$125K listing!

[daveydad]

Wonder what the odds are of actually getting a placement with this one.... lol

FUN ENERGETIC CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTALS are needed for a $125,000 Buyout Deal for a massive new Ad Campaign for one of the TOP Domestic Beer Brands in the North America. The New York Branding/Marketing Agency running this listing has produced some other huge campaigns you’d surely be familiar with.

We got our hands on this opportunity early in the game, so they’re open to hearing a fairly wide range of possibilities, which is somewhat unheard of in the normal course of TV spots. We’re hoping one of our member’s gets his or her track “temped in,” and the agency develops a strong case of temp love!

Take a listen to the examples below to get a general idea of just some of the types of music that could work:

Michelob Ultra Commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQVOH4T_PoU

Bud Light Commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtqECyyhEw

Coors Light Commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6UeDxy8bSI

Note: Although the Coors Light Commercial contains some vocal elements, please submit only instrumentals for this pitch!

Quoting the source: “We have a TV spot we’re going into production on, and the team is looking for a fun instrumental track that has hooks and energy. Something with interesting production/sounds would be a bonus. Genres can range from Hip Hop, EDM, Acoustic Singer/Songwriter-style Instrumentals, Pop, etc. It just needs to be fun, energetic, and catchy! Keep them pretty simple. We’re not going to be as interested in what a great composer you are as we are in finding something that really fits the mood of the TV spot and stays out of the way of the voice over and/or dialog. You can try sparse but rhythmic instrumentation, a small ensemble, or a full-blown band-type sound. But remember that the music is in a supporting role and not the star!

The brand is known to have people who are active (running, kayaking, basketball, softball, etc.) so think of your Track as something they’d (the actors) move to. The specific spot follows a group of people as they set up and play a spirited game of glow-in-the-dark Frisbee in a park, at night. There will be 3 versions of the spot, plus versions/edits/lifts with a long form that will live on the Internet.”

Please submit well-crafted Instrumentals that you think fills the bill for what the Agency described above! They’re open to virtually ALL contemporary genres as long as it delivers a fun, energetic, TV Commercial-friendly vibe. Be sure your production is fresh, and current sounding. Your submissions should be at least 2 minutes long, easy to edit into shorter versions (like a :30 or :60) and can fade or button on the end! Sticking to one melodic and rhythmic motif throughout is probably the best way to go for this pitch. They’re not looking for music that sounds like a jingle! Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine).

This company offers a Buy Out Deal with a max budget of $125,000 all-inclusive, with no residuals. That means they’ll buy the track completely, and will own the Master and Copyright. To submit for this, you need to currently own or control the Master and Copyright. Please do not submit tracks that are already in any other catalogs or libraries. Also, please DO NOT copy or rip off the referenced music in any way, shape or form. Use them ONLY as a guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis. No full critiques. Please submit 1-3 Instrumentals online or per CD, no later than 5:00PM (PDT), on Thursday, July 23rd, 2015. TAXI #U150723AD

[funsongs]

wwwwwooooooaaaaaahhhhhh... Dooooooooooooooood!!!

[Paulie]

Looks like a lottery contest... but you can't win if you don't play right? Methinks the screeners will be busy with this one.

Good luck everyone!

[TerrellBurt]

Whoa. I wish I produced lol

[Gypsygal]

My new motto: TO BOLDLY GO WHERE DIANE RIDAEUS HAS NOT GONE BEFORE.....

In past times I would have not even tried on a listing like this. This time, I'm goin for it. Yeehawwww !!!!

6 days, that should be enough time ............

Good luck everybody ! diane

[admin]

Personally, I think the odds are just about the same as other ad listings. The high fee doesn't make the bar any higher than normal. Yeah, we'll get a lot of submissions, which in theory would mean more good stuff to forward them. But this is a BRANDING agency situation, not an ad agency. Ad agencies would probably have more people in the music department, and therefore, more places to reach out to for music.

So, just GUESSING that they'll reach out to fewer places, and agencies of all types, in general don't like to use library-type material as much as they like to go "Indie." There's a cool factor when they get to present the client with material that doesn't sound "typical," and isn't readily available to everybody, and often found in several places. All just speculation on my part, but based on experience.

Don't forget, one of our members landed a major TV spot for a vitamin product a few years back, and beat out ALL the TOP ad music houses in NY and LA to get it! Sadly, the spot wasn't very good and was shelved

Also, the screener who brought this listing in—and will be the final set of ears on what goes to the agency—is close friends with the person who needs the music! That can't hurt

Just remember to read the listing carefully, don't send "jingles," and try really hard to imagine the scene! What would be playing under a bunch of young people playing night Frisbee, having a great time, and enjoying their carefree lives? Fun, forward moving, and not so busy as to distract from the action, dialog, and/or voice over, without being boring. Enhance the action and carefree mood!

While I've not seen the video, my GUESS is that the first FEW seconds set it up with something in the motif that sounds like, "Oh baby, this is going to be a blast," and then it is a blast. My GUESS (because we got this so early) is that they'll edit this spot TO the music, so no matter which genre they ultimately decide to go with, some hit points could make your piece more attractive. But don't overdo it! And again, this is all educated speculation on my part, based on years of mixing commercials at a high level in NYC.

Good luck, we'd love to see one of our members nail this. Two words: Temp Love!

Michael

[admin]

More advice:

Watch a ton of beer commercials on Youtube. RECENT, contemporary stuff that reflects the demographic. What would the people playing Frisbee in this spot listen to? What would the people who they are trying to appeal to listen to? That could give you some important insight!

ML

[monarkeys]

I'm having a little trouble parsing the vibe they're looking for on this one. When I think if "fun instrumental track that has hooks and energy", I think of "Shut up and Dance" or "I Lived" (One Republic). I think major chords, 1, 4, 5 kind of thing.
None of the ref tracks hit that mark, to my ears... so I'm confused. The Michelob ad is closest but has more of an "epic" vibe than "fun". The other two are kind of dark and heavy. The Coors ad has a relatively hooky guitar riff, but I'm not hearing any hooks in the other two. And anyway... I would think a strong hook might pull too much attention to the music... I suppose we'll just have to use our judgement there...

So - either my ear to vibe to words translator is way off, (which is highly possible), or I'm going to need to know whether to use the description in the listing or the sonics of the reference tracks as a guide. Or maybe the references were not supposed to define the vibe, but more about how the music works with the video - staying out of the way, limited instrumentation... ???

Can anyone help me understand?

Thanks
Jack

[Paulie]

Ah yes, the joys of subjectivity in the arts as a career choice.

One person's fun is another person's annoying or boring. Since the a la's are so unique I think it's really up to us to figure out what sounds fun and current and hope that we catch the screener's ear. My read is that needs to be hip and current. Energetic with new or uncommon sounds. But unobtrusive. So, slap me in the face, or as one of my cats would probably say: "Pet me, but don't touch me."

[admin]

Imagine the Frisbee scene and shoot for that. There aren't any refs that will tell you exactly what to do. And the company doesn't know exactly what it wants! That's why this listing is pretty broad. It's one of those, "They'll know it when they hear/see it" things. But, if your music works well with a scene of young people playing night Frisbee, well...

It's not a lottery. It's about giving them something that works with the scene. read my previous posts, re-read the listing, and watch a BUNCH of beer commercials to understand the "beer genre" and sort of what its parameters are.

Hope that helps,
Michael