Reference Tracks in Music Briefing: A Crutch or a Creativity Killer?

Image credit: Igor Omilaev via Unsplash​

Many music briefs still come with a reference track. It’s seen as a helpful shortcut, a quick way to communicate tone or mood when words fall short. But the truth is, relying on reference tracks can do more harm than good.

They tend to shrink the creative brief rather than expand it. By anchoring the composer to an existing piece of music, you’re subconsciously limiting what’s possible before the work even begins. The result? Music that often sounds derivative, templated or forgettable.

Image credit: Kevin Andre via Unsplash​

Instead of guiding originality, reference tracks can steer things toward the familiar. And in a landscape where brands are all fighting to stand out, that’s a real problem.

A more effective approach is to shift the conversation away from what the music should sound like and focus instead on what the music should do. What emotion does it need to unlock? What role does it play in the narrative? What should the audience feel?

That thinking is what led us to develop SONAL, our own music briefing tool that helps uncover creative intent and emotional drivers without relying on existing tracks.

​Read the full article here.

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