Super Bowl commercials ahead for West Michigan bands? Maybe not yet, but ad placements for their music are growing

Borns, The Accidentals and Pop Evil have boosted exposure with songs used in television ads. In the New Millennium, placements in movies, commercials and TV shows are a growing part of a musician’s arsenal.

 

On Sunday, the Super Bowl — of commercials — is expected to draw somewhere around $4 million for a 30-second TV ad and 115 million viewers, give or take a few.

Little wonder music artists vie to have songs placed on such a prestigious slice of media.

Though local acts might not be slated for Super Bowl 50 screens this year, several West Michigan musicians have had music placed in TV ads for companies ranging from small local businesses to large multi-million dollar corporations, and several independent films.

Music is a profession that pays little, yet requires a big financial outlay for gear and transportation, plus hours upon hours invested into practice, booking shows and creating new music. It’s vital to diversify in order to boost visibility and generate revenue.

“Larger placements, such as ad, film, and TV, are the single most effective means of exposure for indie artists,” insisted Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Jonny Carroll.

Currently standing out in a couple of TV ads is Grand Haven native and pop singer Borns, now based in Los Angeles. His Taylor Swift-touted, shimmering pop-rock hit single, “Electric Love,” landed two mammoth placements in commercials for Southwest Airlines and for Chrysler.

CHRYSLER COMMERCIAL: Borns, “Electric Love”

Music placements start with a music supervisor, a professional who oversees music-related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and any other visual media platforms. The music supervisor reviews and selects music for the project, explained Andrea Matos, a music licensing representative at Castle Peak Music in Los Angeles.

“Most of the searches I get from music supervisors are requests for songs with a specific lyric, genre, or tempo. Sometimes it’s a combination of all three, for example, an indie rock song about freedom that is upbeat and anthemic,” Matos said.

“The budget plays a big role,” she added. “If the budget is large, a well-known artist or song will work. If the budget is limited, then the music supervisor will want songs from independent artists who are not signed to major record labels or music publishers.”

There are two routes for musicians who are seeking to land placement deals. The first is to reach out directly to a music supervisor by email. Matos said it helps to know as much as possible about the supervisor’s current projects. The second route is to sign with a licensing agency, she said. The agency will already have relationships with music supervisors in place and a solid list of placements.

Matos said that, ultimately, the popularity of the band takes a backseat to the quality of the recording.

“In terms of landing a placement deal, the popularity of the band doesn’t matter as much as the quality of the material. The recording and sound quality matter all the time,” Matos stressed.

“Even an acoustic recording has to sound amazing. The vocals have to be impeccable. An off-key or weak vocal take might not be a dealbreaker for an artist’s fans, but it will be for me.”

THE ACCIDENTALS, POP EVIL ‘GO HIGHER’ WITH AD PLACEMENTS

Along with Borns, a number of other West Michigan musicians’ work has found its way on-screen, including Grand Rapids rock band Pop Evil, with the song “Footsteps (Go Higher)” from its latest album, “UP,” landing a spot in a Dodge Ram commercial, and The Accidentals, of Traverse City.

The Accidentals’ song “The Silence” is featured in a Shanty Creek Resorts commercial and “Arizona Stars” is on a Hometown Giving commercial.

SHANTY CREEK COMMERCIAL: The Accidentals, “The Silence”

“The placements we have had have been very organic,” said Savannah Buist, a member of the popular indie-folk band that’s also earned attention from national media outlets. “The Shanty Creek commercial came to us because (Shanty Creek vice president of sales and marketing) Chris Hale heard the ‘The Silence’ and immediately had a visual inspiration for a commercial. It was a fit with the atmosphere of Shanty Creek (a northern Michigan resort).

“Getting ad placements is definitely a milestone and we hope to make that a large part of our professional portfolio as we move forward,” Buist added.

“Strangely, it didn’t increase our fan base. We didn’t see an influx of people who were not familiar with our music or an increase in CD sales. Possibly because it was a statewide campaign and we already have a strong base in Michigan. I think a more national commercial would have a much different outcome.”

Although contractual agreements prevent disclosure of exact compensation details, Buist said statewide ads usually pay around $1,000 to $3,000, and small, regional or “one-off” placements, no more than $5,000.

“Large corporate campaigns can be huge, upwards of $30,000 to $50,000, depending on the product,” Buist said. “It’s really all over the map, and there is no hard and fast rule. Hopefully, everyone makes a living in the end.”

The band also has scored two independent films, another area where West Michigan acts have earned exposure for their music, including Rick Chyme and Nixon, Paucity, Ghost Heart, Peace to Mateo and others.

Carroll recently had his entire EP “The Willow” featured in the local indie-film “Step One,” directed by Chris Eckenwiler, who’s based in Ortonville. Carroll even played a small cameo part and performed at the debut screening.

“I was pretty honored,” he said. “Even going into recording ‘The Willow’ EP, I knew the production wasn’t going to be industry standard, so I never anticipated any placements. I thought it was cool they wanted it.”

(Joshua Burge is perhaps the most famous example of a West Michigan musician making his mark in movies, though as an actor. The former frontman for the band Chance Jones, who studied filmmaking, landed a role in the recent Oscar-nominated movie, “The Revenant,” after starring in Joel Potrykus’ acclaimed 2014 indie film, “Buzzard.” Read his interview with Revue magazine.)

Carroll is continuing to seek other media outlets for his music and sees the benefits such deals can have on a musician, though it’s not an easy path.

“Essentially you need to have some kind of connection to a publisher that specializes in placement deals,” he said. “It’s possible to reach out to these publishers, but most of the good ones get flooded with emails daily, so you really have to stand out.”

DODGE COMMERCIAL: Pop Evil, “Footsteps (Go Higher)”

‘STEP ONE’ TEASER TRAILER: Music by Jonny Carroll

Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC