How Brands Can Win Over Consumers by Sourcing Music Responsibly

Gone are the days of cheap, royalty-free tracks; it's time to fairly compensate artists

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As we venture deeper into the age of corporate and social responsibility, consumers all over the world are asking corporations and organizations to demonstrate their accountability.

This expectation has seeped into debates about music sourcing and compensation. In the days of Napster and digital files, music fans expressed limited awareness of their impact on artists’ livelihoods. But a recent Downtown Music study noted that 80% of respondents cared about how artists were compensated for their work.

The outcry to compensate artists fairly may not seem all that relevant to a brand or agency’s day-to-day decisions. In this era of social responsibility, however, the ever-louder call for more equitable compensation for artists and songwriters relates directly to the music we source for ads. It’s time for brands to consider how to heed that call.

Brands can save the day

Wholesale change in the music business won’t come from a grassroots movement of musicians and their fans alone. Brands and their agencies, who consistently rely on trendy, emotionally engaging music for their TV spots and streaming campaigns, have the power to make a difference for artists while improving the quality of their productions.

The stock music industry will be a $2 billion global market by 2025, analysts predict; imagine the huge impact that shifting only a fraction of that spend toward independent artists could have on their lives and creative output.

But let’s start with the current state of things. From independent artists’ perspective, it’s no easy task to be found by brands in a sea of music, to reassure prospective clients that all the rights-holders on a track are identified, and to receive fair compensation if a deal does happen.

Meanwhile, most ad agencies are trying to make sleek ads on very tight timelines and an even tighter budgets. Often that results in choosing cheap and royalty-free tracks from stock music sites just for the sake of convenience, without necessarily realizing artists will not be compensated for their work.

The current “royalty-free” music business model is lucrative for the platforms that offer these catalogs, but artists receive next to nothing. It’s a clear case of suppliers not being treated fairly.

It does not take a seasoned business analyst to realize the mutually beneficial opportunity here. Much like the early days of Uber connecting people needing rides and auto owners looking for work, what indie artists and brands need is an easy and quick way to connect and legally license music at a fair price. If brands are looking to expand their socially conscious footprint, making this connection is a move in the right direction.

Becoming the socially responsible advertiser

Some brands and ad agencies may think that being socially responsible with their music choices sounds nice in theory, but is just too much effort, with too much potential for wasted time and legal risks. Fortunately, the music licensing landscape has shifted.

With more options to safely and quickly source great music, more brands can reasonably consider working with independent artists and composers and compensating them fairly. It also minimizes the reputational risk associated with stock music.

Moreover, independent voices are often perfect for reaching a specific audience, as well as a strong ethical choice. For example, in an effort to connect with a younger demographic and support up-and-coming artists, one of Canada’s largest and oldest banks, RBC, has created its Emerging Artists Program, which began during the pandemic and placed an artist-centric ad during this year’s Grammy Awards.

To be socially responsible with the music they sync, brands should ask their agencies to consider more indie artists and budget for music. They need to look beyond the current model of sourcing from either lower-quality, royalty-free platforms, subscription models, or overly expensive, major-label-backed songs, and instead consider four simple things:

  1. Socially Conscious Sourcing: Asking questions and seeking answers are powerful first steps toward more responsible music sourcing by seeing if an independent artist could fit the brief, rather than assuming a recognizable hit is necessary. Brands can feel more confident about where their music comes from by hiring a consultant or music supervisor who specializes in working with unsigned or independently represented artists, or accessing one of these new live licensing platforms.
  2. Siding with the Consumer: Utilizing more independent musicians in a campaign can uplift a brand message by championing new and fresh perspectives, as well as giving value and attention to what matters to consumers: fair compensation to the true owner of the music, the artist who created it.
  3. Supporting Diversity: Brands have the power to make change happen. Choosing and connecting with the right creative voices matters to the new generation of consumers. They take note of what brands are participating in this cultural shift, and those who celebrate fresh voices in their campaigns.
  4. Engaging the Audience: Working with independently owned music can often have benefits that major label entities don’t have. Working with artists who can provide edits or customization on their own, without major approval issues, is more efficient and creates a parallel narrative that emotionally engages consumers on an even deeper level.

In the era of social accountability, every brand should be looking for opportunities to improve themselves through strategic investment in the communities they serve. In the case of brands and independent artists, the cost is relatively small and the change easy. All we need to do is shift our mindset and ask how our power as creatives can support inspiring music makers, while still keeping to our budget and brief.