Hi Guys,

Im looking for some music which has a gentle dreamy sound about it for a show. Have you any ideas?

Im Looking for songs or artists who have recorded music of this type.

Thanks,
TM

The Pure Moods CD Collection is usually a good source for this type of music. Or anything done by Enya.

TM,
Give me a few specifics and I can likely suggest a few artists to check out. First, are you looking for vocal or instrumental selections and then, what kind of instrumentation? ie...strings, keys, heavy, etc.

Thanks Guys,

UFO I'm looking for instrumental mainly but I don't mind some voice accompiament. I'd like some very light and dreay music and also I'm looking for anything which sounds very mysterious.

Thanks again for any ideas,
TM

Try Ray Lynch and "Pilgrimage". Andreas Wollenweider for modern harp music is also good.

Enya has a lot of stuff, but I would also check out anything by "Medieval Babes" or "The King Singers". These are both acapela (don't know the correct spelling) groups, but some of their stuff would fit incredibly well into a magic routine.

Also check ot Sheila Chandra. Much of her stuff is a very unusual cross between Celtic, East Indian, and Enya-like pop. Often, it's like Enya, but more mysterious.
Cheers from Toronto!

Don't forget almost every suggestion above is not Royalty Free domain. Be carefull!

Enya is allways a hit and you can also try with Vangelis (Reprise) or if you want some dark powerfull music go with Apocaliptica. Oh and Gregorian Chants...Misterious

Could "Buddha Bar" be that type of music, I know they sell it at all kinds of places?

Reality check! If caught using Copyrighted music without permission, You can be fined 200.000 and or Prision term. So how cool is Enya, and Vangelis now!
Please understand I'm just looking out for our Own.
Do what you like, just be warned!
Trust me theres lots of great Royalty free music out there for all our Magical moods.
Be safe my friends, and Seasons greeting to all!
:xmas:

Better yet, get some loop-based software (Fruity Loops is a GREAT exapmle) and create your own. With this new software, you don't have to be a music theory geek to create great background music. The other big advantage is that since you are creating the music to match your effect, YOU decide where it builds, pauses, etc. You have more control of how the songs starts, sounds, and most importantly, ends. I've gotten a lot of great compliments about the music I use for my show and it is all stuff I created with Fruity Loops. I've even written a couple of pieces for a magician friend who lives nearby. It's a lot more work, but the routine will be even MORE original, and much more YOU. It's worth the effort, and you never have to worry about looking like a copycat with the same show music as XYZ magician down the street.

I would definitely stay away from the Pure Moods CD. I love the music on it, but I know 4 magicians in my area alone (and I live in Wisconsin!) that use music from that series. If you don't think you can create the music yourself, use the Pure Moods music as a template and find some other stuff that is similar.

Magic Jonathan is right, thanks to Napster and Kazaa, copyright infringement is taken even more seriously than ever. If you are OK with stealing someone else's music, then be OK with the consequences if you get caught. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get permission to use music for a magic show, especially if you are not some national act doing television appearances. The problem is, few people ask, they just take.

Ask yourself this, would it bother you if all of the musicians whose music you "borrowed" were to borrow your act and make money off of it, never asking for your permission or giving you credit for the work you put into your show? I'm not blasting you for wanting to use prerecorded music; my guess is that over 90% of magicians getting paid to perform are doing it every day. I just feel that many of them just don't realize how hard it is to create music, and then get it noticed, and finally get it recorded and distributed. Asking myself this question made my mind up for me a long time ago.

Copyrighted material is still cheap to use legally. ASCAP will usually license you for $7.50 for the whole show when the paid audience is less than 4,500 or 5,500 people. I frankly don't remember the exact break for audience size. But ASCAP is on the net and easy to deal with. Normally, on commmercial gigs, the hotel, club, etc. is already licensed with BMI and or ASCAP. ASK!

You can also look for decals on the theater door to see if the facility already holds the licenses to these. Restaurants only pay about $180/year for the license. There is nothing wrong with seeing to it your fellow artists get paid their share for their work. Certainly you expect to be paid fairly for your work?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your responses. Firstly thanks for your information about using the music but my idea all along was to find the right music on CD, buy it then contact they people involved to ask for permission to use it. Those who would give me it I would use, those who won't then I can buy the right to use it perhaps using ASCAP or whatever. I am against people who infringe copyright and you can rest assured I will not.

Thanks again guys and Ill check out some of that music,

TM

If you have Music Choice where you live, check out the channel Soundscapes. It's all dreamy, new age music. It might be just what you are looking for. They list all of the artist information for every song. You can even purchase the music direct from their webiste at: http://www.musicchoice.com/

Good luck!

Bill White has a bunch of royalty - free stuff designed especially for magicians. I have several of his CD's and use them regularly. You should be able to find music for most any kind of mood you want here. I ordered mine off the net thru Earth's Largest Magic Shop

Bill White has some good stuff. I use his music too.

The following deals only with the United States of America.

Depending upon where it is you use the music, it may neither be illegal or required to obtain a license. The Copyright Law of the USA states that it is the responsibility of the owner or operator of an establishment to obtain (and pay for) the authorization for music to be performed on premeses.

BMI handles the licensing for my music. While everything in the law is eventually up to a court's definition, BMI licenses music for public performance. "Public performance", generally, means a event open to the general public or to which tickets are sold.

Generally, a private party or family gathering does not fall under the purview of "public performance." Mobile DJ services deal with this issue on a regular basis.

Performer contracts, naturally, can modify the liability.

BMI, ASCAP and SESAC have people available to discuss licensing issues with you. From my experience, they've always been very helpful:

http://www.bmi.com
http://www.ascap.com
http://www.sesac.com

Finally, it's always a good idea to consult an attorney.

John LeBlanc
Houston, TX

That's actually spelled "Vollenweider." If you spell it with a W you will never find it. Unless you are at a store that carries only a few CD's of this type.

Generally, any kind of New Age instrumentals should work. Some will be better than others, of course.

Regarding licensing, performances at schools are exempt from these restrictions. Just an FYI.

If you are performing at a night club, the management's licensing agreement should also cover your music.

"Caverna Magica" is going to remain my favorite by him. I haven't listened to that in many, many moons. Excellent stuff. http://www.vollenweider.com

John LeBlanc
Houston, TX