Sound Libraries originated in the 1920s during the silent film era, in the late 1920s technology had evolved to allow film and sound to play alongside each other. Sound libraries were created as a more cost effective way of having a film score without having to pay a composer to write and record original music. The only downside is that the score to the film wouldnt be unique, as many other films could use the exact same sound. Most of these earlier sound library records were produced in the UK and Europe, as production costs were cheaper then in the united states as they refused to lower prices of recording the music and the distrubution. Though the amount of Sound Libraries available at the time pales in comparison to the availabilty of today. When sound libraries where invented and being used, wax cylinder production would halt, and shellac records and LPs became the new norm, alongside reel to reel tape. Due to the cost of duplicating multiple tapes and records, sound librarys were not mass produced until the 1970s, when mass producing records and tapes became much more cost effective. Thanks to the cheaper cost of duplicating records, sound library companys such as Omnimusic would start up. The sounds you would find in a sound library would vary, from traditional orchestral pieces, to sound effects such as doors openeing and closing and gun shots to name a few. Some filmmakers were not impressed by the stock sounds availble at the time. In the 1970s while David Lynch while filming his debut film Eraserhead, he was paired up with sound designer Alan Splet who played Lynch some sound library records. With neither of them impressed with the sounds availble, and due to a very small budget, Splet and Lynch paired up and created a DIY sound studio in which they created their own sounds, instead of using prerecorded ones.
Due to recording equipment becoming more affordable during the 1990s, such as cassette recorders. Artists started to create their own sound librarys, in the same spirit as David Lynch and Alan Splet did in the 1970s. This saved artists having to use companys such as Omnimusic, they could create they’re own sound libraries to whatever sound they wanted, for much cheaper then the traditional route of aquiring sound library music or hiring a composer.
The idea of creating sound libraries in a DIY space would continue into the 2000s and onwards. With DAWs being readily available, Ableton Live 1 which was released in 2001 cost around £220 (the equivlent of around £482 current day). For the cost of a midrange guitar or synthesiser you could have a digital workstation where you could record, mix, master, and experiment. The introduction DAWs and digital instruments and distrubution helped sound artists and composers create library music albums that could then be sold online via websites such as A Sound Effect.
One of the most iconic and recognisable sounds in film come from sound library stock sounds. An example of this would be the Wilhelm Scream. The Wilhelm scream was a stock sound created for the 1954 film Distant Drums, (you can see a clip of the orginal scream here). The name originated from the charcter who screams in the film, Private Wilhelm. The scream was recorded by a muscian called Sheb Wooley, who during the early days of sound libraries was used to create sound effects such as the Wilhelm Scream. The scream would go on to be used in many movies, famously the Stars Wars films. As well as Quinten Tarintino films such as Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Bastards, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to name a few of the films he used it in. The Wilhelm scream over the decades became a recurring motif used to make the audience laugh, such as in this Toy Story clip. The Wilhelm scream is arguably the most recognisable sound library asset ever.
Bibliography
Manchester, J (2010) The Sound Library business: a brief history. Available at: https://www.postmagazine.com/Publications/Post-Magazine/2010/December-1-2010/The-Sound-Library-business-a-brief-history.aspx (Accessed: 30 November 2023).
Youtube (2008) The Very First Wilhelm Scream (Distant Drums, 1951). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc5F2C0CYlA