'I recently produced a jingle for McDonald's in Singapore. Like most of my American peers, the brand's in my DNA. While I'm hardly the world's most accomplished jingle guy, I do have a process I like for making commercial music that's been working thus far. A lot of people are asking how I go about doing this work, so I thought I'd share how I do things. Whether you're a musician, songwriter or producer, this approach can help to refine your process.
First, the fundamentals. Ads have predetermined lengths, usually 15 or 30 seconds (but sometimes shorter) which are hard limits. I set up a session with markers at the start and end of that time value and sync up the reference video (if there is one). Next, I comb through the reference looking for important cues. For instance, let's say a hypothetical commercial has a fade-in, a VO with a street scene, a product reveal, and a title logo. For such a situation I make markers at the beginning of each transition and do my best to find a tempo that feels natural. It won't always work out perfectly, but you can usually add or subtract a beat somewhere and finesse it. One mistake I've made before is to underestimate how obvious transitions need to be. As a musician, it feels like a real development to do something subtle like add pads or a new layer of lead lines at the beginning of a new section. Often, however, that ends up sounding weak. It's generally a good idea for transitions to be bold and emphasize rhythm, as opposed to little blips and bloops. Once I've got the marker skeleton worked out, it's time to think about the ad's texture. This is where I look over the brief for what the client wants. It's also where I interpret what the client wants, because they're usually not musicians, that's why they've hired me! Briefs will say things like “we want an airy, bright, energetic & futuristic vibe” and then attach some electronic dirge as a musical reference. Bewildering contradiction is often the rule and so reading between the lines is an absolute necessity. Maybe that dirge has a gorgeous, bright pad in the bridge? There's nothing wrong with clarifying if it's really not clear, but the truth is the closer you get without coddling (and the faster you deliver) the more likely you are to win the bid. The actual composition of the underlying music should be strong – unlike some contemporary pop music which is dominated by murky textures, drums and not much else, melody & internal rhythm is still king for ads. A strong melody married with an appropriate chord progression (even one which is merely implied) will win over a cool vibe that doesn't go anywhere. Clients aren't averse to flashy production tricks – in fact, they often ask for them – but those tricks are not viable substitutes for a memorable melody which has tonal & rhythmic shifts that reflect the ad's transitions. Finally, revisions – an aspect of working for hire that can be difficult. Erykah Badu said “I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my s**t,” and so am I. I've worked on a game where I had to read the opinions of no fewer than 10 people on the soundtrack! While I don't personally believe music is helped by such a process, it's not my decision. At the end of the day it's important to deliver what the client wants and still make it as good as possible. When they insist a flute solo is appropriate for selling chainsaws, I can laugh internally, but eventually I have to come round and figure out how to do it. I'm constantly working on improving my emotional state while working for clients. All jobs require that you can take constructive criticism – but freelance music production means being a professional rejectee. I read one guide to composing for film & television that suggests winning one out of every five bids is a healthy ratio. Assuming I'm there now, that still means 80 percent of my time I didn't deliver what the client wanted and even during the 20 percent of the time where I did, I still have to do one or two rounds of revisions in which my precious creation will be sliced, diced, diluted, sanitized or neutered. This means you cannot be overly attached to any part of what you do. You must adopt a Buddha-like detachment and a child-like enthusiasm for tweaking & changing the music into something new. A revision is not a scold, it's an opportunity to make something even cooler. Ultimately, writing commercial music can be very rewarding. The stakes are high and the process can induce stress. But the universe is not obligated to dole out music jobs, and music, even of the corporate variety, is best when it's an expression of gratitude. Maintaining this perspective is the whole job and with a bit of luck it will land happy repeat clients. All the disrupt in the world won't change that!
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