Amber Music is one of the preeminent music production companies in the world, with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Founded in 1993 by Michelle Curran, Amber’s composers and sound designers have consistently produced award wining work for a range of global clients, most recently receiving a Gold Lion at Cannes for Best Use of Music in 2008, and the only Gold Clio that was awarded in the Music category in 2009.
Amber Music offers custom commercial and long form composition, sound design, and full music supervision services including licensing from third party publishing houses and record labels, as well as from our own back catalogue.
Michelle Curran
President & Creative Director
Michelle Curran began her career as head of promotions at both Island and London Records working with such notable artists as U2, Grace Jones, Bob Marley, Robert Palmer, leading to an extensive network within the music industry. Michelle set up and ran Logorhythm Music and the Real Music co. before starting up Amber music 15 years ago.
Under Michelle, Amber Music has gained a reputation for producing tracks that have an edge. She prides herself on discovering and employing some of the most talented composers out there and it’s what makes Amber continually at the top of the agencies’ list when music comes into the mix. The company has a broad client base that spans both sides of the Atlantic, with offices in London, New York & LA.
Michelle has produced music for over 2000 TV commercials including the emmy award winning PBS Fish, as well as “Lake of Darkness”, shown on UK TV starring Sadie Frost, and produced the music for the Hunger Trilogy TV films put out by Showtime directed by the Scotts’. This was comprised of 3 programs, “The Swords” directed by Tony Scott, “manashatwa” directed by Jake Scott, and “Narcros” directed by Russell Mulcahy. Michelle also recently completed a Nomis project with agency Johannes Leonoardo released in the U.K., for which Amber Music won a Gold at the 2008 Cannes Lions.
Being considered a revered industry leader, Michelle is frequently asked to judge music categories at prestigious award shows such as The Clios and AICP.
In addition, she has been recognized as one of the 16 “Most Influential Women in Advertising In the World” by Boards Magazine.
Quotes from Industry Peers in Boards Magazine September 2003 Issue:
Trevor King, sales rep, The Blue Rock Editing Company, NY:
“And at the center of the festivities was and always will be that heavenly creature Michelle, a gracious and generous hostess, strutting around in her fabulous frocks and locks piled high, all festively adorned. For me, Michelle typifies all the best qualities of the Amber Music brand: smart, fresh, interesting and never dull.”
Ken Yagoda, VP Executive Producer, Time Warner, NY:
“She has an incredibly sophisticated view of the marketplace. But she also has a keen eye and ear for talent and for what will make a good fit. She also has a loyalty to her clients that, in an era of maybe too much greed, is totally refreshing.”
From Boards Magazine September 1, 2006 article “Advertising Women of Excellence: Honored for Contribution to the Production Community”:
“While she may come off a little devil-may-care, it’s well thought out – Curran knows who she is, and by a similar turn, she knows exactly what her 13-year-old London-, New York- and LA-based company Amber Music is: dedicated to the highest quality. Indeed, she considers ‘keeping true to what I believe in creatively and not being frightened to speak my mind when needed’ as a career highlight.”
Jennie Wadhams,
CEO
Jennie Wadhams began her career in London in the mid 1970′s as a production assistant at McCann Erickson working on clients Martini, Levis, and McVities. Her next stop was at award winning agency Collett Dickenson Pierce where she was promoted to producer and worked for clients Fiat, Texaco, Heineken, Hamlet Cigars and Cinzano.
As Head of Broadcast at Abbott Mead Vickers, she worked on Volvo and Budweiser amongst other accounts, and helped build the agency’s department under legendary Creative Director David Abbott.
She also worked on the production company side at BFCS for directors Richard Sloggett, Michael Seresin and Bob Brooks.
During her career she has worked with directors Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson and Tony and Ridley Scott.
After her move to the US in the early 1990′s she was recruited as Head of Broadcast at D’Arcy, and then Publicis in New York working on clients Proctor and Gamble, Ernst & Young and Heineken. Before joining Amber Music in 2008 she produced the new worldwide branding campaign for Chevron out of McGarry Bowen.
Miriam Chaban
Director of Finance
Miriam decided very early in her career that if she had to be an accountant, she was going to do it in a fun industry. In an age when women were not involved in finance, she began her career at Sony Corporation. From there, she moved on to Temco Service Industries before finally finding her true calling and joining Dick Button’s Candid Productions as VP of Finance and Administration. Miriam spent many years with Candid as part of the production of television staples such as The Superstars and The Battle of the Network Stars, and all professional figure skating events during what came to be known as “the golden age of figure skating” worldwide. She then moved on to become Vice President at Clear Channel Entertainment, finding herself at that place in the road where music met sports, working on events such as Rock-n-Racquets, a tennis/live concert extravaganza. She left Clear Channel to found her own company, Controller Outsource, a service business providing accounting and administrative services to small and medium-size companies. Amber became one of her first clients, and a love affair was born. Always in awe of Michelle Curran’s creative genius as well as the unbridled talent of Amber’s composers, Miriam keeps our feet grounded financially so we can continue to soar creatively.
Mike Perri
Music Supervisor
Hailing from New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley, Mike Perri grew to love music by spending his teenage years in pool halls and dingy clubs watching then-unknown bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Coheed and Cambria, and Autopilot Off perform just before they hit it big. Mike studied Music Theory at SUNY Orange, while performing with his own band as an opening act for the Grammy- nominated group Plain White T’s, platinum-selling artists Theory of a Deadman, as well as Person L, Dexter Freebish, and Silverstein. After acquiring an Associate’s from SUNY Orange, Mike moved on to graduate with honors from the Institute of Audio Research in January 2010. He has been with Amber Music since April of 2010, braving Route 17 and the PATH train to do what he loves.
Jamie Bunch
Manager of Business Affairs
Jamie Bunch has spent the past decade working and living music. Hailing from Austin, Texas, she got her start early with intern roles at the Austin Music Liason’s Office (where she booked bands for City Council meetings), Atlantic Records, and with critically acclaimed singer/songwriter David Garza. Upon earning her BBA from the University of Texas, she moved to Los Angeles and worked for a boutique music publishing company. Two years later, she earned a position in the music booking department at The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn/Ferguson and spent 4 ½ years helping give acts like The Shins, Paolo Nutini and Rodrigo Y Gabriela their first network TV appearances. Jamie left the Late Late Show when she relocated to New York, and joined the Amber family in the business department in 2008.
Hayley Cannon
Manager of Business Affairs
Jennie Armon
Associate Producer
Jennie Armon dove in headfirst at Publicis Ad Agency, she quickly phased into finding music for broadcast producers for new business pitches. Formerly a lead tuba player, she expanded the music production path, and transitioned over to Yessian Music for several years. Working with composers, selecting pieces for high-budget music branding and partaking in celebrity voice over sessions, her current favorite remains to be — Brad Pitt.
Aside from constantly seeking out new bands for music licensing opportunities, setting up label relationships, and negotiating budgets between clients and musicians, she books bands between New York City, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and DC. She also merges bands with brands for promotional parties for fashion shows, showcases and philanthropic events. Last year, she held the “Heal Haiti” Concert Series in Manhattan, raising thousands to aid in the relief for schools and hospitals. She is currently working with Global Zero to reduce nuclear warfare worldwide.
Emile Svitzer
General Assistant
Born in New York, and spending most of his adolescence in the suburbs if New Jersey, music became more like a second language to Emile. Although he was coming from an artistic and business related family background, Emile decided to take it in a new direction.
After graduating high school, and running an underground pirate radio station throughout most of it, he crawled out from the basements full of records and decided to start playing them for the masses, jump starting a short but eventful DJ career in the underground club scene.
Longing for bigger and better sounds, Emile attended the Institute of Audio Research for sound engineering and music production in an attempt to further extend his reach in the music industry. He has been with Amber Music since December of 2010.
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