Materia Music

Lore & Background

Materia Music was founded in 2016 by Sebastian Wolff, who noticed the demand for video game music publishing while working at his previous startup Loudr. He believed video game music was 'completely underrepresented in the music world,' prompting him to start a video game-focused label. The label's community of artists began with the five-disc tribute album MATERIA: Final Fantasy VII Remixed, featuring 87 tracks and over 200 emerging producers. Since then, Materia has released over 300 titles, including original soundtracks, covers, remixes, and community compilations. In 2017, the label partnered with Loudr to manage licensing efforts. In 2018, it released Children of Termina by Rozen, a tribute to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which won VGMO's Annual Game Music Award for Best Album - Fan Arranged and debuted on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart. In early 2024, Materia announced its acquisition of Boss Battle Records, founded in 2017 by Fabian Malabello, a move Wolff called a 'critical step toward the future growth of the ANZ video game music industry.'

Reader's Guide

Materia Music has become a significant force in the video game music industry by providing a dedicated platform for game composers and fan arrangers. Its significance lies in its role as a bridge between independent developers and the commercial music market, handling licensing, physical production, and copyright management. The label's acquisition of Boss Battle Records in 2023 signals its expansion into the Australia-New Zealand region. However, its legacy is tempered by controversies. In January 2021, composer 2 Mello publicly accused the label of unpaid royalties for work on Celeste B-Sides, with support from other artists; Materia acknowledged the issue and promised payments by mid-February. In January 2024, the fan game Undertale Yellow reported that remixes of Undertale music caused YouTube copyright strikes, contradicting Toby Fox's permissive fan works policy. Materia CEO Wolff refuted the 'clearly defined permission' for derivative works, prompting Fox to confirm a lack of explicit permission but to advocate for helping fans make things right. These disputes highlight tensions between a label's enforcement of copyright and the fan community's expectations.

Did You Know?

• Materia Music was founded in 2016 by Sebastian Wolff, who previously worked at the startup Loudr.
• In 2018, Materia released Children of Termina, a tribute to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which debuted on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart.
• In early 2024, Materia announced its acquisition of Boss Battle Records, a label founded in 2017 by Fabian Malabello.