Epic music

Epic music is a modern classical-like musical genre derived from a wide array of genres, primarily trailer music.

History

The first official trailer music companies, which later became epic music producers, were created in the 1990s, with Immediate Music being one of the first starting as early as 1993. From then until the 2010s, many albums and single tracks were created; however they were only available to the companies’ clients and the film industry. Until this day only few of these albums have been officially, or unofficially through Internet platforms, released to the public. It was around 2005-2010 some composers started to pick up public fame for the first time, thanks to their songs being featured at special events like the Olympic Games and the many trailers they composed for.^[1]

The genre was named 'epic music' by its community^[2] when composers finally started releasing public albums. The first company to release an album of epic music was Globus (Epicon), followed by Immediate Music with Trailerhead in 2008 and later in the same series with Nu Epiq.^[3][4][5] This and many requests from fans encouraged Two Steps from Hell to release their first public album Invincible in 2010, and things kept growing^[6] from there. These companies and composers showed that publicizing music, which was first vaguely referred to as trailer and film music, worked and that there was an audience for it.^[7][8] With more albums being released publicly,^[9][10] the community grew and has kept growing ever since, even reaching outer space.^[11]

Present day

Separating itself from the trailer music genre, epic music is a stand-alone genre which produces a lot of music that can be used in trailers (which then also makes it trailer music).^[12] Although people who enjoy epic music also tend to like trailer and film music due to the many similarities, the community distinguishes the three as separate genres. Epic music has also proven to be similar to neoclassical music.

Since epic music is a growing genre, many new composers have found a home in the genre over the past few years.^[13] But not only do composers profit from making songs; official promotion YouTube channels are a booming business,^[14] creating cinematics, mixes and promoting tracks. These channels are sometimes called EMCs^[15] (Epic Music Channels).

Categories

These are the most common styles used for epic music tracks, though a track can consist of multiple styles. These categories and names are more descriptive rather than distinct classifications.

Orchestral

The majority of epic music is orchestral, using either a real orchestra or samples. It often sounds similar to classical music, though shorter and with less emphasis on form. A notable orchestral track is Two Steps From Hell - Protectors of the Earth

Vocal

A track counts as vocal if there is at least one lead singer in it or if vocals form a majority of the track. Any track can be vocal, from emotional to horror. An example of a vocal track is Extreme Music - Bring Me Back To Life

World

World (sometimes called folklore) contains cultural or traditional music like Celtic, Nordic, or Asian. However, these styles more generally are distinct from epic. For example, Adrian von Ziegler is currently one of the most famous Celtic Music composers, but only few of his tracks are considered epic. Relatively unknown composers of these styles may find a niche in epic music, with pieces such as ones found in Epic Celtic Music Mix - Most Powerful & Beautiful Celtic Music | Vol.1

Hybrid/rock

Hybrid epic music is a cross-genre which is likely to sound like EDM or any other genre related to electro-type music, but they are usually specifically made to fit in the epic genre by implementing certain feelings/emotions. Rock is said to sound the most like classical music out of all modern genres, which is why it fits very well in Epic music.^[16] Due to both styles' powerful arrangements, hybrid and rock usually go hand in hand, like in this famous track: Les Friction - World On Fire

Epic composers

This is an incomplete list of epic composers. Several of these companies brand themselves as epic music producers - with mottos such as "The Home of Epic Music", "Where Epic Music Lives" etc.^[17]

See also

• Trailer Music
• Library/Production Music

References

External links

• Trailer Music News
• How to choose the right Epic Music for your film by Caleb Ward for PremiumBeat.