The spot “Paperwork Trees” that HUM Music + Sound Design, Santa Monica, recently worked on for Visa Business Card out of TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, features a song written and performed by Christopher Faizi. A project from Dragon Licks (the licensing division of Yessian, bicoastal and Detroit) for an Izod spot slated for cinemas this fall features the music of the band Infidel, Inc., and another for St. Ives via Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis, contains a track from the band Fisher. Also, Canadian band In Flight lent their sound to a Dell commercial for DDB Chicago through Emoto Music, Santa Monica.
Never heard of these artists? That’s the point.
As more and more clients put emphasis on the sound of their brand, they want something cool and fresh that ultimately won’t break the bank. So when it comes to licensing these days, they don’t necessarily want the tried and true mega hit. Instead they are gravitating towards the tunes of lesser-known artists and sometimes having them create an original song.
And artists no longer seem to be feel that there’s any selling-out stigma.
“Advertising is one of the few solid revenue streams that hasn’t been totally transformed by online music sharing. As a result, labels and artists have aggressively pursued agencies and in some cases clients directly to pitch their songs knowing that advertisers are willing to pay premium amounts for the use of their songs in commercials,” says Paul Greco, VP/executive music producer at Young & Rubicam, New York.
“This has driven the costs of licensing to very high levels. Many artists who in the past had never been willing to license their work for advertising for fear of ‘selling out’ now cannot can’t pass up the money. Only a few like Springsteen and Neil Young remain unwilling to license their work.”
While Jeff Koz, creative director/composer at HUM, estimates his company does about 50 percent licensing and 50 percent original composing, what he calls a “hybrid situation” has developed.
“A client comes to us with a licensing request for a commercial and as we take them through the process sometimes we suggest–on a parallel path–to develop an original concept because time or cost might be a factor,” he says. “So the client creates original tracks with the artists. It gives it a very fresh sound.”
Speaking of sounding inventive, another trend he is seeing is the remixing of great songs. Recently his company tapped Mocean Worker to remix Elvis’s “Burnin Love” for the Honda CRV campaign out of Rubin Postaer and Associates, Los Angeles.
It’s likely the trend of licensing of original music will continue to grow considering the music industry is in a state of upheaval and flux, according to John Adair, composer/partner at Emoto.
“There are a lot of musicians and bands that are running around who are not locked into iron-clad deals and are flexible,” Adair says.
That’s why a couple of years ago Emoto began to diversify to meet licensing demands. They looked at the traditional licensing model and realized that if somebody wanted to license a big hit song, many of the agencies were set up to do that negotiation themselves, but not necessarily when it came to lesser-known independent artists.
“But what we have been doing is cultivating a community of different musicians and bands and independent labels who have a wide range of styles and different types of musical perspectives. We’ve been setting up a network with these artists,” explains Adair, adding that since they don’t all necessarily know the lay of the land in terms of commercials–how the time format has to work, how the revisions have to flow–the company helps them out with that as well. “There is huge potential not only for licensing their catalog and pre-existing recorded material, but a lot of these artists are willing to and excited about writing material for spots. They are into it. They dig it.
“Agencies don’t really have the time, manpower or resources to really sort out that world out because there is so much of it.”
Josh Rabinowitz, director of music at Grey Worldwide, agrees that advertising agencies without dedicated music people rely on music houses, music and marketing resources provided by publishers and labels and sometimes third party negotiators as guides/partners in making their not-necessarily-original music happen. “It’s been a successful model for some, confusing for others, and not entirely cost-effective and ‘pro-creative’ for the remainder,” assesses Rabinowitz.
Speaking of business models, Adair says Emoto’s way of working has shifted. Now the conceptualizing of the production of a commercial can even start with a song and work its way backwards. The company will bring to any given project an open palette–something completely original from composers, a co-write with a particular artist, something an artist writes and performs completely and that it helps them produce, or a pre-existing song from an artist that works as is or needs adjustments.
“Anywhere in that spectrum now a project can start and move somewhere else. It’s fascinating,” says Adair.
Adds Howard Paar, who heads up Emoto’s licensing division, “What’s most exciting is the fluidity of being able to meet whatever the disparate needs of any given client are in a really fun and different way.”
The aforementioned Yessian launched licensing division Dragon Licks back in March. “Obviously record labels aren’t doing as great as they once were, it’s hard for a lot of up-and-coming artists to get their names out there unless they have some kind of big supportive backing. Commercials have become a way for people to get recognized and get their material in front of the masses and vice versa,” says Brian Yessian, executive creative director of Yessian.
“And so far a lot of brands are liking the idea of having a song associated with a brand, something that people will recognize and remember. And besides writing originals, indie artists and bands are all really open to retrofitting their music or making tweaks and changes to really fit the brand.”
He’s had bands create full-length versions of a song for a brand, and cites the St. Ives project as an example. “They were looking for a specific song and they gave us some lyrical content ideas they were looking for in the song. Some of our bands created songs for them and in the end they picked a track by Fisher. We did a full recording session out in L.A. And the agency was out there while we were finishing up the recording.
“We try to get a little more personal with Dragon Licks–bands really cater to and create original content for brands. That way it is a little more ownable and you can really associate it with the brand without being over the top with it and mentioning a product name or something like that.”
Big Business
Music houses aren’t the only ones thinking about connecting brands and bands. Group M, the media investment arm of global communications services/agency holding group WPP, and Universal Music Group have teamed up launch BrandAmp. The new company will identify opportunities across a wide range of media platforms for WPP agencies and clients, drawing upon Universal Music’s relationships with artists, musicians and talent management, and its extensive music catalog.
“I think that alliance can be beneficial in an area like creating a relationship with an artist or several artists across the brand to be working on multiple spots–like a spokesman or ‘spokesband’ relationship. But my experience working with enormous agencies and clients is they’re not the fastest moving machines,” says Koz.
Greco believes that with all the necessary clearances and permissions needed in licensing a song, Brand Amp could make the process easier and more efficient. “But the bottom line is, is the song/artist enhancing the creative idea or the commercial and does that song/artist have the proper image for that particular client? Will they be willing and able to give the project the same attention that commercial music companies give in terms of multiple revisions, multiple versions, flexibility with budgets, et cetera.?
Tricia Halloran who heads the licensing division at HUM, points out that record labels also have priorities and strategies for their band. They have certain bands that they really want to get opportunities and placements for and that’s going to be their point of view. “We are more about serving our clients, our creatives on the ad agency level and what serves the spot without regard to what band a certain record company is trying to break,” she says. Adds Koz, “There is a fine line. We try to really walk that fine line, of keeping an eye on opportunities but also really being loyal to the agenda of the spot.”
He says that with certain projects they will think a little broader when an artist produces something original because there is a lot of potential for other assets that can be leveraged by the brand. “We like to create multiple assets across multiple platforms for our clients and we are getting known for that. We’ve actually helped clients make things bigger than what they actually intended,” he notes, citing such examples as creating long versions of the song, making downloadable versions, having them on iTunes and doing promotional ties.
“Another trend is that clients are looking at bigger broader multi-platform ways to use music–not just licensing for a commercial, but really defining a song for their brand. And looking at getting that sound out there in various ways, whether it be through downloads on the Internet or on an Internet radio station, band interviews or concert sponsorships. They are starting to realize that should all be looked at from one viewpoint,” Halloran says.
From an agency perspective, Rabinowitz emphasizes the importance of having a dedicated in-house music resource who can guide the music process, from the seed of the idea, to the musical execution of that idea, to the final mix, and beyond.
“It’s the ‘beyond’ aspect that is becoming a most vital component. As we see with the creation of BrandAmp, the connection to and stature of music in the advertising, and especially in the client’s perception/consciousness, is uber-important. The buzz, resonation and financial return on the music, after it hits the air and cyber waves, is something that ad people must take note of.”
