Credits

I’ve had my music used in campaigns and commercials for food companies like McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts to car companies like Ford, Nissan, and Toyota, to finance and insurance companies like Ameritrade, E-Trade, and Square.

New Income Source

With the changes that constantly happen in the music industry, I made a choice many years ago to pursue this as a branch of my development in creating more income sources for myself. I realized early on that large companies like McDonalds, Budweieser, Toyota, etc would always have the resources and would always need music. Not only that, but with the growth of online advertising there are now SO many places for your music to find a home. Whether it’s a $75 web license or a $100 thousand dollar Apple commercial, they add up and have a lot in common.

Melody & Chordal Structures

In this course I will take you through tips and tricks to structure your music to catch the attention of the listener as well as share melodic and chordal concepts that have served me well. Also I will show you ways to build production through the arc of a track that has been battle tested over the years. 

Songwriting for Ads

We will also dive into songwriting concepts. The 5 main emotions that you can write from that are the bread and butter of the advertising industry. We’ll speak about lyrics and their importance with when to use them and when to utilize other ideas like vocalese and gang vocals. We will also get into the nitty gritty with vocal production concepts, which to me are some of the most important concepts to grasp. 

Stem Analysis

We will achieve all the above by looking deeply into the stems of songs I’ve written or co written to solidify these concepts. Each song having been represented in one or more commercials, you will see how the song goes from start to finish and then how it is utilized in final presentation of product and music.

Where's The Money?

Beyond the music I want to let you in on some of the tricks in the industry. What the agencies are looking for and how you as an artist or band can get their attention. We also dive into income sources. The difference between a music buy out or one with license terms and residuals. SAG/ACTRA, Unions, etc. And most importantly how you make money on what’s called the “backend” with companies like ASCAP/BMI/SESAC/SOCAN. I realized this concept big time when I landed a Subway commercial. The front end was in the hundreds of dollars, but that commercial became the Subway $3.50 commercial for a whole winter season. It aired over 8000 times. The back end money was in the many thousands. 

Finding A Home

What good is it all without avenues and resources to get your music out there? We will dive into the places where you can find your music a home, as well as external resources to stay current with what the marketplace is looking for. The ad market follows closely with popular music, and I’ll share my theories that have worked on what to chase and when. 

Getting Ahead

Whether you’re an upcoming band or an established composer, know there are no rules in this brand of the industry. In the end the final say is the agency that is responsible for placing your music to sell their product. It happens in so many strange and odd ways, there really is no exact method. With this course I hope to help you get ahead with concepts and tricks I’ve used to find my way onto television and online advertising consistently over many years.