More and more, traditional music houses along with their agency partners are branching out in terms of where advertising–and its music–is featured. That means songs and tracks aren’t thirty or sixty seconds in length. For instance, Grey Worldwide, New York, recently created several tunes, including the hip-hop themed song “Get Your Ice On” that aired on Sirius Satellite Radio. (Music Beast, New York, worked on the project.) That project led to the agency creating full-length tracks for its next Tanqueray project. In the holiday-themed “Lapland,” directed by Ben Mor of bicoastal Smuggler, the track was also available in a viral e-card, as well as on a virtual CD online.
Late last year, director Jeff Labbé of bicoastal/international @radical.media, and Michael Folino, who is now chief creative officer at DDB Chicago, created a series of short films for Motorola and MTV which aired exclusively on mobile phones. Machine Head, Venice, Calif., created sound design for all of the shorts, as well as music for some of the films. Sound designer Stephen Dewey, owner of Machine Head, served as creative director for the shop.
And bicoastal JSM Music and agency BBDO Detroit, Troy, Mich., created a mash-up project called “Unleashed,” which combined the tunes “Hair of the Dog” from Nazareth, and “Live & Loose” from Chris Classic, who is on JSM Records, a label run by the music shop. The initial track was featured on two spots for the Dodge Charger; it was later decided that a full-length version of the mash-up, complete with a music video featuring Chris Classic (the clip was directed by Eric Heimbold of Plum Productions, Santa Monica), should be produced.
To launch the Virgin digital online music service, agency Ground Zero, Marina del Rey, Calif., created an animated viral short that was made up of images that signified well-known songs. For instance, in the opening scene the letter “I” hits a sheriff (“I Shot The Sheriff”). National Video, a Los Angeles-based animation collective, directed the project, which was driven by the tune “Sing Sing” from Serena Ryder.
The question becomes, with projects such as these, does the process of creating and selecting music for those ads change, or does it remain the same? “Not to the point where you have to retool the operation to get music written, recorded, produced and distributed. It still always starts in the studio,” relates Joel Simon, president/CEO of JSM, which in addition to creating music for advertising also has the aforementioned JSM Records, whose artists can contribute to ad work. And Simon is a partner in www.decentx.com, a Web site that offers ringtones and other products from emerging artists. “Whether it be for a film soundtrack or an ad or a ring tone, the creative process doesn’t change,” says Simon. “The medium is what changes, and then that kind of spins off different applications and how you get it to these different formats, whether it be ring tones, whether it be a PDA or a cell phone or whatever the case may be.”
Simon notes that with emerging media, there are more “opportunities for companies like JSM to explore, just like the advertising agencies and respective clients.” And while some technological tweaks might becomes necessary–for instance, converting files for use as ring tones, the creative process does not change that much. “The music company just has to be open-minded enough to want to branch out into [other areas] or not,” asserts Simon. “To me, it’s always been just music–it doesn’t matter if it’s for a thirty-second spot or a thirty that then turns into a campaign, or if it’s for a movie soundtrack. … if it’s got legs, and if the track is right, it can find a home in any one of these different mediums.”
READY FOR THE CHARTS
Marketers are increasingly recognizing that having a brand associated with a song that’s well perceived can increase awareness and customer interaction. Josh Rabinowitz, senior VP/director of music production at Grey, advocates that, if feasible, full-length versions of tracks should be created in addition to what is used on a particular ad, in the hopes that those tracks will cross over into the consumer market.
“[In those cases], it’s songs that are lateral to advertising, that are brand-influenced,” explains Rabinowitz. “Songs that coincide with the brand, and also have legs, and speak to people on its own. That’s been one of my main pursuits here–we try to educate clients on that all the time–that it’s really worthwhile and a good way for cross-branding.” Grey has created full-length versions of songs, including the aforementioned Tanqueray project (Jared Schlemovitz was the Grey music producer on the project); and on a track for Kmart. Though Grey has done full-length tracks for some its clients, Rabinowitz cautions that when taking the approach, it should be pursued because the song is strong, not simply because it can be done.
For the Virgin Digital job, the music selection had certain parameters, reports AnneKatherine Friis, the agency producer for Ground Zero on the project. The track had to be something available on Virgin Digital, though it did not have to be from an artist signed to the Virgin Records label. Ultimately, the agency went with “Sing Sing” from Ryder, a relatively unknown Canadian artist signed to Universal Canada. “In theory, we were going to be launching an artist with this,” relates Friis, who added that this wasn’t the initial intention with the piece–it happened to work out that way. “People hearing the song would be hearing it for the first time.
“… The fact that we could launch an artist,” she continues, “was pretty cool since we were launching this whole new music service.” Friis notes that in terms of picking music for a viral short versus selecting a tune for a more traditional spot, the major difference was the length of the track. “The length was a challenge,” she explains, “because we had to find something that would either loop well, or that we liked a full one-minute, twenty-seconds of–it was an interesting challenge we usually don’t have to deal with.”
As for whether or not the process for selecting tracks will change as media changes, Friis predicts not. “It will probably stay the same,” she states, “The media that we choose will change a bit; I don’t think the music will be affected by that.”
TECHNOLOGY
In terms of technology, different types of delivery format have little effect on the creative process. “What we were delivering technically speaking was pretty much the same stuff,” says composer Adam Schiff of Machine Head, who composed music for some of the Motorola/MTV mobile phone shorts. “All of the squishing and compressing for its final delivery was done by someone else.”
Dewey, who recently completed work on a forthcoming Internet short film from Pirelli Tires, featuring John Malkovich, and directed by Antoine Fuqua of bicoastal Anonymous Content, says the process on the Motorola/MTV project was unencumbered by where it would ultimately air. Dewey notes that the time factor on projects like Pirelli makes them enjoyable to work on. “[They are] really fun, because you stretch [the track] out,” he notes.
Whatever the project, and wherever it will ultimately appear, music houses–and the agencies they work with–will continue to be able to experiment with new formats and new technologies. “It’s a great time right now,” states JSM’s Simon. “Years ago, these kinds of opportunities were closed to companies like mine–now the gates are open.”