Expansion Team
by Staff Writer
 Expansion Team breaks the mold of the traditional music house model by combining original music and sound design production, synch licensing, and a critically acclaimed record label into a single multi-platform music company. The Team is built around a growing roster of established recording artists, producers, songwriters and DJs, and their licensing division represent hundreds of well-known and breaking artists. Expansion Team has created music branding and commercials for Nike, jetBlue, Adidas, Motorola, Microsoft, American Express, and Pepsi. On the TV network side, the company has created full audio brands or re-brands for Showtime Next, Comedy Central (four years in a row), and Universal.
Brian Camp, a producer with The Martin Agency, says that partnering with companies such as Expansion Team requires that both sides are in sync. “A music company plays an integral part in the production process, especially with today’s evolving opportunities. When dealing with a music company I expect many levels of collaboration and thoughts. It is another opportunity for an outside creative mind to aid in the growth and evolution of a creative idea.”
Delivering as many possibilities to meet those evolving opportunities is part of the Expansion Team mantra. It’s that ethos that attracted Executive Producer April Jaffe to join the Team in 2006. “I love being able to offer unlimited creative possibilities to our clients, but it’s our high standards for creating authentic music with real artists that gives Expansion Team its edge.” The wide array of musical arenas the company is involved in not only fuel them to stay up on trends, but to create them as well.
For Guy Williams, SVP/EP at Deutsch, it is imperative to be partnered with a company that is at the top of their game. “I’m not a specialist when it comes to music, so that’s why I hire a music company, so that I can work with someone who is a specialist,” he says. “Someone who knows the trends, the sounds and has the skills to interpret and compose. I also expect a very high level of production detail. The most important thing is that they can provide something original and unique...something that makes me go ‘wow.’”
 Alex Moulton, Creative Founder of Expansion Team (who is also a recording artist and DJ), says his company thrives on clients like Williams, who share his belief in bringing authenticity to music for advertising. “We set out to raise the quality of music on television and give clients direct access to the best music. It was an organic growth from a small group of individuals into this large collective of artists who collaborate not only on scoring original music for advertising projects, but play on each other’s albums as well. When other musicians saw what we were doing, and how we were doing it, the floodgates opened and now we represent music from over 800 artists. At a certain point it felt completely natural to start our own label, Expansion Team Records. We were able to hand pick projects from recording artists who we really wanted to work with. And our clients love getting access to music before it’s been released.”
Music in advertising remains one of the most powerful ways to create emotion and build brand equity, yet sound design is also large part of telling a compelling story. Approaching sound design projects with an eye to blurring the areas between it and music, Expansion Team looks for the best way to enhance the narrative. “Our choices are very dependent on the unique task at hand, so there are never any rules,” says Moulton. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the company's stable of artists work across disciplines, bringing a music perspective to sound design, and a sound design aesthetic to music.
In what can often be a winding road to arriving at the right blend of audio elements for a project, Moulton offers some insight. “There are so many complex details that go into every production that by the time we get involved, we want to make sure the music-making process is fun and enjoyable. I love translating between non-musicians and musicians. It’s one of my favorite things in life because I get to learn about what moves people. Music is so powerful because even though it speaks to each of us in a different way, it’s the greatest cultural unifier we have. And when music is executed perfectly for a commercial, it can do so much more than simply communicate a brand message, it can create brand aficionados, which is always our ultimate goal.”
"Signs"
· American Express · Credit Card
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