by Flip Michaels
Welcome to the digital domain. Do you "surf the Net?" Was that a yes? If so, you'll find that your next hunt for the perfect production library no longer requires shuffling through mountains of sales-slimed cover letters, CDs, and cassettes!
<www.firstcom.com> Preview music with your IE or Netscape browser's tool called Shockwave. If you don't have it, FirstCom's page points you to the appropriate links. At firstcom.com (no, I didn't stutter) there's a vast music selection to audition. Just click and download to get a feel on any CD. Why wait for the demo when you're just a mouse away from making a decision?! Once you have found the desired sound you are looking for, e-mail the FirstCom crew and electronically order the demo CD. It's that easy.
<www.ogmmusic.com> Great sight for the impatient. If you are looking for quick-load-time audio samples, make sure you put this on your URL list. From contemporary and hi-tech to classical and archive, find out why OGM has been highly successful in today's production library market. All audio files are .RA (RealAudio).
<www.networkmusic.com> As always, Network Music has had an incredible laundry list of CDs available and some of the top picks are ready for your RealAudio sampling! What I really like about their page is the option of which audio sample to download based on your dial-up connection. For example, if you are on a 28.8 modem, double click on that one. ISDN-ers, they have one for you, too!
<tvmusic.com> Valentino's 84 CD collection is also on the Net. Here you'll find a list of distributors along with both music and sfx sampling (RealAudio).
<www.hollywoodedge.com/home.html> The Hollywood Edge is the peeeerfect stop for sfx searchers. Why? Here, you can download free sound effects. That's right! Plus, a demo sample, available in both mono and T1 stereo RealAudio bites. Great database, great site!
Other likeable links include Gefen Systems primarily for sound effects at <www.gefen.com>, ProMusic Inc. for a handful of library information at <www.promusic-inc.com>, along with TA&A, Toby Arnold & Associates <www.taamusic.com>, Sound Ideas <www.sound-ideas.com> and the Music Bakery at <www.musicbakery .com>. TM Century is currently on line at <www.tmci.com>. Aussies will want to type in <www.amcos.com.au/> to view a list of Australian libraries available.
New library sites are popping up all over the Net. As always, drop a line and let me know if you come across any future "likeable links."
YOU KNOW YOU'RE ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET WHEN...
* You kis* Your girlfriend's home page.
* Your bookmark takes fifteen minutes to scroll from top to bottom.
* Your eyeglasses have a web site burned into them.
* You refer to going to the bathroom as "downloading".
* You start introducing yourself as F-Michaels-at-media-next-dot-com.
* Your dog has his own web page.
* You can't tell your mother--she doesn't have a modem.
* You check your e-mail. It says "No New Messages." So, you check it again.
* You don't know the sex of some colleagues because they have neutral nicknames and you never bothered to ask.
* Your children are named Eudora, Mozilla and Dotcom.
* You laugh at people with 2400 baud modems.
* Your husband tell* You he has had the beard for the last two months.
* You wake up at three a.m., go to the bathroom--checking e-mail on the way back to bed.
* You move into a new home and decide to Netscape before you landscape.
* The last girl you dated was only a jpeg.
* Even your dreams are in HTML.
* You start tilting your head sideways to smile :) :D :=)
* Lastly, you preview music/sfx libraries only on the Net.
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