Songs For Soap on the Soapbox Again
Panel at Clio 2008 Outlines the Future of Brand-Music Partnerships

Originally posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Advertising Age 'Songs For Soap' on 05.20.08 @ 11:37 AM



Tunnicliffe & Simon : Clios Keynote 2008

Following my participation in the Musexpo panel in L.A. three weeks ago, yours truly has been at it again, this time addressing a packed audience last Friday at Clio 2008 in Miami. This time, I joined someone who knows a thing or two about the creative side of music and brands: Joel Simon, the award-winning founder and creative force behind JSM Music. He's arguably the biggest producer of commercial production music in North America and the current go-to producer for big name stars performing in commercials.

Our joint 45-minute panel, "How the Ad Industry Became the Saviors of the Music Industry", tracked the evolution of brand–music partnerships and showed examples from the three stages of evolution that we'd identified:

1. Brand-music "associations" -- music appearing in commercials
2. Brand-music "integrations" -- i.e. Madonna and Sunsilk, Mary J. Blige and Chevy
3. Brand-music "business partnerships" -- i.e. Groove-Armada-Bacardi and P&G-Def-Jam, which allow brands to potentially profit through becoming business partners with artists and labels.

We went "behind the scenes" on some deals and also pointed out that, while the opportunities for profit, innovation and breakthroughs were increasing exponentially, the deals were becoming much more complex from a licensing and rights point of view, and clients and agencies needed guidance in this space.

We had such a positive reaction that Joel and I have decided to make the presentation available -- complete with examples and behind-the-scenes information -- to any agencies or clients that wish to learn more about the latest happenings, challenges and solutions in brand-music partnerships. Contact me if you fancy your own private show ... erm so to speak ....