"World-building and creating a sonic universe before and behind a moving image is what Heavy Duty Projects does best," says Variety, and all throughout 2023, the bespoke music shop demonstrated that ability more prominently than ever. In its most decorated and highest-profile year to date, Heavy Duty Projects paired their unrivaled pop expertise and roster of cutting-edge, currently-charting hitmakers – including Creative Director and five-time 2024 GRAMMY nominee Daniel Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek) – with the unparalleled ability to navigate all genres and creative briefs. Led by co-founders and music industry vets Kate Urcioli, Joshua Kessler, and 3x GRAMMY-winning producer and songwriter Ariel Rechtshaid (Adele, Haim, Usher, Vampire Weekend), Heavy Duty Projects partnered with brands, media companies, film studios and streamers, delivering original compositions, artist collaborations, music supervision, covers & remixes, final mix & sound design, trailers and more that "pulls on consumer heartstrings" (The Hustle). As one of the select few TikTok Music + Sound partners, Heavy Duty Projects also serves as a trusted resource for audio on the platform, even helping to "revive the marketing jingle" (Marketing Brew). 

Everyone across Heavy Duty Projects' New York City, London and Los Angeles offices and studios shares a deep understanding of how music interacts with emotions and imagination. Alongside the thriving publishing business and talent of sister company Heavy Duty Music, the scope and scale of Heavy Duty have grown exponentially over the past twelve months.

As 2024 approaches, Heavy Duty Music and Heavy Duty Projects will continue operating like no other publishing house or music shop, between making commercial and custom music cooler and more culturally-relevant, tapping into a Gen Z consumer base, and offering new platforms, opportunities and revenue streams to rising artists, writers and producers. See below for a summary of 2023 highlights, all of which are further shaping the work to come: 

Brand Campaigns

Throughout 2023, Heavy Duty Projects produced music for dozens of brand campaigns, ranging from Google x Barbie to Jeep x Derek Jeter, Uber Eats x Countess Luann, and Etsy's major, Mission Impossible-inspired holiday ad series, as well as Expedia, GoPro, Hot Wheels, Lays, McDonald's, Samsung, Smartwater, Subway, WhatsApp, and CSAA, which united members of NSYNC, New Kids On The Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men. Read more about some of these collaborations in Ad Age, AdWeek, Billboard, Marketing Dive and Muse by Clio. 

Film & Television

In a banner year of collaborations, Heavy Duty Projects contributed to TV series such as Apple TV+'s The Santa Clauses, Disney+'s The Muppets Mayhem, Max's Gossip Girl and Netflix's BEEF, trailers for Dead Edward, Scream VI, The Exorcist: Believer, The Flash, The Last Thing He Told Me and Transformers, and films including Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Under The Boardwalk and You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, which staff composer Amanda Yamate scored with Este Haim. Listen to them discuss their work in the latest podcast episode from Composer Magazine. 

Publishing

Heavy Duty's publishing arm, Heavy Duty Music, boasts an award-winning roster of producers, songwriters and artists who in this year alone have contributed to GRAMMY-nominated projects from Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Travis Scott, and Drake & 21 Savage, as well as #1 Billboard albums from Drake and Rod Wave, and new records from Dominic Fike, Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem, Lil Yachty, Nicki Minaj, The 1975, The Kid LAROI and more included in this playlist. In 2023, Heavy Duty Music also welcomed new signings Anthoine Walters (Drake, Roddy Rich), Chris Baio (C.Y.M., Vampire Weekend), Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Gabe Goodman (Maggie Rogers, Del Water Gap), Nightfeelings (Kelela, Panda Bear), and actor, comedian and musician Whitmer Thomas, while supporting new records from Heavy Duty artists including Billy Nomates, Cash Bently, Cass McCombs, Cherry Glazerr, Isabella Lovestory, Louis La Roche, Miya Folick, Puma Blue, Tobias and more. Not to mention synchs Heavy Duty has landed for their publishing roster on Netflix, Hulu series and much more.

Additional Activity

Heavy Duty Projects' make-up is 41% Female and Non-Binary with 40% of leadership roles held by women. Co-Founder and Managing Director Kate Urcioli recently sat on the juries for both the Clio Music Awards and Ciclope Festival, and serves as an East Coast Board Member of the Association of Music Producers. Christina Carlo (Executive Producer, Creative Partnerships) is a West Coast Board Member of the Association of Music Producers, Executive Producer Zach Pollakoff judged the original music category of the AICP Awards, and Executive Creative Producer Dylan Bostick contributed to a Mondo.NYC panel on music licensing for video games. Throughout 2023, Heavy Duty employees devoted time to support the work of Providence House, Trans Closet of Hudson Valley, Film at Lincoln Center, Housing Justice 4 All and many others, in addition to raising money for the Transgender Education Network of Texas during SXSW. 

Awards

Following Clio Entertainment and Clio Sports Awards for Heavy Duty Projects' work with Apple TV+'s Invasion, Gatorade and HBO's Station Eleven, 2023 has brought the company its most accolades yet. Heavy Duty contributed to the trailers for Clio Entertainment winners M3GAN and FX's Fleishman is in Trouble, as well as the soundtrack for Apple TV+'s Daytime Emmy nominee Home, and the chart-topping soundtrack for the six-time Children's & Family Emmy-nominated series, The Muppets Mayhem. Additionally, a two-time finalist for AdAge's Creativity Awards and its Music & Sound Company of The Year, Heavy Duty Projects earned nominations for Best Music Supervision in a Trailer (Atlanta) and Best Music Supervision in Advertising (Johnnie Walker) from the Guild of Music Supervisors, while winning Best Music Supervision in a Video Game (Saints Row). 

GRAMMYs

Heavy Duty Projects' Creative Director, Daniel Nigro, earned five nominations for the 2024 GRAMMY Awards. In addition to his second career nods for Album of The Year, Record of The Year and Song of The Year – this time honoring his production and songwriting on Olivia Rodrigo's chart-topping GUTS – Nigro has earned his first nominations for Best Rock Song, as well as Producer of The Year, encompassing his work with Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek, Chappell Roan and Dermot Kennedy. From the Heavy Duty Projects and music publishing roster, producer-songwriter BJ Burton contributed to Miley Cyrus' GRAMMY-nominated Endless Summer Vacation (Album of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album), while Buddy Ross wrote and produced on five tracks from Travis Scott's GRAMMY-nominated UTOPIA (Best Rap Album), and SADPONY wrote and produced on Drake & 21 Savage's Her Loss (Best Rap Album). BJ Burton and Heavy Duty's Jim-E Stack were also sampled on Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar's "The Hillbillies," up for Best Rap Performance. 

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About Heavy Duty Projects

Heavy Duty Projects crafts bespoke audio and music solutions that sound like nobody else. We partner with brands and media companies, creating award-winning Original Scores, Songs, Music Supervision, Artist Collaborations, Covers, Remixes, Sound Design, VO Records, and Final Mix. As a badged TikTok sound partner we are a trusted resource for audio on the platform. With studios in Los Angeles, New York, and London, we offer direct access to the recording industry, offering our clients strategic guidance at every touchpoint.

About Heavy Duty Music

Heavy Duty Music Publishing is a creative home for developing and established artists, songwriters and producers with offices and studios in Los Angeles, New York and London.

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