The Olympic royalties continue to pile up for John Williams, thanks to NBC’s perpetual use of “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” (written for the 1984 Los Angeles Games), “Summon the Heroes” (written for the 1996 Atlanta Games), and his synthesis of Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream” (the quintessential Olympic music) with his own ’84 opus. These are heard incessantly as bumpers, as coverage fades to commercial, or to underscore segues between events.
How much, exactly, does he make? According to an article in Variety, published in 2008, each prime time use could net between $500 and $2500.
http://variety.com/2008/music/news/olympic-songs-snag-significant-sums-1117991375/
Of course, that was eight years ago.
Here’s an article on the official NBC Olympics website about Williams’ contribution to the Olympics:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/john-williams-continues-score-sound-olympics
Over the years, Williams has composed four original pieces for the games. In addition to his works for the ’84 and ’96 Olympics, he wrote “The Olympic Spirit” for the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea, and “Call of the Champions” for the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City.
Though Arnaud’s fanfare embodies the Olympic spirit like no other, it was not actually written with the Olympics in mind. “Bugler’s Dream” was written as part of a larger suite for conductor Felix Slatkin, who commissioned it for his 1958 album, “Charge!” In 1968, the fanfare was picked up by ABC for use in its coverage of the Winter Olympics from Grenoble. It became embedded in the public consciousness as THE music for the Olympics.
Like Williams, Arnaud worked in Hollywood for many years. A pupil of Maurice Ravel and Vincent d’Indy, he labored as an orchestrator on films ranging from “The Wizard of Oz” to “Ryan’s Daughter.”
In this article, Williams’ Olympic fanfares are ranked. It includes musical examples, so you can decide for yourself:
http://www.sportingnews.com/athletics/news/john-williams-best-olympic-themes-fanfare-music-ranked-nbc/1h2z6g0ovcgm518jx6fcvq1oj9
PHOTO: Williams, looking hale at 84, as he appeared at Tanglewood last week, between Boston Symphony Orchestra principal trumpeter Tom Rolfs and Philadelphia Orchestra principal guest conductor Stéphane Denève (photo by BSO principal trombonist Toby Oft)
