PIRATE SOUND’s ‘When and How’ Guide to Song Licensing and Selection
Music has the power to transform any spot from good to unforgettable. Sure, the visuals may be the immediate attention-grabber, but when the music starts playing, it’s going to make you feel something, one way or another. Whether it’s a tune you’re familiar with evoking prior emotional connection, or a brand new sound providing something just as fresh as the creative itself, there’s always an emotional response evoked… which is the point, after all.
While the right melody can certainly make (or sometimes break) a campaign, there is an art to making the former happen. Edits, cuts, licensing, the selection process – a lot goes into every ad that forgoes original music, something which everyday consumers might take for granted. To give a classic example, think of Apple’s legendary iPod Nano spot, set to Feist’s ‘1234’. Could a different song have been used? Certainly. Would it have made an impact in the exact same way? Probably not. The hard work of talented music supervisors made the difference not just for that commercial, but in some ways, for the song itself, tying them hand-in-hand for the long-term. After all, it goes both ways – this well-made, well-scored ad might also be the first thing that comes to mind when some hear the song, even all these years later.
With this in mind, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt was curious to learn more about the music search process, and what it takes to transform creative from the conception phase to what reaches viewers around the world. She sat down with PIRATE SOUND music supervisor Danica Bansie to find out exactly that, and more.
LBB> On any given project, what are the conversations like that lead up to the decision to license a song? As professionals, how do you know when it’s time for something bespoke, versus something that already exists?
Danica> In advertising, an initial kick-off conversation is had between the creative team on the agency side, who represent the client, along with our sound director, producer, and me. At this point, our producer and the agency producer will have discussed the budget. The agency's creative team will present the story, tone, and audience by walking us through the narrative arc, emotional beats, pacing, etc. Before making any decisions, it's imperative that we know exactly how the agency expects the audience to feel and what the messaging is that the client is attempting to convey. This helps determine the route we'd like to take sonically.
The conversation varies depending on the type of project, with the through-line almost always being budget. We are typically working within four buckets: stock music, a track from our in-house library, a bespoke track, or a licensed track. While my initial reaction is always to be excited about a licensed song, certain projects deserve a little extra flavour – one that is better served with a fresh, unique piece of music. The beauty of a popular, licensed track in advertising is that the storytelling aspect is halfway there already. The song is able to drive emotion in people that already exists. A bespoke or indie track needs to do a bit of heavier lifting.
LBB> Building on this, how early in the creative process do you usually get brought in to do this? Does the timing impact your approach?
Danica> In a perfect scenario, we're brought on immediately, maybe even before there is an air date in place.
If we're brought on to a project that is set to air in two weeks' time, overseas, for example, and the request is for an iconic song with multiple rights holders, it's not impossible, but many contingency plans will need to be made. (Unless there is magically a massive budget in place to alleviate some negotiation and back and forth. But that's a unicorn experience I'm not too familiar with!)
LBB> Once the decision to license has been made, what’s the search process like? Where do you begin, and do you always have a precise idea of what you’re looking for?
Danica> My favourite part! Generally, in advertising, the agency is able to give a clear indication of what it’s looking for musically. We do always like to include off-the-wall options though, just in case.
To start, I create a playlist of all the songs that initially came to my mind when thinking about the brief. Then, I do a deep dive in my saved music folders, continuously adding any song I think might work. In tandem, I'll send out the brief with the specs and a general budget range to a group of trusted publishers, labels, sync agents, and artists whom I think might be suitable for the job. They'll either get back to me with a list of songs from their respective catalogues that I can add to my initial pool of music, or they will let me know if they don't have anything that fits the brief. Because music supervisors are constantly searching for and organising music, by the time I need to actually search for a song, it generally doesn't need to be quite as far-reaching.
LBB> The idea of finding music that reflects the emotional core of a story is super cool! How do you determine what this is, and how does this discovery impact your search?
Danica> Great question! I want to say “I just go with my gut,” but it's definitely more than that. Subtext, point of view, and emotional arc are all key elements that coincide with mood and tempo, maybe genre, and contrast versus congruency. I also really enjoy knowing the history of the song and the instrumental breakdown.
Lyric versus instrumental is another major element; where is it potentially too lyrically verbose? Or, what are they saying in the lyrics? Can it be tongue-in-cheek or ironic?
Finally, instrumentation is also a highly important aspect, because certain instruments have the power to convey certain emotions. In advertising, you don't have a long time to draw the audience into a story, so instruments can do the luring for us. Our brains are trained to feel a specific way when we hear certain notes or tones. If I find a song that works perfectly lyrically, but the instrumentation isn't quite right, I might pitch the option of creating a cover or getting creative with the instrumental.
LBB> As part of this, how do you ensure that the songs you select will have the desired effect on the audience? What does it mean to truly license not just a song, but a feeling?
Danica> Honestly, I can't ensure it. All I have is the ability to gauge the emotional temperature of a song's elements and react to how it makes me feel personally. I try to put myself in the audience's seat while being critical of each song choice. With each song selection, I need to ask myself, ‘Will this emotional energy serve the story we're trying to tell?’.
An aspect that I love about licensing a song is accessing the emotional DNA of that particular piece of music to mould in new ways. It feels extra special to get to know a piece of music so well that it feels like an emotional extension of the storytelling in the ad. Being able to find the intrinsic core of the song, and take that root and potentially frame it in a new way, is what licensing a song and a feeling comes down to, I think.
LBB> Of course, the creative team may have its own ideas of what’s needed. How do you translate feedback into your selection, and at times, do you find it’s worth going to bat for your ideas?
Danica> You need to have a thick skin to work in music supervision and not take things too personally. The creative team knows the project's vision best. Being able to adjust on the fly and being open to new directions is paramount.
With that said, when I feel passionately about a song, I will absolutely go to bat for it. I try not to be pushy, but I try to use my research and expertise to convey why I think it might work. The creative team has the final say, but I will always do my best to make sure that they have all the relevant information to make their decision.
LBB> Even with all that said, matters like budget and approvals are still important factors. How do you plan around these elements, and what do you do if things don’t go according to the initial plan?
Danica> Luckily, we will never reach out to officially license a song without the budget in mind. Similarly to working with the creative team, it's important to make sure that the rights-holders are being heard and know that the song is in good hands. This sometimes means sharing mock-ups and scripts ahead of time.
It's good practice to have a small pool of favourite options in the event that the top option isn't chosen. I'll go out for approvals on the shortlisted songs, and will typically be honest with the licensors that a decision hasn't been made yet.
LBB> Can you give us some examples of this all coming together to create a strong end result? Tell us about your approach with each!
Danica> We've had a couple of spots that aired this year that I'm pretty excited about!
In a fun advertisement for FanDuel that aired during the Super Bowl this year (created by One Method), we were tasked with finding a high-energy song that would make people want to dance. The song needed to appeal to a range of ages and demographics and be recognisable across multiple generations. I had two songs that immediately came to mind. We ended up pitching a large selection of music, but I am beyond thrilled that the song that the agency kept returning to was ‘Ballroom Blitz’ by Sweet. I think every music supervisor has a secret list of songs that they would one day love to sync, and ‘Ballroom Blitz’ was close to the top of mine. It exudes exuberant joy in a way that I believe transcends generations.
Another spot that we're stoked about is an advertisement for Destination Toronto, ‘100%’. This ad is Toronto-proud, and the goal was to showcase the eccentric, weird, multifaceted, community side of Toronto. PIRATE SOUND is a Toronto-based company, so we really took this ad to heart. It was imperative that we accentuate an out-of-the-box, unique, ambitious element musically. So, we decided that the music needed to be from a Toronto artist, and preferably indie. DijahSB was on my radar because they were a 2024 Polaris Music Prize shortlister, which is where I fell in love with their album, ‘The Flower That Knew’. Third Side Music had sent me a new song of theirs, ‘Uh Huh’ with Keys N Krates, and I immediately thought it would work. Our team loved it, the agency loved it, and from the first pitch, it was shortlisted. The track accompanies the ad in such a satisfying, perfect way; it's now tough to imagine any other song for the spot.
LBB> Finally, looking back across your career, do you have any songs which you particularly love to see featured in ads? Tell us about them, and why!
Danica> I'm particularly excited about another ad that we worked on, which aired recently. In collaboration with the WNBA, Endy created an ad about the beauty of sleep. Not to make this ad about me, but as the music supervisor on the job, I was especially excited because I grew up playing competitive basketball, and once even dreamed about playing in the WNBA.
The client wanted the song to have a retro feel to it. It needed to allude to sleep and rest in some capacity, and feature female vocals. And, we wanted to find a way to link those sentiments to the WNBA. The easier route would have been to just use a retro song, but one of my all-time favourite bands is Shannon and the Clams – an indie band out of Oakland, California – and they have a natural vintage feel to their music. I never thought I would get the opportunity to showcase their music in an ad, but this felt way too perfect.
As always, we pitched a pool of options, but were thrilled to find out that the client was also digging ‘Into a Dream’ by Shannon and the Clams as much as I was. To be able to pitch and sync a song by an indie artist that you feel strongly about feels incredible. Music supervisors are music nerds before all else, so this felt like a major win for indie music in general.
