Music: Move with the music

viral message.

The digital revolution means advertisers can make music from their
commercials work harder than ever for their brands. If a piece of music
is good enough, it can reach millions of people as a ringtone, a
real-tone or a chart hit - all the while spreading good feelings about
the brand that used the song in the first place.

Marketing agencies, music publishers and record companies are
increasingly alert to the opportunities. As are the mobile phone
companies, which are on the hunt for content as well as associations
with bands and artists. Brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Colman's,
Comfort Creme and Pepsi are also getting in on the digital music act.
Some of the best examples of the brand-band connection are big-name
signings such as Robbie Williams to T-Mobile and Christina Aguilera to
Sony Ericsson and Orange.

It sounds like a genuine bandwagon, but you have to look before you leap
aboard. The chief proviso for any brand wishing to capitalise on music
is that the sounds have to be good. Not every track is going to be worth
promoting.

"Some brands are a bit naive about what would justify selling
ringtones," Melanie Johnson, the promotions manager at EMI Music
Publishing, says. "It needs to be a big song and have a connection back
to the brand." Jose Gonzalez's beguiling guitar piece Heartbeats, on the
Sony Bravia "balls" ad, is irrefutably an example of a great advertising
track.

But whether the music will sell widely or not, advertisers must be aware
of the importance of securing the correct rights. Richard Kirstein, the
managing director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty's music consultancy, Leap
Music, says: "What's very confusing for clients, account teams and
producers is that the use of music as a ringtone and download invokes a
separate right from a basic sync right. It requires rights to be paid
for per unit."

Advertisers must also decide whether they are going to charge consumers
to download tunes or foot the bill themselves. Sorting out all possible
options at the start of a deal is the best way forward; leaving it until
later could prove tricky and more costly.

Another important issue is timing. Despite the relative speed of setting
up digital services, Fiona McBlane at Huge Music reckons you need a
couple of months to set up musical spin-offs.

"Obviously, you need time to organise ringtones and the publicity and
marketing around it. Companies can be slow at getting these things off
the ground," she warns.

Although there are some big question-marks over rights in some areas,
especially the internet, it doesn't stop the rights holders from being
very helpful. Publishers see rights issues as a challenge, while working
with brands and artists on a creative idea can open doors. At EMI,
Johnson says: "More and more, brands and agencies ask us to come in and
present an array of options for added value - not just lots of extra
technological things. We're trying to be more creative in our licensing.
You've got to think on your feet a lot more."

The picture is similar in the US, where Johnson's colleague Hunter
Murtaugh, the creative director, strategic music marketing for EMI Music
Publishing, says: "Brands and agencies are finally waking up to the fact
that because people don't want to be sold to, music is ever more
important as a way of communicating to people." He cites a recent ad by
Chase Bank in the US, which featured a Five for Fighting track; the
music strategy included its use in all of the bank's branches as the
corporate "on-hold" music.

Record companies can be less enthusiastic than publishers about all
these extensions of use for their music. Often locked into their own
release schedules, they have more time constraints than publishers and
are also reportedly more wary about the exploitation of rights on the
internet.

However, Ulrich Jaerkel, the senior vice-president for strategic
marketing and business development at the record company Sony BMG,
stresses that "brand partnerships" are an important way forward for the
company. "One option," he says, "is to be smart enough and fast enough,
and to bring brand partners together with highly emotional brands on our
side, which you can call artists."

Everyone seems to agree that it is vital to embrace digital music
solutions for advertisers, but it is still an area that is develop-ing,
with lots of emotions and variable costs swishing around to complicate
matters. However, there are numerous specialists at hand to guide you
through the musical minefield, bringing not onlyexperience on the
artistic front, but also in advertising. The marketing agency Iris and
the Engine Group's Slice PR offer such services, for example.

So should clients use specialists to help out or stick with the old
route of ad agency producer and record company/publisher?

Mark Ross, the managing director of the music specialist Tuna Music,
says that while major record companies and publishers now have dedicated
departments to deal with the needs of brands, there are still plenty of
smaller ones that do not. Tuna helps from start to finish.

"We will source a music track, negotiate and clear the rights for the
campaign and then work with the agency, brand and rights owners to
explore other potential areas of co-promotion," Ross says.

Perhaps more importantly, specialists such as Tuna or Ricall have their
ear to the ground. "We are continually working on campaigns and have a
good sense of current market values, experience in licensing music
across all media and a realistic idea of what is attainable," Ross
says.

Rakesh Sanghvi, the managing director of the music publisher Sony/ATV is
circumspect about music consultancies, describing some excellent outfits
and then a swathe of also-rans. "We find it a lot more productive to be
in a direct relationship with the agencies," he says. "It saves the
Chinese whispers. And, where we are working closely with someone when
their ideas are forming, we can be a part of the creative process."
Working with brand partners, Sanghvi is looking at all sorts of
opportunities in the digital arena, including embedding music in the car
stereos of new models as well as in mobile phone handsets.

But multiplatform music campaigns are certainly not the preserve of
cars, phones and fashion. The music publisher Boosey & Hawkes recently
worked with Colman's mustard on its "meaty-licious" campaign, featuring
a military track spun-off from a major viral e-marketing campaign. And
at TBWA's brand entertainment consultancy, Stream, the music director,
Dominic Caisley, describes a recent music strategy for the Unilever
fabric conditioner brand Comfort Creme, where the ad's music has been
used for both trade and consumer marketing purposes.

Caisley, like many, believes opportunities are growing by the month. So
what's around the corner? "In the next 12 months, you will click to
download and buy the song, even the album, from your red button on the
TV."

MUSIC RIGHTS ON THE WEB: A THORNY ISSUE

This summer, Channel 4 pulled all advertising from its new online
broadcasting service in response to ad industry fears that actors and
musicians could sue agencies for rights infringement.

Advertisers that use a piece of music in their TV ads, for example, do
not automatically own the right to use it in other media, such as
online. And music providers, especially the record companies, are wary
of licensing advertisers to use a song in a medium that has the
potential to reach billions of people. How do you calculate a royalty
payment based on an open-ended, global audience and over an unspecified
time-frame?

But the IPA, which warned Channel 4 of the problem, understands that
online services are the future for broadcasters. Its advice is for
agencies and advertisers to clear as many rights as possible, taking
into account all the potential uses of an ad or its elements. Beyond
that, the IPA is helping to further discussions between the various
parties to develop a framework.

Specifying exact usage online has to be a crucial part of the way ahead:
there are ways of limiting audiences and access to material on the
internet.

Channel 4 points out that its service was simulcast with the TV
offering, streamed live and that it was not possible to download any
material. Furthermore, it says, the broadcast service was only available
to registered users.

BRANDS AND BANDS UNITE: FOUR CASE STUDIES

LIBRESSE

Artist: A-Bomb featuring Rachel Kelly

Strategy: The sanpro brand Libresse worked with Leap Music and
rearranged the Negro spiritual Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,
rerecording it for Bartle Bogle Hegarty's "march" ad. The recording was
controlled by Leap Masters. The track was available for sale as a
download at iTunes, Napster and Playlouder, via Leap Masters' digital
distributor state51. Leap Masters' content aggregator partner,
Buongiorno, distributed a ringtone and real-tone across Europe.

Results: As well as the track getting played on Radio 1 and attracting
tens of thousands of women to Libresse's website, the "march" spot
achieved the highest UK awareness for a Libresse commercial since the
company's tracking records began in 1989.

O2

Artist: Jackson and His Computer Band

Strategy: By using the single Utopia by a young, French band for VCCP's
"bubble" ad, the mobile phone brand O2 was able to position itself at
the cutting edge of new music. Warp Records and EMI Music Publishing
decided to start promoting the track subtly online, boosting search
rankings and making it simple for people to discover more about the
music. Key to this was posting the ad on YouTube, where it was seen by
thousands of viewers.

Results: Without alienating Jackson's underground audience, sales of the
song through digital downloads rose 600 per cent in the month following
the ad's release in May this year. Interest is still climbing and a
release of the single is being planned in association with O2.

MULLER

Artist: Nina Simone/Groovefinder

Strategy: In 2004, Stream licensed the original version of Nina Simone's
Ain't Got No/I Got Life for a Muller ad by TBWA. The huge response to
the music inspired Muller to capitalise on the track by commissioning a
new version through Sony BMG, recorded by Groovefinder and released in
April 2006 alongside a new Muller Vitally ad. Online comprised an e-card
sent to 50,000 consumers, viewing of the ad and retail downloads of the
music and ringtones.

Results: The reworked Nina Simone track has been heard by an astonishing
50 million people and was A-listed by Radio 2 for five weeks, reaching
an estimated average weekly audience of 16 million listeners.

ADIDAS

Artist: Jim Noir

Strategy: The "impossible team" ad by 180Amsterdam featured a soundtrack
including the Jim Noir song Eanie Meany, with the lyric: "If you don't
give me my football back/I'm gonna get my dad on you." Banking on Noir's
up-and-coming status and working with Atlantic Records, Warner Music
Special Projects and Noir's management company, Tuna Music, came up with
an extensive campaign to exploit the brand's association with the music.
The branded single was released to coincide with the World Cup, with a
branded video using the same faces as the ad, while ringtones and
downloads were widely available. The album and tour were peppered with
branding, while Noir subtly sported Adidas merchandise.

Results: There have been more than 150,000 downloads of the ad.