“When it Comes to Music in Ads, There’s no Substitute for the Real Deal”

Music is possibly the only language that we can all understand. Jimi Hendrix, for example, articulated how “music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart”, communicating in a way that transcends words. Similarly, Bob Marley and Johann Sebastian Bach echoed the same sentiment, emphasizing music’s capacity to convey messages to the heart through a timeless and universal appeal. 

In advertising, music is phenomenally important. A groundbreaking Kantar study in 2021 found that music in ads helps to increase a brand’s memorability, an ad’s distinctiveness, and even an audience’s likelihood to retain new information and new ideas. But now, in 2024, there’s still a temptation to cut corners when it comes to music in advertising. Many campaigns look towards plug-and-play stock music, rather than work with real, authentic music which can elevate a campaign - and truly take advantage of the potential those statistics suggest is out there. 

Beto Azout is the co-founder of SoStereo, a platform which helps brands leverage real music by real artists. “Integrating music from real artists into your brand's content not only elevates your 'cool factor', but also marks a significant leap in brand engagement and perception”, he explains. “If you want your brand to cut through the noise, then the era of stock music is over for you – ditch the stock and hop on the real-music-by-real-artists train!” 

Any music fan will instinctively know about this connection between music and human emotions - but it’s born out by science, too. For example, a 2015 Harvard report noted how music “reactivates areas of the brain associated with memory, reasoning, speech, emotion, and reward”. You can see this borne out in the way we all live and connect with music today. Take Spotify’s Culture Next report, which found that 66% of Gen Z listeners said that audio “helped them feel less alone” during the pandemic. Our relationship with music is something that runs deep in all of us - and its power is a cognitive and behavioral fact which provides the foundation for countless successful brand communications. 

To illustrate this point, SoStereo recently put together a promotional video - it’s a bright and breezy celebration of music’s power which also alights on some key points which further reinforce the need for brands to work with real, culturally-relevant, label-quality music rather than stock libraries. 

Above: The power of fans is another persuasive point underlining the advantages of working with real musicians. 

Of course, connecting with audiences via real music also gives brands the chance to link up with a musician’s own fans. “It’s a natural win-win, because you’re elevating your own content whilst making a meaningful contribution to an artist’s career”, adds Beto. It’s a good point - promoting quality music from less established artists not only provides brands with a

distinctive audio edge, but it also helps them to become stakeholders in that artist’s eventual success. 

“There are so many examples of brands becoming instantly connected to classic songs because of a brilliant ad”, says Beto. “But you can be sure that none of those songs ever came from a stock library”. 

Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that quality music invariably makes for more effective advertising. A Neilson study based on over 500 individual ads found that those featuring some form of music scored higher than those without in creativity, empathy, emotional response, and retention of information. So given that music is such a powerful tool for advertisers, why not make it as high-quality as possible? Overwhelmingly, the science and data is clear: The better the music, the better your ad. 

Above: Samsung’s “Le Choice” ad, from creative agency Ogilvy NY, is soundtracked by a bouncy groove from the Korean-born, New Zealand-based producer La Felix. 

There’s a pure and powerful sense of emotion connected to music of all genres. For brands, that’s an opportunity for fame which they risk leaving on the table when they choose to work with stock libraries rather than real, talented musicians. 

“For millions of people, music is the sound of falling in love, dancing, dreaming, and so much more”, concludes Beto. “It drives engagement, and it changes our behaviour. Why would a brand not want to take advantage of that?”