Library Music: The Most Sampled Genre Nobody Talks About

Why library music sounds different

Library records were made with generous budgets but no commercial pressure. A composer working for KPM in 1972 was writing music that would be licensed for use in a BBC documentary — not music that needed to chart. This freedom produced some of the most sonically unusual recordings of the era: large orchestras playing unusual instrumentation, experimental electronic elements combined with live performers, unusual time signatures, extended instrumental passages with no vocals to clear.

The production quality is also exceptional. These sessions were recorded in the same London studios as major label releases — Trident, Olympic, AIR — with the same session musicians and engineers. The difference is that library records were never marketed, never reviewed, and distributed in tiny quantities to a small list of broadcasters. The obscurity is entirely circumstantial, not a reflection of quality.

The key labels

• —KPM Music (UK) — the most famous and most sampled library label. The 1000 series from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s is deeply embedded in hip hop and electronic production history. KPM sessions feature top London session musicians playing arranged scores for every conceivable category.
• —Sonoton (Germany) — the German equivalent of KPM, with similarly high production values and a specific warm, analogue sound from German studios.
• —DeWolfe (UK) — one of the oldest music libraries, producing recordings from the 1930s onward. Later material from the 1960s–1970s is particularly valued.
• —Chappell (UK) — used by the BBC extensively, particularly for drama and documentary scoring.
• —CAM and Cinevox (Italy) — Italian film and library labels that recorded the work of Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, and dozens of other Italian composers. The Italian soundtrack style of the 1970s is a major sample source in its own right.

Library music in hip hop and electronic production

The producers most associated with library music sampling are in the trip hop and abstract hip hop tradition: DJ Shadow built Endtroducing... almost entirely from sampled records including library music. Portishead's cinematic aesthetic draws heavily on film and library recordings. The Mo' Wax label's entire aesthetic was rooted in library and spy score records from the 1960s–1970s.

More recently, lo-fi and jazz-adjacent hip hop producers have discovered library music as an alternative to the well-worn jazz catalog. A mid-1970s KPM record with a good piano arrangement has a warmth and production quality comparable to Blue Note without the recognition factor.

How to find library music records

Library records were never sold in shops — they went directly to broadcasters. Finding them requires dedicated searching. Discogs has the most comprehensive catalog of library releases: filter by genre "Stage & Screen" and style "Soundtrack" to access the full library music and film score section. CrateDrop's Library Music dig page is pre-filtered to the 1960–1985 window where the most valuable material sits.