Finding the Perfect Score…for a Commercial
Look, commercials are about one thing: creating the urge to go out and buy or use a certain product or service. While so much thought is put into the content of the commercial and any voiceover bits involved, something that can just get slapped on there is the music behind the material. Oftentimes, this just gets picked at random and that does a disservice to your commercial. You should have a goal in mind with your music because that is what music is for: to help create mood and set a tone. Today, we’ll be giving you some tips on how to find that perfect score for your commercial.
Tip 1. Don’t let the music overpower the message.
When putting music into a commercial, you never want to let that music be too loud. If the music is louder than your spoken message, then you lose the point of the commercial. You can accomplish this in a couple ways, by either ducking the music track when the voiceover track comes in or by EQ-ing both the music and voice so that they don’t compete for space. A professional sound engineer will be able to advise on this. Alternatively, you can easily find tutorials on how to do this.
Tip 2. Know the audience.
There are several points behind this tip. For starters, your music of choice will be influenced by the location where this commercial will be aired. If there’s a certain style of music that is used by the medium this will be aired through, then you want to stick close to that. You will also need to tailor the choice of music to who your target audience is. You wouldn’t use a metal rock score for a life insurance commercial geared toward the elderly, would you? Make sure your background music will fit the audience accordingly. Most music libraries will have a wide variety to choose from and a way to help sort through them.
Tip 3. Have access to a quality sound library.
As we mentioned above, using a music library for your commercial music is a huge tool. When finding a music library, you’ll want to choose one with a wide variety of up-to-date options. When we say this, we do mean both the music itself and the quality of the music. Music libraries are a great example of “You get what you pay for.” Chances are that a more expensive library can afford better sound quality and better artists, so keep that in mind when finding your library. Watch out for usage rights and associated fees too.
Working with music for commercials is a great way to boost the message that is being portrayed, as long as you do it properly. These starting tips are just a few that you should ingrain into your brain. If you need some help finding the music, or even creating the music, you can always browse the wide collection of talent at Voiceover Index. You’ll find whatever you need to make your commercial as effective as possible!