Over the past five years I’ve done thousands of music searches. Yes, thousands. Whether looking for music for a television promo, commercial, or film trailer there are some very consistent ideas that come across from my clients. One of those is build.
Music that builds is key in advertising of any kind (for a product, film, or show) because the goal is to tell a story, hopefully an interesting one, and do it in limited time.
Granted like any other rule there are exceptions to this one, generally speaking though it holds true. Take a listen to some of your most recent songs and ask yourself – is this going anywhere? Watch a few trailers, commercials, and TV promos and ask yourself “if I put my music under this, would it help drive the story along?”
Perhaps the best question you can ask yourself is: Does my music tell a story on it’s own? Where’s the beginning, middle, where’s the end? Even better try asking your friends to identify it for you and see what they say.
If your songs do build you’ll have a much greater chance of getting licensed than if they’re fairly static or even-keeled, which means you’ll have a better chance at making some money and getting great exposure with your music.