The 85 dB’s became an official business entity on Feb. 27th 2008 when it acquired an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS and joined the performance rights organization BMI, but it has been producing music for licensing since 2005. The production outfit includes several musicians and producers who serve on a “Work for Hire” contractual basis. The 85dB’s are known locally as a premier production house, and it has developed a solid following of new music listeners across the globe, without the aid of traditional music distribution outlets or major advertising budgets.

The audio production partnership with the talent in the Iowa City area is considered an important part of the company’s success and will remain it's most treasured asset.

The main source of income for the company is through music licensing. However, when it was originally founded, its strategy was to keep everything “self-contained” and sell music in compact disks packages. To diversify its catalog of music, the 85 dB’s submitted various instrumental compositions to music publishers. The results of the strategy shift netted positive gains and increased demand for instrumental music tracks needed by publishing services. Several music publishing agencies now actively shop or “pitch” our instrumental music to television music supervisors, then license the right to use the song and collect fees for usage.

We are a company who records music, copyrights the recordings, and then gives permission to music publishing agencies to license our music.

We are not a record company

Record company priorities & purpose A record company basically does the following to sell music: Fund recording sessions Manufacture the cds Distribute the cds to music stores and wholesalers Market the music product Loan and advance money for expenses (tours, videos, and equipment) Advise and guide artists on the career and recordings Handle the accounting and legal aspects

This was a system that evolved over the past century, a few things changed the rules of the game. We like to call it "guerrilla music warfare tactics."

Differences between companies that make music Recording costs have declined to almost zero: Artists no longer need to rent professional studio space and pay an engineer to make quality sounding music. Excellent sounding music can be made on the same laptop you use to check email.(combined with the proper software and tools added after purchase) The 85 dB's have the necessary tools and audio engineering knowledge to produce high quality music for pennies on the dollar. No need to lean on a record label for a lump sum advance to cover recording costs. Manufacturing and distribution costs are approaching zero: The company is not concentrating on manufacturing, marketing, and then trying to sell printed and packaged cds. Also, the 85 dB's are not a live performance group, so there is no need to tour, promote, and work on a different set of skills to please a critical audience. This is a company whose primary focus is grabbing the attention of, and working with music publishing agencies. Stakes are high, only the best sounding, quality delivered music, cuts through the mediocre. Submitting quality produced music takes time. A single track might take 40+ hours worth of mixing and post-production to elevate it up to the high audio standards required by the entertainment industry. Our company has matched the requirements and will continue to excel beyond what is necessary. Email Us: We always deliver the goods and our prices fit any budget

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