Do you see a lot of ads on TV or the Internet without music? Not really! Or very little... Brands have realized that music plays an extremely important role in the promotion of a good or service. By influencing our sensory experience, it reinforces a message and improves viewers' recall. But it's all about choosing the right music!
And to choose THE most effective music, there are many methods. You can use well-known music, lesser-known music or even music specially created for your ad. Such is the case of this short film produced for the Disney brand, where the song composed by Austin Zubeck, Justin Thunstrom and performed by Jessica Darrow, was specially designed for the commercial.
Source : Youtube
So, do you know where to find music for your ads?
1. CONTACT LABELS AND MAJORS
If you want to incorporate music by a well-known artist into your ad, the first step is to check who holds the rights to it. As an advertiser, you'll need to obtain a synchronization license in order to use the music in the image, and in general you'll need to contact the artist directly, or his or her record label if he or she is signed.
For example, for the release of its new mascara in 2022, the Guerlain brand approached major label Universal Music to integrate Beauty Freak's "My beauty" into its advertising spot:
Source: Youtube
Depending on the artist's reputation, you'll need to plan for a fairly substantial music budget, up to hundreds of thousands of euros. After that, it really depends on the artist, so take your chances - you've got nothing to lose! And if the price is too high, no problem: of course, there are alternatives.
2. MUSIC IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
The Internet is overflowing with resources, and to cope with the exorbitant prices that the Majors can charge for the use of a work, the first thing to do is to check whether the work you wish to use is subject to copyright.
There are works that belong to the public domain, i.e. that are not or no longer protected by copyright. These include works by authors who died over 70 years ago in France, or those first published over 95 years ago in the United States. Some of these can be found on the Internet Archive site, or on the site of the National Library of Congress, which offers a National Jukebox of audio recordings made in the USA since 1900. As of 2022, over 400,000 American recordings published before 1923 have entered the public domain and can therefore be exploited. These include:
Source : National Library of Congress
Alternatively, you can find many online libraries that list a range of royalty-free or Creative Commons-licensed productions, which you can then use for your audiovisual content. Creative Commons are works for shared use. Authors assign or license all or part of the rights to use their works, subject to certain conditions. In some cases, authors do not authorize commercial use, so you need to pay close attention to the conditions imposed. Websites such as Free Music Public Domain, Sound Bible or Free Music Archive, for example, offer sound banks of all styles (blues, jazz, rock, experimental...), or sound effects under CC license.
3. FEE-BASED PLATFORMS
Finally, one last little tip: there are also pay platforms that offer fairly extensive catalogs of good quality sounds that you can use without any problem as part of an advertisement. These platforms work in collaboration with artists and a whole ecosystem of players enabling artists to gain visibility.
One example is Epidemic Sound, which offers tailor-made quotes for companies. By subscribing to their platform, you gain access to at least 35,000 tracks in a wide variety of styles and 90,000 sound effects that you can use for commercial purposes, such as advertising spots. With a direct licensing model, the platform owns all the copyrights to the works in its catalog.
Here you'll find the most listened-to songs from their catalog in 2021.
Source : Epidemic Sound
There's also Artlist, a platform which, like Epidemic Sound, offers music, sound effects, video templates and other visual effects, which you can access by subscribing. You can use the platform's content and distribute it on any medium with a subscription starting at €16.6.
So, as you can see, there are many ways to choose music for your commercials. And sometimes for less! So if you're on a tight budget, you can opt for the solutions mentioned above, which will require a bit of research, but which may fit your budget.
Alternatively, if you have a clear idea of what you need and are looking for a customized, personalized service, you can also call on professionals who will work directly for you. At Hedayat Music, we'll work with you to create custom compositions based on your needs and ideas. You can find our demos right here!
