Case Study: How The Nerve uses AIMS to compete with the biggest labels

“We use it all day, every day. We’ve been able to match the level of service you’d mostly expect from a multi-national label — AIMS has helped level the playing field.”

Scott Pearce, Co-Founder, The Nerve

About The Nerve

Founded in 2020 by industry veterans Scott Pearce and Juliette Squair, The Nerve set out to shake up production music’s reputation of “lacking diversity” — by introducing new talent and a catalog with personality. The small but ambitious startup is an official member of the BBC’s MusicBox and works with all the major broadcasters and independent production companies across the UK and beyond, so the opportunities are there. The key is making sure that the perfect track can be found very, very quickly. For that, some AI magic is a must.

The Challenge

Large catalog, fast growth, but an overwhelmed team 

With a rapidly expanding catalog and a client base that often likes to reference commercial music (often not clearable or too costly), The Nerve’s increasing daily client requests were overwhelming the team’s “time and ears.” An advanced search was needed — to find spot-on alternatives to references; go through all versions, submixes and hidden gems; and enable fast turnaround.

The Nerve’s co-founder Scott Pearce shares what makes AIMS an obvious choice. 

The Solution

Searching beyond metadata is a major win

After a quick demo back in 2021, Scott saw that unlike traditional keyword-based searches, AIMS Similarity Search finds tracks that would never be discovered otherwise — “a huge time saver internally and for customers searching for themselves.” And although he’d tried similar tools before, AIMS’ quality of results stood out thanks to its audio-based technology.

“The real clincher was AIMS bringing up alt. versions and submixes that may not have been found by using regular metadata searches — offering you less obvious choices. That has got to be good for any catalog owner.”

Seamless integration with Cadenzabox 

The Nerve runs on the Cadenzabox platform, which has long worked with AIMS API. As a result, AIMS was up and running very quickly in terms of both technical implementation and how naturally it fit into the team’s existing workflows — because it’s made for them.

“Implementation was, dare I say, quite easy? It felt very slick from my side. And it also updates automatically as we release new tracks.”

“A safety net” for music supervisors & sales

It’s impossible to remember all music in a large catalog, especially every version of every track. The Nerve’s music supervisors use AIMS alongside every search (better safe than sorry), and it’s proven to be a great sales tool during client meetings to impress on the spot.

“Our music supervisors use it with every search, just in case it results in a less obvious find. Likewise the sales team use it when they’re out doing presentations.”

Instant lifesaver in unexpected moments

AIMS’ impact is perhaps most memorable in high-pressure situations. Scott recalls times when briefs required urgent track selections during off-hours, or when he had to respond to clients in… let’s call them less-than-ideal circumstances.

“I’ve definitely had horrible colds and flu, blocked ears and brain, and AIMS has helped with briefs that have come in late at night. I’ve used it from bed to answer a client request!”

A competitive edge that levels the playing field

As a member of the BBC’s MusicBox and preferred supplier to all the major broadcasters, The Nerve has exposure and credibility, but each pitch is done within a highly competitive market with some very big multinational music companies. With AIMS, the team delivers just as efficiently as the most recognizable names with large service teams — so the only thing that matters is whose music is the better fit.

“Making this tech available to small startups and medium-sized indies like us means that we can compete with the big established labels out there — tech-, search-, speed- and service-wise.”

Nothing like technology built by your peers

AIMS was built by industry insiders who did the hands-on work for years. And if you ask Scott, that makes for an irreplaceable kind of partnership. 

“The great thing with the AIMS team is that they are musicians, publishers and music supervisors, so they’ve built the company around what we all need as an industry. I look forward to what they cook up in the lab next.”

Interested in how AIMS can work for you? Reach out to us here: https://www.aimsapi.com/book-a-demo