How a Draper family business became a global music licensing powerhouse
Draper • Remember the anticipation you felt during the first glimpse of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.” The suspense that builds in the trailer, ushering you toward the series’ epic conclusion?
That moment would not have been possible without Utah’s Thornton family. Their Draper business, Amphibious Zoo Music, makes and licenses music for the minuscule but integral moments.
For the Thornton family — father and mother, Randy and Gwen, and their three children, Josh, Michael and Kerstin Thornton-Olcott — a trip to the movies requires strict attention to the trailers.
“We don’t like it when people are talking during the trailers,” Gwen said. “We don’t leave until the last note has faded away.”
While the images on the big screen pull other moviegoers into upcoming releases, the Thorntons pay attention to the sounds that prompt the action.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Josh Thornton at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
“A lot of people don’t realize how important the music is until you take it away,” Josh said. “It might be somewhat stimulating, but without the music, it doesn’t really translate into feeling.”
The Draper company, which started in 2005, has become a global powerhouse. It has worked with Netflix, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, HBO, CNN, Sony and more.
How it started
Amphibious Zoo’s origin story really begins 45 years ago when Randy and Gwen met in the music department at Brigham Young University. They both played in the orchestra.
“When we were dating, he talked about [how] he wasn’t going to work for other people. He wanted to be in music and do his own thing,” Gwen said.
Originally, Gwen and Randy started a small company called Non-Stop Music, which was eventually acquired by Warner Chappell. During that time, the family independently started Amphibious Zoo. When Randy retired, he joined them.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Michael Thornton, Randy Thornton, Gwen Thornton, Josh Thornton and Kerstin Thornton Olcott at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
Michael, Kerstin and Josh all grew up interning at the companies. As the years went by, they wanted to take on more responsibility outside of the actual music production.
The company’s credits have appeared just about everywhere, like in television shows such as “NCIS,” “CSI” and “Yellowstone.” They also have a “close relationship” with Judy Sheindlin — Judge Judy.
“We are the world’s courtroom drama music provider,” Randy said.
The company also has licensed music for sports television. “I don’t think you can watch ESPN for an hour and not hear our music,” Michael said.
The motion picture trailer credits over the years feature some big releases: Marvel films like “Thunderbolts,” “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” They’ve also had soundbites in the recent “Twisters” and “Spotlight.”
Recently, their sounds have been used in “Disclosure Day,” “Michael,” and even “Toy Story 5.”
Around half the time, the sounds and music are used to promote a product, show, or film, and the other half they are featured in the program itself.
“We write the music for specific-use cases, so music that’s promoting something tends to be a little bit more in your face, big, bombastic than something that’s more underscored in the film,” Michael said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Michael Thornton at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
The company has “exploded” globally, according to Randy, and recently built a brand new studio space in Draper. The family used to have a smaller place in the same complex.
“One of the interesting things about our company is that we do very little local work. It’s almost all New York, L.A., Chicago, Nashville, Dallas,” Randy said. “Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany — all over the world.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kerstin Thornton Olcott at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
Despite the expansive credits, Kerstin said the work never stops being exciting.
“When you get to hear it on the TV, or you’re in the theater and it comes out it’s always like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we created that. I can’t believe that came from us,’” she said.
Custom scoring, Utah style
Randy estimates that 80% of the company’s business comes from licensing the family’s pre-existing music, and the other 20% comes from creating custom scores for clients.
“Someone comes to us and says, ‘Here’s the show open or trailer. Will you compose music along to this picture?’” Michael said.
They did a custom score for Discovery’s iconic Shark Week, “Sharks of the Dead Zone.”
The Thorntons also have a genre-based album library, anything from pop to hip-hop to orchestral music, that they use for custom scores.
“We conceptualize that with independent composers, a lot of them are Utah-based,” Michael said.
Occasionally, the musically gifted family even plays on certain scores. Randy and Michael play the trombone, Josh plays the saxophone and Kerstin and Gwen are violinists.
Gwen is still active on her violin and Randy estimates she’s played on “hundreds” of film scores, television shows and trailers. Her favorite, though, is the 1993 “Mountain of the Lord” — a film about the building of the Salt Lake Temple.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gwen Thornton at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
“All the women in the room were crying because it was an album about mothers and children,” Gwen said.
After all these years in the business, Randy said his favorite part of the job is simple.
“Every single day is something completely different and that’s what keeps it interesting,” he said. No matter where their credits take them across the globe, though, he’s “proud” the company continues to be based in Utah.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Randy Thornton at Amphibious Zoo Music in Draper on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
