FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are you members of a collecting society like GEMA, ASCAP, SUISA or similar ones?
No we are actually not. As we want to establish direct business with our customers and agencies we believe that for both sides it is more cost effective and easier to make the deals directly without registering the music at a collecting society. So the trailerhouses and their customers save money, time and nerves.

What is the basic idea behind Soundcritters?
We offer high quality royalty free music for Trailer, Teaser and Motion Picture Advertising. We have fair prices as we want to be a professional partner for you over a long time and want to keep up a good business relation. For commercial usage of our music we offer fair licenses and prices and for non-commercial usage all of our music is freely available! So get in touch with us...

Who are you guys
we are experienced producers from germany (Kai & Stefan Hartwig) with a professional background far over a decade, we have composed for a lot of computer games (since the C64 era), trailers, short films and other projects. At our other website we offer a wide variety of additional music direct for download and free for non-commercial usage. You can find us also at www.hartwigmedia.com

What License do I need for my commercial production?
We offer two different license types:

- Non-Commercial License: for all non-commercial purposes we do not charge anything - just download the mp3 version which is limited to 96kbit
- Commercial License: for all commercial purposes (including TV and Cinema) you have to license the music files. Therefore please head over to our sales platform: Mysoundmarket

Are there any additional or hidden license costs?
No there are not! As we are no members of a collecting rights society like GEMA, ASCAP, SUISA etc. there will be no additional license or other costs for you.

What is your customer focus?
We are heading for small and medium sized companies, agencies and trailerhouses that need good professional music for their works. Also we want to get in touch with semi-professionals that are about to start their careers. Therefore we offer our music also for the low budget.

Is your music royalty free?
Yes! All our music offered is free of rights of third parties and royalty free. We are no members of a collecting society like GEMA, ASCAP, SUISA and similar organisations.

What about territorial rights and time restrictions?
Also we keep it simple here: you can use the music without territorial boundaries. So you can use the music on a global scale for any commercial project. Also there are no time restrictions. You are allowed to use the music as long as you want.

Do you guys doing also exclusive contract work?
Yes we do. As we are professional composers from germany with over a decade of experience we have set many projects to sound over the years. If you are interested in exclusive compositions please get in touch with us via the contact form.

What is the music quality you offer for commercial projects?
Normally all music compositions are delivered in the following format: 44,1 khz, 24bit, WAV, Stereo.

What music styles you can do?
We are specialized in orchestral music in various moods especially epic and heroic tunes. This is our passion and this is what we do.

I need a proof for a collection rights society that the music I have purchased is really royalty and license free!
Therefore please contact us via email. We will send you immediately a signed document that all of our music is royalty free.
That service is of course totally free for you!

Is it also possible to get a hard copy of the tracks you offer digitally?
As we have setup our business as digital sales only please get in touch with us and we surely can find a way to create your hardcopy and send it the old fashioned way to you.

Do you guys create also new sample libraries?
No we do not! As there are so lot amazing sample libraries out there created by experienced peoples like Troels Folmann & Mike Peaslee, Nick Phoenix or Thomas Bergersen. We use different libraries (of course we tweak them a little bit) like EastWest Symphonic Orchestra, Stormdrums2, Symphonic Choir, some great libs from Tonehammer, also we have mixed the latest libraries with some older but still very good libraries like Garry Garritans Orchestral Strings.
So you see: there is no need to hide when using established libraries - it´s all about the composition

How does the purchase work?
To license our work for commercial projects please head over to Mysoundmarket

CUSTOMER STATEMENTS
Here you can read some picked customer statements and what they think about our works:
"This is as good as X ray dog, immediate music, audiomachine or two steps from hell, it's a shame it's not known better" GregTom (Youtube)

"It's been a real pleasure to work with Kai at the new music score restyling for "The Hunt". The previous score was good, but it wasn't what I really wished for the movie and Kai just added the touch to make the music really special and evocative.
I love the main theme, which is stirring and powerful, it has been a great emotion hearing that for the first time at the opening of the movie and at the closing titles. I 'm looking forward to work again with him to my latest work in progress project "Code Guardian". Thanks for your great contribution Kai, keep up the excellent work!"
Marco Spitoni - Senior Art Director (Italy)

"They got it right the first time! I can't say enough great things about Hartwigmusic and the people behind the name, professional, quality music done in a fast and courteous way all in the while getting exactly the mood you requested for your productions, there's nothing more I would ask for"
Tito A. Belgrave - CEO Eye Candy Studios (Canada)

"I knew I wanted professional quality music but I didn't know where to go. I'm very fortunate to have found Kai, because not only can he take the smallest idea and give it a life you couldn't imagine, he's proven to be fast and extremely reliable. I couldn't imagine anyone else doing my music now."
Rashad Redic - Producer Explosive Creativity Works (USA)

'I found myself in a tight corner after my animation was selected for inclusion on a short animations dvd, and I couldn't get permission to use the commercial music I had on the original soundtrack. I approached Hartwigmusic very late in the day and their response was phenomenal! They were able to create a stunning score which really captured the mood of the piece and more importantly enhanced the story, all within a very tight timeframe.I am already planning my next short film and will have no hesitation in hire them again. Thank you guys!'
Matthew Morris - Artist (United Kingdom)

Community Voices:
from Maikel:
"Kai creates scores of a quality and detail you can only find in Media Ventures works. Especially the song "Honour" blown me away. The emotions of the scores are allways good! They are sad, and then, at once they turn into majestic! And THAT realy is recognizable for Zimmer/Badelt/Media Ventures. He has his own style too, and I think combining your own style with Zimmer, is one of the best things you can do."

from Gundam07th
"If you are into game-making and require a moving, majestic theme for a serious adventure, look no further than these compilations by Kai Hartwig. Stirring and mesmerizing. If you are at all familiar with the "World of Warcraft" soundtrack, then you will know exactly what I am talking about. Support artists of quality like this one so that they'll be able to continue in this amazing artform."

from Alvarion:
"The songs are very professional. Lovely compositions and great sound design. This is one of the best soundtrack-composers on this site."