30 Seconds of Influence: How Pop Culture Shapes Winning Compositions

Composer and music supervisor Wendell Hanes of Volition Sound has scored over 1500 commercials and 30 films. He is the author of The 30-30 Career: Making 30 Grand in 30 Seconds Producing Music for Commercials: Volume 1. Here’s the second in a series of columns from Wendell on building successful careers scoring to picture. See Part 1, “How to Win Your First Commercial Scoring Job: A Seven-Step Guide,” here.

Why are hit songs hit songs? Because often they make us feel our best at the exact moment we hear them. And anytime a brand can share in the credit for inspiring you to feel your best, it becomes a win-win for the artist and the brand.

There’s a reason why pop stars like Bruno Mars impact the sound of advertising.

Bruno Mars, Pharell Williams, Rihanna and Beyoncé all have one thing in common and that is: The Power To Influence. They have the power to influence what you eat, drink, purchase and wear. So much so, that I am hereby proposing a new GRAMMY award for “Top Artist Influencer.”

More for the Money

In the business of advertising, hit songs can be the language that sells the product. In fact, here are the four music questions that brands must consider when creating TV, Radio, and Digital ads for their products.

1. What is our target demographic?
2. What music artists represent our target demographic?
3. Should we license a hit record from this artist?
4. Can we create an original track that captures the same demographic of the hit artist?

When a brand licenses a Pharell hit song for their TV spot (as Walmart did this spring with his 2015 track “Freedom”), they instantly create a :30 culture that connects all the people who love that hit song with all the people who love that brand. These :30 commercials can unite millennials and influence purchasing behavior simply by hearing the song in association with the product. As a result, a commercial composer can find him or herself in a direct competition with Pharrell’s hit record.

What competition you might ask? Well, when a brand is enamored with a hit song, they may license that song immediately without considering coming to YOU the composer who scores commercials for a living. And that’s just the first type of competition. Just wait until you are asked to make a hit song overnight that is better than Bruno Mars’ or Pharrell’s track. That’s the height of competition.

But I digress. Hit songs can be expensive to license and the return on investment must be considered by brands. More times than not, creating an original track can be the best way to achieve the brand’s FINANCIAL goals.

Under the Influence

That is where YOU come in.

An agency or client may call you to create an original hit song that would capture the same audience as Pharell or Bruno Mars. In this regard, a hit song listened to as a music reference can be used to convey what type of track you should create.

As a composer, you will never hear someone ask you to make “a four chord progression in B flat major with trap hi hats and a bridge 15 seconds in that swells into an anthemic chorus of staccato brass triplets.” NOPE! NEVER!

Instead, one of the most effective ways to communicate what is desired is by using a song reference. For example: Can you make a song that gives me the same energy I get when I listen to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)?” Everyone knows a universal hit song and everyone knows how the masses react when they hear one.

You sit down at your computer inspired by the same joy or emotion that Beyoncé’s song gives the world. You create an infectious beat with claps and snaps and accents in cool unexpected places followed by a catchy vocal melody that makes you want to bounce instantly.

BOOM!!! A week later when the commercial is on TV, it reaches the same demographic of fans that love Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” When this happens, you have done your job. The brand sees their sales going up and your music is the catalyst, because after all it was your music that grabbed the attention of the consumer and kept their attention from beginning to end. The influence of pop culture started the conversation and ultimately brought in the results.

Pop Embrace

We are all connected by culture in subliminal ways and music is one of the most pleasantly subliminal components of life. We might not realize at the moment that we need an upbeat song about an Old Town Road in our life today, but when we hear it, it lifts our spirits.

In today’s wild Wild West record business, record labels have a ravenous desire to license their music to brands. Hit songs in pop culture are the results of the ultimate focus group: the Internet. Pop music can get a bad rap sometimes. But in the 30 second industry, the stakes is high like De La Soul said. Your music has to sound like a real record when competing against hit songs. Leave the jingle chops at the door. Lock in the win with your record producing chops. That’s the game.

So GO POP or GO HOME!

Composer Wendell Hanes is the owner of Volition Sound Branding in New York City. He has won every major award in advertising including Clios, Cannes Lions, Effies, ADDY’s, London International Awards, ANDY Award, One Shows, and Golden Award of Montreaux’s. He has most recently scored “The Game Changers” from director James Cameron, over 1500 commercials and 30 movies, and currently services as Music Composer and Music Supervisor on the new Netflix sitcom “Family Reunion.” Hanes has also brought his classical scoring chops and sound design talents to the world of hip hop by working on major records for Lil Wayne, Drake, Future, Nikki Minaj and Yo Gotti.  

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