20 Years of Scoreboard Music: The soundtrack behind ESPN storytelling
From a 2003 "Why not?" to 500 albums strong: ESPN Music's Scoreboard library scores the drama, emotion and energy of sports storytelling
For more than two decades, Scoreboard Music has helped define the sound of ESPN storytelling.
Now, as Scoreboard Music celebrates the 500-album milestone, the library remains an integral part of ESPN’s storytelling toolkit, helping bring the emotion, drama and energy of sports to life.
Most recently, a Scoreboard Music track was selected as the theme for ESPN’s new Women’s Sports Sunday initiative (see video below), underscoring the library’s continued role in shaping the sound of ESPN programming.
What began in 2002 with a simple question — “Why not?” — has grown into a catalog of more than 500 albums supporting some of ESPN’s signature programming. But, as the saying goes, these tunes “are not available in stores” and are for ESPN’s internal use only.
Rather than rely on production music libraries that struggled to keep pace with evolving music trends, ESPN Music built a custom catalog from the ground up. Working with independent composers, established artists and producers, the team created a library spanning cinematic storytelling, dramatic game opens and emotional athlete profiles.
“Around 2003, we lost access to a major library partner. As part of filling that gap, we began setting aside resources to create bespoke music for our productions,” said Claude Mitchell (Coordinating Director of Music for ESPN Creative Studio).
“We looked to NFL Films and others as examples of crafting music that was unique to a brand. Some of our earliest projects were inspired by the highlight music used in shows like SportsCenter, NFL Primetime and the X Games. We also focused on dramatic trailer and film-score cues that were in high demand for teases and features.”
The library has grown through partnerships with independent composers, emerging talent and established artists, expanding into a collection of cinematic scores, emotional storytelling cues, high-energy anthems and atmospheric soundscapes.
Contributors have included composer Kevin Ryan, who later worked with Beyoncé, as well as Brad Paisley, Patrick Stump, Papa Roach and Def Leppard’s Phil Collen.
“We’ve leveraged relationships with artists, songwriters and producers throughout the industry,” Mitchell said. “We’ve worked with an amazing array of creators who have collaborated with artists including Beyoncé, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, The Replacements, Travis Scott, Fetty Wap, Sugarland and The Crystal Method.
“Personally, one of my highlights was developing the Life of an Athlete series, a concept where we asked composers from different genres to create an ‘imaginary soundtrack’ inspired by the moments in an athlete’s life.”
Revisit the music released the past 20 years and learn how to sign up for the ESPN Music newsletter via the instructions at the bottom of timeline below.
