The commercial music industry is at a turning point. As production budgets drop, constraining music houses' ability to turn out original work, new opportunities like brandedcontent, video games and ringtones are tempting today'stalent. Boards got four music industry execs on the horn to rap about the current vibe in the spot-making audio scene.

Participants:
Sarah Sciotto Gavigan, executive producer/CD, Ten Music, Santa Monica
Mike Boris, music producer, McCann-Erickson, New York
Michelle Curran, president/owner, Amber Music, New York/London
Shelly Palmer, president/CD, Shelly Palmer Productions, New York

Boards: Let's kick off with what you all see as the big trend at the moment.

Gavigan: Breaking bands in commercials is definitely the new trend. It brings labels and advertising closer together. Advertisers are now, more than ever, interested in finding and breaking bands because it brings more attention to their brand.

Curran: We broke it down to three genres, one of them being the forgotten songs, like Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" that Volkswagen used. Then there are underground songs, like [techno dance band] Basement Jaxx, used by Mitsubishi. The third part is artist identification, in terms of licensing, where the artist is on-screen, so you have Shakira and Pepsi, and the whole lot that did the Gap.

Are we trying to make commercials, or are we trying to make pop promos? The record business is rubbishy at the moment, so record companies have found the best way of exposure is through commercials. It starts becoming more of a commercial for the band than the product.

Boris: But it's also enabling us to create original songs, because those songs that are licensed are about a feeling, an idea, an emotion - not specifically a jingle.

Palmer: The biggest issue is disposable music - that's what people are asking for and that's what they're willing to pay for. Original production, albeit exciting to do, isn't supported by the budgets. Then there's the idea of 'let's use the commercial as a surrogate MTV'. As a music producer you're in great shape; as a composer, it's tough to compete with the engine that is the record company.

Boris: You make it sound like this is the entire industry. It's not black and white. There are still great creative spots being done where the music is supporting but not necessarily driving the spot.

Gavigan: My hope is that what's happening now will inspire authenticity, which will make it better for a composer writing for commercials, because then they're not asked to rip people off. People will come to you with more open ideas and say: 'give me something original'.

Curran: The standard of music has definitely gone up since music companies have had to battle against something. People are working harder and doing better material.

Palmer: I could not disagree with this group more. Technology has made everyone consider themselves a composer, and some of this work is mind-numbingly boring. People claim credit for what the machines do. Most stuff I hear is built into the systems. It's horrifying.

Boards: What genre is the current flavor?

Palmer: In terms of pop music it's getting away from heavy production, someone lighter like Norah Jones.

Gavigan: We get a lot of requests for nu-jazz, like bossa nova - what the underground world would call downtempo lounge music, chillout music.

Boris: The number one trend on our side is people asking for stuff they've never heard before. They want [sounds] that will demand the attention of the audience, and they don't care if it's one guy playing a cardboard box and another guy playing an acoustic guitar with only five of the six strings. I'd never heard requests like this in the last three years - find me some style of music that no one is all over.

Boards: What geographical areas are providing new streams of work?

Curran: We've been working with places like Russia, but the problem with places like that is they don't have huge budgets and you risk not getting paid.

Boris: The UK and Germany used to be good.

Curran: Neither the UK nor Germany have any money at the moment and, especially in European countries, times are hard. People look after their own.

Palmer: Here's the reality check: there are more commercial venues for music production than there have ever been in history. There are more places to get a song on the air, more commercials to underscore, and more old-fashioned jingles to write than ever. We probably get 50 to 60 requests a day for jobs.

Curran: You're a busy person.

Palmer: I've been doing this for a long time. But I won't take 90% of that work because it pays less than demo money. If I worked at Burger King I would make more money than what people are offering. These people are not making enough to pay the kinda money we're used to.

Boards: So what are some new, non-traditional revenue sources?

Gavigan: Because we represent record labels, we find a different revenue stream is in branded content. An advertiser will come to us and be interested in Thievery Corporation scoring a song and putting it into a compilation CD. And ringtones is happening, disturbing or not.

Palmer: There's room in video games, too. They buy licensed songs but they also need underscore material, which is fascinating; it's just like a movie. And it's fabulous money.

Boris: I recently worked with a client to create a branding ID for club DJs to mix in between tracks.

Curran: We did something for Sapporo, in Japan, for a poster on the street that played music when you walked past.

Boards: How many agencies havein-house music producers and why do some of them not bother?

Boris: It's mostly the bigger ones that have enough work to warrant somebody in this role.

Gavigan: Predominantly East Coast.