
SVG Sit-Down: A1 Jeri Palumbo on Becoming a Production-Music Entrepreneur The broadcast-sports veteran is co-founder of new Arena Waves library By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, May 6, 2021 - 11:18 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Every production-music library has developed its sports vertical, but, for newcomer Arena Waves, sports is its one and only. Not surprising, given than founding partner Jeri Palumbo has been one of the go-to A1s in broadcast sports for 27 years. The Telly Award-winning musician-turned-mixer has handled sound for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NASCAR events, as well as the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cups, and the Oscars. She sat down with SVG to discuss where her new venture came from, where it's going, and what's facing production music for broadcast and live sports.
Jeri Palumbo: Arena Waves is different because we are crafting cues from the bottom up: a user's perspective. We know what they are looking for.
You were a musician before moving into pro audio, a not-uncommon transition for sports A1s. But what prompted this move into production music? What opportunity or need do you see in a market that already has millions of tracks available?
All of my work is deeply rooted in my musical training and background before I moved into broadcasting. As an A1, I had to edit music to fit the broadcast needs. After a chance meeting in New York City with my current partners in Arena [Rich Tozzoli and Pat Finnegan], we had a lengthy discussion about the specifics of how sports music is different from film and television cue, including the vernacular.
I always thought that a music library dedicated to sports would be extremely useful to every aspect of production, and this partnership was ideal not only from a catalog-volume perspective but in the willingness of my partners to curate it into being sports-specific. In addition, we had an enormous talent pool we could combine between us (East and West Coast established session musicians and composers).
It was very natural to take all of my experience, broadcast and music combined, and apply it to this new partnership for the creation and curation of music specifically for the sports and esports market. Arena Waves is different because we are crafting cues from the bottom up: a user's perspective. We know what they are looking for.
What sets Arena Wave apart from competitors? How does your perspective as a broadcast-sports A1 provide unique insights here?
We make super-high-quality cues that are drop-in-ready, no editing required. We've done the editing. Having spent countless hours over the years shaving cues, we understand how time-consuming this is. With our cues, you can plug and play. Or, if you want something very specific, we are happy to do that, too. Arena Waves understands sports, esports and live broadcast production. We know how music is chosen because we've actually sat in that chair for 25 years.
What search technologies and services can Arena Wave provide to clients?
Arena Waves is mobile-platform-friendly. You can work with Arena Waves anywhere from your phone or computer, so there is no downtime on creating production playlists.
We also broke out curated playlists by style for easy searching. What you don't find in our curated playlist, you can find by genre, type, style, etc. in our main search field. In addition, we can deliver the most complicated requests quickly to our clients without compromise in as little as 48 hours.
We also created the Producer's Edge section, where broadcast producers, editors, and creators can get ready-made precision cut-downs for bumpers and highlights, freeing the A1 or editors from having to shave cues or edit. This is specifically helpful for live environments, when time is critical. Producers, A1s, and creators don't have to think about it; they can just add it to their Spot On, Ableton, 360 Systems, or whatever [platform] they are using.
What are Arena Waves' positions on such issues as royalty-free music and how to deal with DCMA takedowns of tracks used by sports?
Since Arena Waves personnel have experience coming from both the music industry and the broadcast world, we are sensitive to these issues. There will always be a place for royalty-free catalogs, and they are appropriate for, say, corporate in-house video or other smaller outlets. However, our talent pool of composers and musicians is top-notch, and Arena Waves will always strive to take care of them. That means getting the most-viable licensing syncs. In regard to DCMA takedowns, if a cut is being used for a professional production without the owner's permission, then absolutely I agree with the DCMA takedown.
A lot of music for sports has settled into some predictable pairings: hip hop for the NBA, pastoral themes for golf, triumphal horns and crunchy guitars for the NFL. Are these genres due for a shake-up?
Like any music bed, it needs to fit the narrative and make sense. Music paints a story on one hand while, other times, it's used to energize. Even though there is a comfortable and somewhat predictable pattern in the sports-broadcast world, we believe it's fresh and exciting to shake things up and try something new when appropriate.
What are the challenges in developing music for sports on the air and in the venue?
The main challenge is understanding the different needs of sports post- and pre-productions vs. a live over-the-air broadcast. Stadium and arena venues handle these differently from live broadcasts, and esports handles it differently from all the above. We understand all these differences because, again, we have sat in the chair of all those positions.
What does the future hold for sports music? Surround? 3D?
A lot! While traditional broadcasts have a tendency to go with what is predictable - stand
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades
Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...
19/11/2025
Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...
18/11/2025
Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...
18/11/2025
NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
18/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...
18/11/2025
Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...
18/11/2025
Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...
18/11/2025
HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...
18/11/2025
Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...
18/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...
18/11/2025
SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...
18/11/2025
LPGA Ups Its Production Game in 2026 With 50% More Cameras, SSMO's & Drones,...
18/11/2025
ESPN's Dunk the Halls Real-Time Animated NBA Game Set to Return for Christma...
18/11/2025
By Jessica Herndon
When Chilean filmmakers Diego C spedes and Giancarlo Nasi ar...
18/11/2025
Earlier this year, we announced the BAPE x SPOTIFY x SYNA by Central Cee (aka Cench) capsule collection, a collaboration that blends sound, style, and street c...
18/11/2025
Our mission to make Spotify the ultimate home for all things audio continues. St...
18/11/2025
SGL Carbon and the renowned Link ping University inaugurated an advanced coating...
18/11/2025
CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 18, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has launched a new, next-generation software device called NETCASTER - the NETwork Contr...
18/11/2025
Pictured are L3Harris ISR President Jason Lambert and Waleid Al Mesmari, EDGE President-Space & Cyber Technologies, signing with Carlo Igniades, L3Harris Region...
18/11/2025
During October, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 23.7%, a marginal shift of -0.8 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI...
18/11/2025
Broadcast Builds On Lead Over Cable, Driven by Football and Drama Programming Ga...
18/11/2025
CINCINNATI E.W. Scripps has issued a statement responding to news that Sinclair has acquired about 8.2% of the outstanding class A (nonvoting) shares in the com...
18/11/2025
TYSONS, Va. Tegna has announced that its shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed $6.2 billion merger with Nexstar Media Group....
18/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of ...
18/11/2025
SHENZHEN, China DJI today unveiled the Osmo Action 6, an all-in-one action camera featuring a variable aperture with a range from f/2.0 to f/4.0, the company...
18/11/2025
In the high-stakes world of film sound, there's no room for second chances. When an actor whispers a line with the weight of an entire scene, or lets loose ...
18/11/2025
Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a selection of popular products, including a Thunderbolt 4 dock, an eGPU chassis, SATA and M.2 SSD PCIe cards, and mor...
18/11/2025
Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology solutions provider for broadcast and streaming TV, today announced the launch of 4Fangs, a new Free Ad-Supported Streaming ...
18/11/2025
Women In Media (WiM) announces its honorees for the 2025 Holiday Toast. The annual celebration recognizes legendary creatives whose work uplifts and inspires th...
18/11/2025
Cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra ( Good Fortune , The Bear , Euphoria ) emerged from the 2025 Emmy season with a statuette celebrating his Outstanding Cinem...
18/11/2025
Atlanta-based gaffer and lighting programmer Quinton Thomas brings the same practical, problem-solving instinct of a board op to every set he walks onto. With a...
18/11/2025
Suitelife Systems, a division of NFB Consulting Group, headquartered in California, has announced the appointments of Charles Sotto as Director of Media Technol...
18/11/2025
Sound Director and Audio Product Manager Scott Kramer has built a career around shaping stories through audio, guiding projects across film, television and stre...
18/11/2025
iWedia, a global leader in software solutions for connected TV devices, announces its participation at the APAC TV Summit 2025, taking place November 18 20 in B...
18/11/2025
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) is proud to announce the launch of Flair Bridge, a groundbreaking solution that redefines how operators control MRMC's in...
18/11/2025
Over the summer, world famous musician and rapper Drake continued the rollout of his new album Iceman, by live streaming the second and third episodes of a seri...
18/11/2025
KEIZER, Ore. Municipal broadcaster Keizer City Television, K23 TV, has deployed four Telycam PTZ cameras to upgrade the visual quality of its live meeting cover...
18/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. NBC Sports and Peacock have announced that they are working for the second consecutive year with the National Football League, EA Sports and Gen...