinhas's work is often Sci-fi inspired, with a wide range of sounds.

The Music Outpost is also pleased to announce the addition of music by Swiss minimalists Sonar to our library.  

Welcome to The Music Outpost! - Mon 17 Aug. 2015

We're thrilled to announce that The Music Outpost is now open!  We hope that you'll enjoy acquainting yourself with our website and exploring our music. We'll be continually adding new music and new artists over the coming months, so stop by often. To receive notices about new additions to our music archive, please sign up to our newsletter, at http://eepurl.com/bv-ggr

Regarding content, in the coming months we're concentrating on bringing the Cuneiform catalogue into our archive.  Following that, we're adding non-Cuneiform material by Cuneiform artists. The Music Outpost will then open its doors to music by other artists and labels. To be informed of when we're ready to bring in other music, please sign up for our newsletter.

If you hear a sample of music that you'd like to license, please see our Licensing page http://themusicoutpost.com/pages/licensing/

For general, or press queries about The Music Outpost, please email us at info@themusicoutpost.com

We'd love to hear your feedback about our website: http://themusicoutpost.com/feedback/

Thank you for visiting with us!  We hope that you will find music that you love, the perfect music for you to license, and that you will visit us often in the months and years to come.

The Music Outpost to Officially Launch on Aug. 17, 2015! - Mon 10 Aug. 2015

Mark your calendars, something special arrives on the media scene on Monday, August 17, 2015: The Music Outpost will officially launch!  Finally, on August 17th, a new resource will exist to expedite your quests to find & license interesting and edgy new music!  Bookmark our site (www.themusicoutpost.com), and follow us on Twitter ( @themusicoutpost ) and Instagram; we're here to help, to provide the perfect music for your visionary projects and cinematic dreams.

We're getting ready to launch! - Mon 27 July 2015

Cuneiform Records is thrilled to announce that The Music Outpost will be officially launching at the end of this summer! The best and rarest avant garde and jazz music being produced today will soon be available for licensing. New artists and sound samples are being added all the time, so check back here often.

Kandinsky Effect Additions - Wed 18 March 2015

We've added more tracks from The Kandinsky Effect's killer new album Synesthesia. Listen to the sound samples here.

Artist Update: Mother Mallard, David Borden - Thu 9 Oct. 2014

There are two new additions to the site this week! Check out Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Symphony for complex, dreamy soundscapes. Mother Mallard's composer, David Borden, also has new pieces from his solo album up on his Artist page.

New on The Music Outpost: Present (Belgium; Roger Trigaux, ldr) & The Claudia Quintet (US; John Hollenbeck, ldr) - Wed 19 Feb. 2014

The Music Outpost has been steadily adding new sound excerpts to its archives. New artists added to the Music Outpost archives include the Belgian Chamber Rock/post-classical ensemble, Present, led by composer Roger Trigaux, and the American ensemble The Claudia Quintet, led by composer John Hollenbeck.

 

New artists added: Ergo; The Kandinsky Effect; Curtis Hasselbring; Dylan Ryan/Sand - Tue 20 Aug. 2013

The Music Outpost has recently added to its archive, music by several new artists, including: Ergo; Curtis Hasselbring; The Kandinsky Effect, and Dylan Ryan/Sand. Check out these new sounds; there's music for every taste, whether classical or jazz, ambient or rock....

Numerous new artists added: Ahleuchatistas, Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores, & many more! - Thu 20 Dec. 2012

Over last autumn, we added numerous artists and a broad variety of new music to The Music Outpost. We invite you to explore The Ahleuchatistas' hypnotic guitar/percussion instrumentals, encompassing minimalism, jazz and experimental rock; the catchy melodies, haunting vocals, and visionary Americana/ avant rock of Alec K. Redfearn & the Eysores, which often feature accordion; Steve Moore's expansive electronic soundscapes, rooted in vintage '70s equipment; Jason Robinson's jazz instrumentals, and Thinking Plague's intricate, vocal-entwined avant rock compositions.  Additional music coming soon...

New Music on Music Outpost: Lars Hollmer; Pixel; Positive Catastrophe! - Sun 23 Sept. 2012

We've added numerous new artists & new music to The Music Outpost:  entrancing avant folk music infused with energy and emotion by Swedish accordionist/composer Lars Hollmer, whose instrumental "Boeves Psalm" is a Scandinavian classic; upbeat jazz infused with the rhythms of pop by the Norwegian group Pixel; and jazz infused by Latin rhythms by NYC's own Positive Catastrophe. And more music is to come, from all over the world!

 

New music on The Music Outpost: Janel & Anthony! - Fri 10 Aug. 2012

We've just included 13 new, gorgeous tracks by the American cello/guitar/electronics duo, Janel & Anthony.

Guitarist Richard Leo Johnson's joins The Music Outpost! - Fri 29 June 2012

The Music Outpost now features the works of American guitarist Richard Leo Johnson. We've recently uploaded to our library many of his solo works as well as ones with his Richard Leo Johnson Trio (w/ violinist Ricardo Ochoa and synth/keyboardist Andrew Ripley), and are currently in the process of adding more. If you love the acoustic guitar music of John Fahey, Steve Tibbetts, Ralph Towner, Bill Frisell and other master players, then Richard Leo Johnson should hold a seat in your acoustic guitarist pantheon. All Music Guide calls Johnson's music "a wonderfully hushed and delicate univers that manages fo be beautiful, eerie, ominous, soothing and startling by turns"; his exensive collection of breathtakingly gorgeous, atmospheric instrumental work features something for filmmakers and other media professionals of all stripes.

Revolutionary Snake Ensemble now on Music Outpost site! - Fri 18 May 2012

We've uploaded numerous upbeat tunes by the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble to the Music Outpost.  Think finger-snapping, street-strutting urban jazz swirling through the moonlit streets of New Orleans - or New York... The funky, danceable "Slots" evokes casino halls bedecked with red velvet, crystal and gold...   In addition, a couple of traditional spirituals, including a breath-taking, heart-wrenchingly beautiful vocal of "Down by the Riverside". Bio text & written descriptions of tracks will follow..

Richard Leo Johnson's Estancia(Stay) Movie - Fri 4 May 2012

Guitarist & photographer Richard Leo Johnson is now also a movie director.  Using music and visuals and avoiding dialogue, his poetic film, Estancia(Stay) [not to be confused with the migrant worker documentary LaEstancia], weaves a gorgeous, nostalgic story of change and loss in the Mexican village of San Cristano. Johnson directed the movie and created the music soundtrack; it was filmed by Johnson with Skip Terpstra and Russ Powell. See www.estanciathefilm.com for more information.

Stay tuned for more music by Richard Leo Johnson on the Music Outpost site.

FEEDBACK FORM for Music Outpost Beta Site - Thu 8 Sept. 2011

We ask all of our Beta Site testers to please fill out the BETA FEEDBACK form, after looking at our site. The button to access the form is next to the other Menu buttons, at the top of the site. Thank you!

The Music Outpost Beta Site Welcomes Testers! - Wed 31 Aug. 2011

A momentous day: The Music Outpost Beta Site was uploaded to the net, and is now active and ready for feedback from testers. We welcome you, our testers, and ask you to set aside time to explore our site. Once you're done, please fill out the Feedback Form and press the button to Submit. We greatly appreciate your time, help, and thoughtful comments; your expertise will help us to create a service that will be an asset to media professionals like yourselves.

The Music Outpost is trademarked. - Wed 6 July 2011

The Music Outpost registered for official trademark today. Changes were also made to text on the site.

Phase 1 Construction of The Music Outpost near Completion! - Fri 10 June 2011

We're making the final changes on the first phase of construction (Beta v.o.1) of The Music Outpost site. Once those changes are finished, we'll add more than 5 hours of new music to our archive from another brilliantly talented musician – the American guitarist Richard Leo Johnson! Visit us again soon, to see the results!

Random Samples from our Archive

  • Alec K Redfearn And The Eyesores - "Wings of the Magpie (Excerpt #1)"

    If the insistent, repetitive grooves of techno were interpreted by an Eastern European folk ...

    Play Sample More info
  • The Claudia Quintet - "Keramag Prelude (Excerpt #1)"

    A brief drum solo from bandleader John Hollenbeck

    Play Sample More info
  • Present - "Quatre-vingt Douze (Excerpt #1)"

    A long piece which alternates, after a quiet ominous beginning, between astringent lyricism from ...

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  • Richard Leo Johnson & Gregg Bendian - "Where the Rivers Meet (Excerpt #1)"

    [Tempo: Mid-tempo]

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  • The Claudia Quintet - ""Ideal" Intro (Excerpt #1)"

    An ethereal, haunting interlude for solo piano.

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  • Revolutionary Snake Ensemble - "Give Me Jesus (Excerpt #1)"

    A brass band gives an old-school New Orleans street parade treatment to a traditional ...

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  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - "The Transformation of Oz (Excerpt #1)"

    A dissonant riff on piano introduces a playful marching rhythm, which evolves into a ...

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  • David Borden/Mother Mallard - "Part 4 (Excerpt #2)"

    A three-part piece with an opening slow-paced, thoughtful minimalist section, then a dignified but ...

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  • Richard Leo Johnson - "Eaten by Wolves at Midnight (Excerpt #1)"

    Subtle-but-insistent knocking and trickling tones of dischord add up to the kind of anxiety-soaked ...

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  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - "Excavation No. 32 [Beat of the Mesozoic] (Excerpt #1)"

    Stately, baroque classical theme played by piano and synths, which midway dramatically switches mood ...

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  • Afuche - "Muscovy (Excerpt #1)"

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  • Ahleuchatistas - "Wisps (Excerpt #1)"

    The guitar’s scrappy, percussive tones collide with polyrhythmic percussion, creating a swirling maelstrom of ...

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  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - "Slo-Boy [live; Between Fires] (Excerpt #1)"

    Dreamy, minimalist drone piece for piano and synth keyboard with a simple, poignant melody

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  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - "Ptoccata II (Excerpt #1)"

    Opens with a mellow soprano saxophone and synth dreamscape, which then alternates and blends ...

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  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - "Pleasure Island (Excerpt #1)"

    Ominous, moody, synth and electric guitar drones and minor-key piano chords introduce a slow, ...

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  • Djam Karet - "At The Mountains of Madness (Excerpt #2)"

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  • Jason Robinson - "Corduroy (Excerpt #1)"

    [Tempo: Mid-tempo]

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  • Djam Karet - "Reflections from the Firepool (Excerpt #1)"

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