• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 10, 2006

Pump Audio, a Hudson Valley, N.Y.-based company that licenses independent music for use in ads and TV shows, today will make its catalog of tracks available online in a self-service platform. Steve Ellis, founder and CEO of Pump Audio, said he expects to license the tracks to digital ad agencies as well as to consumers who want to incorporate music in their self-made videos.

The platform, MyPump Soundtrack, allows users to select from among Pump Audio's 65,000 tracks, and then meld the chosen track with a video clip before determining whether to purchase the rights to the song.

The service was initially built for Pump Audio's ad clients, including OgilvyOne--which has used tracks from Pump Audio's library in online ads for IBM--and Saatchi & Saatchi, Ellis said. That group in particular needed to be able to hear the music while also looking at images, he added.

But the feature also can be used by amateur video makers, particularly those who have want to upload and monetize their own footage but need to license background strains. "The MyPump tool is also there to service consumers--people working on very basic, less than a couple of minutes types of video that need music but, more important, need music that doesn't infringe copyright and has the ability to be monetized," Ellis said.

Tracks licensed by MyPump appeared in about 1,000 episodes of TV shows in the last year, as well as in ads and Internet-only shows. Last month, CBS struck a deal with Pump Audio to provide the music for two shows created for its broadband channel, Innertube--"Greek to Chic," and "BBQ Bill."

The platform allows users to choose tracks by genre, such as rock, jazz, blues, and the like, and then refine the selection by subcategories, like "alternative rock." Users can then further refine by traits such as "mood." The platform is designed for users to upload their video before selecting any tracks, so they can view the video clips while the music they consider is played in the background.

The company is offering tiered pricing, with basic licensing starting at no more than 99 cents per track for Web-based music hosted by Pump Audio. For professional uses, the fees increase to hundreds of dollars in exchange for CD-quality files.