Companies should not underestimate the importance of music in achieving the promotional goals of TV, radio or online advertisements.  The principle functions of music in commercials are the following:

1. To provide continuity and structure: Music helps join visual changes / movement on screen and can create a common theme or mood.  It can also create emphasis for dramatical, comical or emotional impact, or provide narrative to the on-screen actions.  As with Film or TV shows, music can be
   used to powerful effect to enhance the connection with the viewer (for example, commercials for charities often use sad, thought-provoking music to help pull at the heart strings of potential donors).
2. To increase memorability: Music imbeds itself in one’s mind far more easily than the spoken word, and so the obvious benefits here are that a potential customer may call to mind your advertisement through the conscious or subconscious recollection of the music.  Jingles and singing style commercials are obvious ways to use music for this reason (we all remember, for example, the McDonalds and Coca Cola commercials), and instrumental background music does also serve this purpose very well.
3. To hone in on target audience: The genre / style of music can be used to help attract the intended viewers.  For example, if you are targeting teenagers you will opt for a very different musical accompaniment than if, say, you were aiming to appeal to older generations. Equally, if you need to attract a wide demographic, you should be careful not to alienate any possible customer base through your choice of music.
4. To increase appeal:  Music, simply, makes a commercial more colourful and entertaining which makes it more compelling to watch and/or listen to.  As a direct result, you are more likely to keep your audience engaged from start to finish.

Royalty free music is an affordable, easy way to find great music for advertising.

When watching a movie / TV programme, the average viewer will not be aware of the music accompaniment to many of the scenes.  For the most part, the music present is not intended to be consciously heard and, most certainly, should not take priority over or draw attention away from the actions on screen.  The function of the music is to heighten the sense of the emotions or actions taking place visually.  This is done with varying degrees of subtlety, depending on the style of direction, film/programme genre, and necessity of the on screen actions and performance.

When deciding upon music accompaniment to film / TV projects, there are a number of considerations to be taken into account.  The principle of these being:

• Is music needed and for which scenes?  Two different film makers may approach the same film or scene very differently – one may feel that a certain scene needs music to help trigger a given emotion, whereas a second may feel music will in fact reduce the impact of that same scene.  There is not always a right and wrong answer, but where music is used, its purpose should be clear.  If you do produce music for a scene, you can always take it away later.
• What style and instrumentation of music should be used?  Generally, a film / TV programme will maintain a consistent style and instrumentation of music from start to finish, which may be decided based upon on the genre and/or the period in which the film / programme is set.  It will also often have familiar themes running throughout.  This way, music can help to subconsciously trigger in the viewer emotions introduced and established in earlier scenes.  These emotions may be associated with actions, characters, places, etc… It is a very useful tool.
• Who is going to compose the music?  It is important to have someone who can deliver on both the stylistic and emotionally lead decisions you have made, and with whom you feel you can work well to add this vital piece of the jigsaw.  It is a good idea to discuss any decisions and listen to the thoughts of you composer.  The remaining overriding factor, as with most things in life, is of course cost.

If you have a project which needs music, or you feel may need music, contact us at info@proteanmusic.com with the details and we will gladly discuss it with you.  If we can help in providing suitable, royalty free music to enhance your project, we will be happy to work with you!