In 2014, London music library Volta Music teamed with Universal Publishing Production Music to create a boutique label specializing in music for trailers. The partnership with Universal Publishing Production Music’s Killer Tracks division soon followed. It’s proven a high voltage match since releasing more than 20 albums of innovative, hard-hitting tracks that have been featured in campaigns for movies, (The Martian, Doctor Strange, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Captain America), video games (Evolve Games) sports shows (UFC: Ultimate Fighting Champion-ship) and much more.
Volta Music was founded by Sara Gilchrist a veteran music producer and mix engineer, who previously worked with the British labels West One Music and Fired Earth Music. Volta's experience in the trailer world began with producing custom tracks for trailers for films including Tarzan and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
“As that side of my work grew, I accumulated a catalogue of fantastic copyrights that deserved to be further exploited,” Gilchrist recalls. “The natural progression was to form a catalogue and Volta Music was born.”
“Worldwide representation with Universal Publishing Production Music allowed us to immediately increase production and reach markets beyond trailers,” Gilchrist says. “We have been able to grow into TV promo and video game markets, which are now amongst our key target areas alongside trailers.”
Drawing on a stable of talent that includes two dozen of the best young composers and sound designers from the UK and beyond, Volta has developed a distinctive and diverse catalog that ranges from epic, orchestral work to industrial, action and sci-fi genres. And it’s gotten noticed. The label’s work is currently nominated for two Production Music Awards. Stahlwerk by composers Raffael Gruber and Matthias Ullrich is up for Best Trailer Music Production Music Track, while On the Edge of the World by Andrew Prahlow is nominated for Best Use of Production Music in Television Factual.
In creating new work, Gilchrist relies on her deep experience and a highly attuned ear for what will resonate with contemporary audiences. “It takes research, research, research and listening to the people who know best,” she explains. “We listen to as much content as possible to determine which trends, styles and genres are particularly popular within each of our
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