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wanted Looking for a score (for indie film) that sounds like...

Hello everyone,
we are dreaming of having “Twist in my Sobriety – Tanita Tikaram” in our indie fiction film as a score. But we know we can’t never afford it. So we are thinking about taking something similar to it. A song that gives the same vibe. We don’t want any cover versions or royalty free music. Do you know where we can find something similar to this song – a style alike? Or do you know any newcomer/indie bands they sound like her?

 
There are quite a few sites for indie bands/artists. Just start searching. You can find a "sound-alike" or even approach an artist to write something for you.

I have acted as music supervisor on a few of my sound editing/design projects and most are quite happy to have their music featured in video projects.
 
we are dreaming of having “Twist in my Sobriety – Tanita Tikaram” in our indie fiction film as a score. But we know we can’t never afford it.
Have you tried? So if this is the "score" of the film are you talking about a music video here? Basically a short film set to the song? Or do you mean something else?
 
Have you tried? So if this is the "score" of the film are you talking about a music video here? Basically a short film set to the song? Or do you mean something else?
I mean as a soundtrack i various scenes as a background music. I am aware of writing a synopsis and clarify the usage etc. And i know that the licensing would be too expensive. So we thought, we'd rather spare us the time and effort and look for something we can afford.
 
So does sobriety need to be in the song? Or do you like the mood? Pacing? Voice?
 
Moby has some free songs to use, there's definitely a couple with the same tempo here.
 
thank you! I'll check it out.
Moby has some free songs to use, there's definitely a couple with the same tempo here.
 
I suggest you also prowl (nicely!) YouTube and look for videos from indie artists. One of my co-producers on my 2nd feature did the majority of the work on our soundtrack, and she found some amazing stuff. By reaching out to the artists, we were able to get permission to use some great songs for free, in exchange (of course) for credit & thanks. And yes we got signed releases from everyone.
 
I'm kind of surprised that you immediately discount RF music. It's not the same market that it used to be. Ten years ago you couldn't find a decent song like this on a RF site. These days, I think it's a lot harder to earn money as a musician, and it was never easy. That has driven a lot of higher quality bands to RF sites. If you go to the big sites and search for a while, you can likely find extended rights for something suitable for around $100, or alternately, as suggested above, just hire a band to play you a song. You will definitely find one that will. I had written those sites off myself, but recently I went back and gave them another shot, and was shocked to find radio worthy bands practically giving music away on RF sites this year.
 
I suggest you also prowl (nicely!) YouTube and look for videos from indie artists. One of my co-producers on my 2nd feature did the majority of the work on our soundtrack, and she found some amazing stuff. By reaching out to the artists, we were able to get permission to use some great songs for free, in exchange (of course) for credit & thanks. And yes we got signed releases from everyone.
That sounds really good. Thank you!
 
I'm kind of surprised that you immediately discount RF music. It's not the same market that it used to be. Ten years ago you couldn't find a decent song like this on a RF site. These days, I think it's a lot harder to earn money as a musician, and it was never easy. That has driven a lot of higher quality bands to RF sites. If you go to the big sites and search for a while, you can likely find extended rights for something suitable for around $100, or alternately, as suggested above, just hire a band to play you a song. You will definitely find one that will. I had written those sites off myself, but recently I went back and gave them another shot, and was shocked to find radio worthy bands practically giving music away on RF sites this year.
with royalty free there is always this risk, that the good ones are used everywhere. And you are right, there are now plenty of tools and platforms with royalty free music but it somehow really feels like a labyrinth and you are never sure, if they are really royalty free. Do you have any specific platform in mind, you had great experience with?
 
There are several good ones, Artbeats, Epidemic Sound, and some others. You can find a top 10 list pretty easily. The key is to allocate real time and dig deep into their libraries. Use the search functions. Most have a way to browse for free, or at a very reasonable rate. I understand about how labyrinthine they can be. Basically if you want to find that special song that no one else is using, you need to put in more work than most people do. I've been putting together a library in this way, and I usually dedicate about 4 hours per session to it. In an average 4 hour period I'll listen to around 150 songs, or brief sections of them, run a dozen search keywords, end up with maybe 50 candidates. I download them all, then put them into playlists and listen to them while I work on the footage. Over time the ones that really work stand out. At the end of the process, I'd say I get 1 or 2 songs a day that I can use in a finished product.

TLDR, if you pick the stuff off of the front page, you will get generic songs that you will hear elsewhere. If you spend 4 hours finding a song, 99% of people won't bother digging that deep, and you can have something mostly unique to your project.

An average site may have 20k songs on it, I'd say that most users are skimming the top 300 songs and picking one.
 
There are several good ones, Artbeats, Epidemic Sound, and some others. You can find a top 10 list pretty easily. The key is to allocate real time and dig deep into their libraries. Use the search functions. Most have a way to browse for free, or at a very reasonable rate. I understand about how labyrinthine they can be. Basically if you want to find that special song that no one else is using, you need to put in more work than most people do. I've been putting together a library in this way, and I usually dedicate about 4 hours per session to it. In an average 4 hour period I'll listen to around 150 songs, or brief sections of them, run a dozen search keywords, end up with maybe 50 candidates. I download them all, then put them into playlists and listen to them while I work on the footage. Over time the ones that really work stand out. At the end of the process, I'd say I get 1 or 2 songs a day that I can use in a finished product.

TLDR, if you pick the stuff off of the front page, you will get generic songs that you will hear elsewhere. If you spend 4 hours finding a song, 99% of people won't bother digging that deep, and you can have something mostly unique to your project.

An average site may have 20k songs on it, I'd say that most users are skimming the top 300 songs and picking one.
Thanks for sharing your way so detailed how you look for the songs. I appreciate it very much. It is so interesting to see how people work differently. I will definitely try to dig deep in these sites and hopefully find something i am looking for. I think it's the best way to look in every possible way (youtube, royalty free sides etc.) even if it means that will take ages. Thank you again.
 
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Thanks for sharing your way so detailed how you look for the songs. I appreciate it very much. It is so interesting to see how people work differently. I will definitely try to dig deep in these sites and hopefully find something i am looking for. I think it's the best way to look in every possible way (youtube, royalty free sides etc.) even if it means that will take ages. Thank you again.
Hi, I can try writing some music for you. Contact me at fly2sbn@gmail.com
 
Hello everyone,
we are dreaming of having “Twist in my Sobriety – Tanita Tikaram” in our indie fiction film as a score. But we know we can’t never afford it. So we are thinking about taking something similar to it. A song that gives the same vibe. We don’t want any cover versions or royalty free music. Do you know where we can find something similar to this song – a style alike? Or do you know any newcomer/indie bands they sound like her?

hey do you want instrumentals (rock, rock ballads?) I played some instrumental melodies and can gift them. They are inspired by 80s-90s (the Tanita Tikaram time, specifically bands like Def Leppard) and if you are interested, I'll give the Youtube link, there are three of music videos.
 
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hey do you want instrumentals (rock, rock ballads?) I played some instrumental melodies and can gift them. They are inspired by 80s-90s (the Tanita Tikaram time, specifically bands like Def Leppard) and if you are interested, I'll give the Youtube link, there are three of music videos.
Hey thanks for the offer. We already decided to work with a local band. :) But i really appreciate your offer. Can i check some of your works somewhere online?
 
Hi @sfrost82,

Glad you found who can help you in writing your music, also while i am listening to your posted song, the spirit and feelings this song summons, have inspired me into writing the following lines, hope you find them inspiring :)

"
Behind the hills, under the highest mountains
They taught me how they survived, their way of living
Although they have confidence of the captains
some just died ,without knowing, the earth is spinning
"

Best of luck :)

 
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