FUNDAMENTAL MUSIC
BUSINESS
Music Licensing
SCOPE OF WORK
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Brand identity & visual positioning
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Website design & motion integration
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Email marketing strategy & campaign design
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Holiday card concept, photography & print
Fundamental Music wanted a website with edge. Buttoned-up industry professionals they were not. But they also couldn’t veer so far into avant-garde territory that it alienated their top-tier entertainment studio clients.
They provided a series of grainy black-and-white film photos as a starting point, and I leaned into the texture—amplifying the grit while maintaining polish.
Beyond the website, Fundamental Music needed a monthly email campaign to generate new licensing business, along with an annual holiday piece that felt anything but generic.
Their CEO, a ’90s kid who toured as a guitarist for the grunge band The Nymphs, shaped the creative direction. Influences ranged from Seattle grunge to old-school hip hop—with a strict “no Lunchables” rule.
Voice
Edgy
Raw
Real
AaBbCc
1234 #$!
AaBbCc
1234 #$!
Typography
Color
Photography
LOGO
Fundamental Music was my first freelance client. I surprised them with a complimentary logo design to accompany the new website—setting the tone for what would become a nine-year creative partnership.
I went down the rabbit hole of grunge typography and landed on Backspacer—a 1993 typeface inspired by an abandoned typewriter found in Brooklyn. The designers photographed and traced the keys, preserving its imperfect character. Edgy, but real.
THE WEBSITE
To showcase their roster in a visually compelling way, I created an animated, easily updatable homepage GIF. Their client list—Netflix, Amazon, Disney—deserved presence, so I featured select logos in white with a subtle glide-in effect against a screened black-and-white image of musicians at work.
WEBSITE RESULTS
4m 21s Average Session Duration
33% Higher Pages per Session vs. Industry Peers
EMAIL MARKETING
For email, we intentionally avoided aesthetic consistency. Each eBlast was designed differently to keep jaded Music Supervisors engaged.
EMAIL RESULTS
73% Open rate on first eBlast (“Merry #$%&ing Xmas”)
50-55% ongoing open rates
2.5% click-through rate
Direct licensing sales generated
THE HOLIDAY CARD
After photographing the team, I designed a Spinal Tap homage. What began as an eBlast quickly evolved into a limited poster run for select clients.
