music advertising mad men?

Over the past few years I have become very interested in the music advertising scene.  How does it work?  Where does the music come from?  Is it fun?  With the current state of the music industry I believe that advertising music is a respectable, and valuable resource for musicians.  It is a way to get your material played for audiences that otherwise may have never heard of you.  Even if you're an established artist, it's a way to add more zero's to the good ole bank account.  I decided to write this post because I recently read a few articles by well known musicians about their thoughts on the role of music in advertising.  Turns out, the music you hear in the background of your favorite commercial may be coming from a very familiar voice.  

Here is a good place to start,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/beyonce-hm-commercial-video_n_3153615.html

Another job well done by Beyonce.  This ad/mini music video seems like a great idea to me.  Beyonce clearly isn't hurting for work, but why not take the opportunity to show off a brand new song in collaboration with one of the most popular clothing companies in the world?  (my opinion)  The ad will be shortened for television this summer, and Beyonce will also work with h&m on creating new ads.  It's an interesting spot, kind of hard to tell that it has anything to do with a clothing company honestly.

Moving on, take a look at this,

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1178063/david-banner-talks-advertising-new-production-company-and-music

Remember that guy?  He brought you all sorts of hits in the early 2000's that definitely are not suitable to Tv.  Looks like he is able to wear a few more hats than most people thought.  I know, brands like Coca-Cola figured this out a long time ago.  People enjoy popular music, so why not pair it with your brand to boost it's success?  For me it's another reminder of the versatility that it takes to survive in the entertainment business these days.  Ugh, just when I thought it was time to hit the golf course.

Enjoy the day,

Leon

Ah, so this is why we like music?

http://science.time.com/2013/04/15/music/?iid=tsmodule

I remember saying to myself "this article looks interesting", whether or not that was a few days ago and I just got around to reading it is a different story.  If you have the time, check it out.

Moving on, I have been thinking a lot lately about how different people seem to be drawn towards different types of music.  I really enjoy it when I find out what a persons favorite song is, mainly because they are always so different.  In short summary the article says that we enjoy listening to music for two main reasons.  The first is that it can release the magic brain chemical "dopamine" sending us into happy thought land.  Second, it may actually feed our brains desire to make accurate predictions about what is going to happen in the future.  Lets all think of our favorite song.  Done?  Good.  Chances are there are many songs that sound a lot like it, and if you were played one of these songs, you'd probably like it a lot.  Why?  Because you are most likely able to make a prediction of how the next beat of the song will sound.  People like to know things, apparently.

This has got me thinking about the way that we are all exposed to music these days.  Much more on this to come later.