Library music (also called production, stock or mood music) is music that is written and recorded specifically for use in film, television and audio-visual productions.  For programme makers using library music has a number of advantages, most notably as the copyright to the tracks are owned and controlled by the library companies that release them so the music can be used without the need to obtain clearances from the composer(s).

Ant's involvement with the world of library music goes back to 1976 before the release of his debut solo album The Geese and The Ghost.  Whilst it seemed at the time that there was no immediate prospect of the album seeing the light of day, Ant continued to work on other projects including the opportunity to write and record some short length pieces of music (around 30 seconds long) for the London-based company Himan Music for potential use as jingles on adverts.  This initial project would ultimately lead to Ant continuing to write and record music for library projects to the present day, with pieces from his output in this genre being used on programmes around the world.

For many years the library albums to which Ant has contributed music were only available to broadcasters and the makers of audio-visual productions and not to the public as commercial releases.  However, in more recent times an increasing number of Ant's library albums have received a commercial release for copyright reasons on streaming platforms and as downloads.  Given the potential confusion for fans who may come across these titles on the streaming sites (where they appear without any specific credits or background information) and in order to put them into proper context, we are now making the details of Ant's substantial volume of library work available here in an official form for the first time.

It must be remembered that unlike the music on Ant's regular commercial album releases, his library music is generally written for a specific purpose and has to conform to inherent disciplines.  It is most often used in film and television productions to accompany visual images and is frequently employed as part of the soundtrack along with other elements including commentary or narration.

The selections from Ant's library work that have been released in the past on albums such as those in the Missing Links series have been carefully chosen to reflect the tracks that were felt to make for the most interesting listening away from any accompanying visual image.  Many of these releases in their full and original form including those now available on streaming platforms and as downloads include tracks that have been written and recorded very specifically to accompany visual images and as a result when heard away from their intended setting may be considered too ambient and/or atmospheric by some listeners.

Library Music Part One: 1976 - 1996

The first part of the listing of Ant's library output covers the first twenty years of his work in this genre, starting with the early days of writing jingles for Himan Music and moving on to regular library projects for Atmosphere Music.

The second part of the listing of Ant's library output covers the releases from the ten year period between 1997 until 2007, including the 1999 library project English Pastoral which was recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Library Music Part Three: 2008 - 2018

Library releases from the ten year period between 2008 until 2018, including Ant's collaborations with composer and arranger Andrew Skeet.

Library Music Part Four: 2019 - 2025

The fourth part of the listing of Ant's library output details the releases from 2019 until the present day.  2024 in particular was his busiest year in terms of the number of new library music albums, with no fewer than twenty different projects Ant was involved in being released during the course of the year.

Commercially released Library albums

For copyright reasons, a number of Ant's library albums have been commercially released on streaming sites and as downloads.  This listing details the releases that are currently available in this form along with information about online-only compilations that include Ant's tracks from library albums.

Library samplers & compilations

A listing of library music samplers and compilations that include one or more of Ant's library tracks.

Library releases summary

A complete detailed chronological list of all the library albums included in this section.  The commercially released compilations issued as downloads that include tracks from Ant's library albums are not included here.