Spitfire Audio celebrates fifteen years of uniting pioneering artists with pioneering sounds and music technology

21 November 2023 - Press release

 

10 Million Exceptional Sounds Captured, 954 of the World’s Leading Musicians Recorded, 10,400 Hours of Studio Time, 1,155 Studio Days, 3,465 Sessions, across 60 Recording Studios, 9 Terabytes of Audio Data Released

 

Spitfire Audio, the world’s leading creator of sounds and sample libraries for music makers, celebrates fifteen years as sonic and music technology pioneers. The company has consistently pushed boundaries and set new standards in the industry, earning global recognition for its innovative and high-quality products used in countless award-winning film scores, video games, and music productions including works by Oscars, BAFTA, Emmy and GRAMMY® winners.

New CEO Olivier Robert-Murphy, an entrepreneurial leader, and media and entertainment expert, previously founded and led Universal Music Group and Brands (UMGB), an award-winning team of international music, content and partnership experts. Robert-Murphy, the founder of the high-definition format, Pure Audio, is now working closely with his Spitfire Audio team as they focus the company’s strategy on multiple new and boundary-breaking projects, diversifying product offerings and an immediate expansion of their international in-market presence with dedicated resources based in LATAM, France and India. 

Co-founded by two brilliant and creative minds, Spitfire Audio captured the top film composers’ imaginations with their first sample library, The Bespoke Orchestra Collection, released in 2008. Going on to partner closely with a diverse and eclectic set of renowned composers and artists from global icon Hans Zimmer, Iceland’s innovative artist composer Ólafur Arnalds, GRAMMY® Award winning choral composer Eric Whitacre, German/Turkish ethereal pop composer Alev Lenz, influential British producer Trevor Horn and Scotland’s ground-breaking percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie through to GRAMMY® Award winning artists including Queen's Roger Taylor, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, and Nine Inch Nails keyboardist and film composer Charlie Clouser. These partnerships, alongside collaborations with world-leading Abbey Road Studios, AIR Studios and the BBC Symphony Orchestra have cemented Spitfire Audio’s reputation as the best sample library in the world. 

The company’s own team of innovative creatives, led by Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, award-winning composer Paul Thomson, have meticulously recorded a vast library of instruments, performed by world-class musicians in iconic studios and in unique spaces. Its over 200 high-definition products released to date have inspired millions of new compositions and creative works. Utilising new technology innovated out of need by their in-house creatives, the thriving artist-led, artist centric company has developed a reputation as the hallmark of quality and authenticity in sound. 

An impressive sixteen new products were released year-to-date. 2024 holds a set of dynamic and as yet unannounced key releases, already captured by their expert team of engineers, producers and creatives, and adding further innovative new recordings to an ever-evolving product list. A record breaking fifteen years of recordings featuring over 10 million exceptional sounds, more than 954 of the world’s leading musicians recorded, in 3,465 sessions across 1,155 days and 10,400 hours of studio time at 60 recording studios around the globe. These groundbreaking 9 terabytes of recordings have created an unrivalled collection of virtual instruments. Spitfire Audio's impact on the wider music community cannot be underestimated.

Paul Thomson, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Spitfire Audio comments: “A project that started as a means for us to create incredible sounds for our own compositions, quickly grew to the global creative force it is today. I remain equally excited to capture new samples and to build significant new creative libraries, buoyed by the extraordinary contributions from our collaborators and partners, the evolving technology that our team designs and the brilliant feedback our global music maker community shares with us daily.”

Thomson adds: “Personally, I am continually inspired by how the next generation of musicians use our composer collaborators’ libraries on their own creative journey, amplifying the composers’ legacy by using their unique sounds in new works. It’s a romantic thought that we can enable this kind of virtual collaboration between the world’s most successful creatives of the present and an entire generation of music makers still to come.”

Since 2008, Spitfire Audio has been at the forefront of music composition and production, offering music makers the best innovative tools to craft beautiful, emotive, and cinematic soundscapes. 

Carlos Rafael Rivera, GRAMMY® and Emmy award-winning composer notes: "Many of the cues from The Queen's Gambit where Beth is playing chess on the ceiling had the fantastic brass and strings from the Kepler sample library. The final product ended up being a hybrid from the aforementioned libraries and the real orchestra recordings."

Setting the industry standard as the first sample library company to pay royalties, sees Spitfire Audio contributing to the global music ecosystem as every time a Spitfire Audio library is purchased, the musicians and partner organisations involved in the project receive a royalty.

Carly Paradis, BAFTA nominated composer says: "The Segla Textures from Albion Neo – it’s like they were made for Line of Duty. I’m pre-writing cues to script so easily with these! I love to corrupt and manipulate instruments for corrupt on-screen characters, and now there’s an entire manipulated orchestra at my fingertips.”

Determined to ensure all music makers have access to the best tools, multiple levels of entry are available for every step in a music maker's career. Ease of technical accessibility, differing user experiences and payment options play a role in drawing a new generation of users into Spitfire Audio’s diverse, inclusive and welcoming community. Supporting creative journeys, and inspiring the next generation of music makers remains central to the company ethos today. 

Olivier Robert-Murphy, CEO, Spitfire Audio added: “Leading a creative team who work at the very intersection of music and technology is inspirational and delivers the prospect of unlocking great opportunity. Our dual missions to contribute to the global music community by paying royalties to every musician and partner involved in the libraries we curate and to enable music makers to have access to the best sounds for composing, at every stage of their journey, remain at the core of the business while we expand our strategic aims. As does the focus on constant technological experimentation and partnerships, ensuring we are at the cutting-edge of music creation in a constantly evolving market.”

As Spitfire Audio marks this fifteen-year milestone, the company remains committed to inspiring and enabling musicians to create extraordinary music. With expansive plans for the future, including new product releases, innovative technological developments and a growing international in-market presence, Spitfire Audio is poised to continue its legacy as a hallmark of creativity and excellence for the next fifteen years and beyond.