Audible to Produce Original Musical Narratives with Gunpowder & Sky
Audible today announced a multi-project development and production deal with Gunpowder & Sky, the fast-growing independent entertainment company for the streaming generation. Further expanding ‘Words & Music,’ Audible’s musical storytelling initiative, the deal will drive the creation of numerous original audio productions combining storytelling and music designed exclusively for Audible listeners. These original musical narratives will reflect the creative vision of a plethora of award-winning musicians including the collection’s first title featuring St. Vincent, followed by renowned artists Smokey Robinson and Alanis Morissette.
As the inaugural title of this collaboration launching later this summer, St. Vincent: Words & Music brings listeners an intimate, personal meditation on an artist’s discovery of her authentic self—tracked through the lyrics and influences of her catalog of music. Smokey Robinson’s Audible Original, the personal recollections of an icon, recounts a legendary career spanning 70 years with unprecedented detail through raw, unmediated storytelling and music performance. The inimitable songwriter and rock luminary Alanis Morissette unpacks a lifetime of conscious self-discovery in a powerful and thoughtful rumination on her journey as an artist, celebrity, and human being. Production is currently underway on all originals via at-home studios. Audible will release additional details on its forthcoming musical narrative slate in the coming months.
“Life is strange and full of uncertainty, right now,” said singer/songwriter/guitarist/director Annie Clark, a/k/a St. Vincent. “But music is a constant. Music transcends the chaos. It’s always been there for me when I’ve needed it—whether in times of fear, heartbreak, anger, joy. So I’m thrilled to be working with Audible to share my story and my music, especially at a time when music is such a crucial part of coping and getting through these unprecedented days.”
It’s always been my passion to create experiences that touch and move people. I’m humbled to have the opportunity to share my story, the stories of my incomparable contemporaries like Marvin and Aretha, plus my music with the millions of Audible listeners who are looking for authentic stories told in ways they’ve never experienced before.
“During these unprecedented times, we are extraordinarily grateful to be able to continue to create unique, boundary-defying experiences for our millions of listeners,” said Rachel Ghiazza, Audible’s EVP, Head of US Content. “We are thrilled to join forces with Gunpowder & Sky to produce innovative content for our musical-storytelling initiative, featuring incredible artists choosing the intimacy of Audible to share their stories with fans at a time when staying connected is so necessary.”
“Music has the unique ability to tell stories that end up defining the highs and lows of our lives – and, well, pretty much convey our emotions much better than we mortals can without these wonderful melodies,” said Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky. “Teaming up with Audible to shine a light on some of the most influential musicians of our time in new, innovative ways - via words and music over songs and anecdotes – is a dream come true.”
The musical storytelling productions with Gunpowder & Sky are next in a robust slate of Audible Originals featuring exclusive audio entertainment created by celebrated storytellers from the worlds of entertainment, theater, journalism, comedy, literature and more. Previously released critically acclaimed Audible Original performances include James Taylor’s Break Shot: My First 21 Years and Patti Smith at the Minetta Lane currently available for download at www.audible.com. Musical narratives Bluebird Memories: A Journey Through Lyrics & Life performed by Common and Tom Morello at the Minetta Lane will premiere exclusively on Audible this summer, and Road Trip Elegies: Montreal to New York, performed by Rufus Wainwright will debut in the fall.
For more information on this title, please visit www.audible.com/upcomingoriginals.
ABOUT GUNPOWDER & SKY
Gunpowder & Sky is a fast-growing independent entertainment company that creates and distributes feature films, series, short form content, podcasts and channels for the streaming generation across sci-fi, horror, music and comedy.
Since its inception in 2016, Gunpowder & Sky has released more than 30 feature films and series, two seasons of its original narrative podcast, and more than 750 short films in theatres, on TVOD and in partnership with leading services such as HBO, Netflix, MTV, Hulu, Sky, Showtime, DirecTV, Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Quibi, and soon HBO Max, Audible and Discovery.
Notable films and series include Her Smell, Lil Peep, Prospect, Sea Fever, The Little Hours, Cam, Hearts Beat Loud, Lords of Chaos, Tragedy Girls, Summer of 84, Villains, “Survive”, “50 States of Fright” and “Drawn and Recorded”.
With a collective audience of more than 65M monthly unique visitors, Gunpowder & Sky’s current owned and operated brands include DUST, the number one free sci-fi channel; ALTER, a leading horror brand, and CUT, an unscripted comedy brand that is home to the successful formats “Truth or Drink” and “Grandmas Smoking Weed”. DUST, ALTER and CUT are presently distributed on services such as Apple, Amazon, Comcast, Sling, Roku, Samsung, Vizio TV, Xfinity Flex, YouTube, Facebook, AT&T, DirecTV, Sinclair, Samsung TV Plus and Instagram.
With offices in Los Angeles and New York, Gunpowder & Sky was founded by Van Toffler and Floris Bauer, in partnership with The Chernin Group and AT&T.
