If you work with a team of media producers, video editors, sound designers, game programmers, or any other creative discipline, you already know that any opportunity for better collaboration is worth taking. In the never-ending quest for efficiency, tools like file-sharing platforms, time-tracking apps, and chat threads can be invaluable – but have you considered just how much a shared sound library could streamline your workflow, save time, reduce project budgets, and lead to happier clients?
Pro Sound Effects Teams Plans are made with modern creative teams in mind – offering discounted multi-user pricing on our world-class libraries, worry-free licensing, and multiple ways to access your content with the ultra-flexible Pro Sound Effects platform. Between our powerful SoundQ software, our streamlined Web App, and purpose-built team management tools, the PSE platform empowers your team to operate more efficiently and inspires them to do their best work.
Creative departments at industry leaders including Condé Nast, Electronic Arts, and Netflix have been taking advantage of these benefits for years, giving video editors and sound teams unfettered access to the best sound effects in the world while simultaneously making their work more efficient.
But is a Teams Plan the right call for your creative organization? In this article, we’ll cover some of the ways that the Pro Sound Effects platform can help you get work done faster, reduce your overhead, and make your life easier. Did we mention there’s a free 30-day trial?
"When you start with high-quality material, everything you do is elevated."
When considering any sound library purchase, the three most important factors are sound quality, variety, and organization. We believe that you should never have to settle for cheap sounds that are just “good enough.” When you start with high-quality material, everything you do is elevated; which leads to better storytelling, more audience engagement, and happier clients. With a wide-ranging and varied collection of sounds at your disposal, you’ll be covered for any project that comes your way, and you’ll never sound repetitive.
That’s why our in-house Library Development team works with some of the industry’s most acclaimed sound artists and field recordists to source and curate an ever-growing collection of sound effects in all categories, from everyday sound effects and Foley to immersive ambiences and evocative sound design. The majority of our recordings come from working sound artists and recordists – including Mark Mangini (Dune), Richard King (Inception), and Watson Wu (Need for Speed) – with decades of experience making blockbuster movies, triple-A games, and more. With impressive credits and multiple Academy Awards® to their names, these professionals know better than anyone how to create cinematic experiences.
But great sounds aren’t enough by themselves. To do your best work, you and your team need to be able to find the right sound at a moment’s notice. Over nearly 20 years in the industry, we’ve put countless hours into editing and curating our libraries to make them user-friendly and easily searchable. Part of that robust editing process includes giving each and every file a standardized filename and metadata to help you find exactly what you need, when you need it.
Best of all, our offerings are growing all the time as our sound artists and field recordists are continually creating the most unique and useful libraries possible like Rain, Energetic Forms, and Tires. With a constant stream of new material, you’ll never run out of fresh inspiration.
The Pro Sound Effects platform consists of our SoundQ sound library software and our powerful new web app. Together, these tools allow your entire team to access our cloud library at any time and place, from the editing suite to the dub stage and even when working from home. Robust admin and collaboration features let you customize the PSE platform for your team’s needs.
We built SoundQ from the ground up to make it as easy as possible to find the sounds you need and get them into your project fast. The app gives you access to the PSE cloud library as well as your in-house local library. You can even add sounds from any source to user-created Collections and share them with team members.
SoundQ’s robust search capability (including automatic translation in more than 100 languages) lets you search sounds in all of your Collections at once, a specific single Collection, or any combination. Sort and filter by filename, category, subcategory, file format, and other parameters to find the perfect sound for the moment; then select a section, add fades, and apply effects in real time including varispeed and reverse. When you’re ready, you can instantly send your selection to your project timeline (in supported DAWs) or use the Drag and Drop function.
The Pro Sound Effects web app is a powerful new way to access the PSE entire library via browser on any computer, tablet, or smartphone. The web app allows anyone on your team to view all of your PSE content, contribute to Shared Collections, and easily download files when working on the go. Streamlined, super fast search and full-length, non-watermarked previews allow you to quickly find the sounds you need in the moment.
The PSE platform gives sound supervisors and team administrators more control than ever, making it easy to customize the experience for your team. The User Admin Panel allows you to easily manage access among your team, add new users, and more. Shared Collections allow you to curate groups of sound effects for specific projects, pick out and save your favorite music tracks, and collaborate on sonic “mood boards” to inspire your team.
When it comes down to the brass tacks of running a business, the number one reason our Teams clients choose the Pro Sound Effects platform is to increase efficiency in their day-to-day operations. When working on large-scale projects with large teams, every minute of time saved helps reduce your budget and overhead, complete projects on time, and keep clients happy.
Here are some of the ways a PSE Teams Plan can help you and your collaborators operate more efficiently:
When teams collaborate using the Pro Sound Effects platform, everyone can be on the same page throughout the creative process. A picture editor’s temp sound no longer has to be thrown out – instead, sound editors can use it as a baseline, building on it with the same sonic DNA for a consistent sound. Even at the mixing stage, mixers can quickly find alternates and variations of any given sound for easy last-minute changes, rather than having to send everything back to the editorial team. Shared Collections help get everyone on the same page for smoother communication and more effective collaboration. In short, we believe that your tools should never slow down the creative process.
"We believe that your tools should never slow down the creative process."
If you buy libraries from multiple sources or use any “royalty-free” sound effects in your work, it can be hard to keep track of exactly how you’re allowed to use each asset. Every license agreement is different: while some permit you to use a sound freely as long as you credit the creator, others don’t allow commercial use, and some don’t even allow you to modify the recording. Keeping track of multiple licenses can be a major hassle (not to mention a time sink), but it’s an essential part of operating professionally.
With rapidly advancing AI-powered technology for identifying copyrighted sound effects and music, it’s more important than ever to make sure everything you use is fully cleared. The last thing you want is to pay unexpected fines or have your work taken offline due to copyright violations – and if you work with clients, you don’t want them getting in legal trouble, either. When you’re working at scale, none of those outcomes are acceptable. You need to know for sure that every sound you use is fully cleared, whether your work is monetized or not.
That’s why Pro Sound Effects offers buttoned-up licensing that is as simple and straightforward as possible: you own the work you create with your PSE library in perpetuity. If your situation requires custom licensing terms, or if your legal department has strict review requirements, our Licensing Team will work with you to iron out all the details. Our goal is to make the licensing process as smooth as possible and as thorough as you need.
"Our goal is to make the licensing process as smooth as possible and as thorough as you need."
Ready to see how a PSE Teams Plan can revolutionize your workflow? Start a 30-day free trial and start exploring the PSE platform today. Simply sign up and you’ll receive instructions to access your trial account and content right away. You’ll be covered by a commercial license for any work completed during your trial, whether you end up purchasing a Teams Plan or not.
If you’d like to talk through your team’s specific needs, feel free to schedule a meeting with our Licensing Team for a free consultation. We’ll walk you through how it works, answer all of your questions, and calculate pricing for your organization. Once you try it, we’re confident you’ll see why some of the biggest names in media trust Pro Sound Effects to deliver cinema-quality sounds, faster workflows, and peace of mind when it comes to licensing.
There’s nothing to lose and plenty to gain, so try it today!