Opportunities Beyond Licensing
What role does music play in a successful advertising campaign? What opportunities are there for artists beyond the licensing of their existing tracks? Industry insiders discuss how music in advertising impacts both the artist and the brand and what elements in music lead to a winning branding campaign. Learn the difference between effective and ineffective music branding, customizing original songs for brands, and how the right music can translate to increased awareness and sales for both the artist and the brand.
Presenters
2x Grammy nominated producer
10x publisher of Grammy Song of the Year nominees
11x ASCAP award winning songwriter
CMA award winning producer
Chris Farren has been directly involved in over 40 top 10 hits, in different genres, and well over 100 million albums sold as either a songwriter, producer, or publisher. Constantly evolving and wearing many hats, Chris has most recently focused his energy as the President and driving force behind Combustion Music – a Nashville based multi-genre publishing and production company, which won the 2007 Grammy for Best Country Song with “Jesus Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood, and the 2009 Best Rock Song Grammy For “Use Somebody” by The Kings of Leon. In 2009 Combustion writer Ashley Gorley won the ASCAP songwriter of the year award as well as Combustion taking home the ASCAP song of the year for Trace Adkins’s “You’re Gonna Miss this.” Most recently Combustion has had success with #1’s by Kelly Clarkson, “Mr. Know It All”, Carrie Underwood, “Good Girl” and Kip Moore, "Beer Money."
Combustion currently publishes the catalogs of Brett James (2X ASCAP Songwriter of the Year), Ashley Gorley (ASCAP Songwriter of the Year), Blair Daly, Matthew West, Kings Of Leon, Kelly Archer, Matt Jenkins, Russell Dickerson, Chase Foster, and Zach Crowell.
Combustion Music has also had great success in the film and TV world, coordinating and releasing many film soundtracks including “The Songcatcher”, “We Were Soldiers” and “The Banger Sisters”, acting both as the record label and the Music Supervisor.
Chris and his staff have landed hundreds of licenses in recent years. Songs from Combustion's catalog have been used in many significant national ad campaigns including “You Always Make Me Smile” for Holiday Inn, “Red Morning Light” by the Kings of Leon for Ford, “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With That” by Robert Randolph for AT&T, “Molly’s Chambers” by Kings of Leon for Volkswagon, and “Home” by Marc Broussard for NBC.
In addition, through their association with Wojahn Brothers Music, they have coordinated and produced major ad campaigns for Fruit of the Loom, Bridgestone, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Firestone and others featuring major artists, including Vince Gill, Trace Adkins and Jack Ingram.
Currently Combustion continues to navigate the changing music environment by publishing songs and developing artists in multiple genres. From country icon Hank Williams Jr., to Urban princess Rihanna, to pop star Kelly Clarkson, to the folk/jazz of Sam & Ruby, Combustion’s production and song reach can be heard.
Roger Wojahn is the Co-Owner and Co-Creative Director at Wojahn Bros Music in Santa Monica, California. He started his advertising career working alongside some of the industry’s most influential executives at agencies Ogilvy & Mather and Chiat/Day. Roger ditched his suit in 1990 and teamed up with his twin brother Scott – an L.A. studio veteran composer/producer/orchestrator –to build a successful music production company.
Twenty two years later their unparalleled branding expertise, musical adeptness, and problem-solving capabilities has made Wojahn Bros Music one of the most respected music houses in the world.
Their extensive body of work includes original compositions for some of the most recognized brands like: AT&T, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Toyota, Ford, Coors, The Home Depot, Wells Fargo, Fruit of the Loom, Volkswagen, Microsoft, Taco Bell, and more.
The quality and creativity of their work has earned Wojahn Bros Music accolades from major advertising award organizations including Cannes Lion, AICP, One Show and Radio Mercury.
Wojahn’s music can also be heard outside the realm of traditional advertising in innovative projects ranging from the integrated music videos of the hit TV show American Idol, to the politically-laced melodies of online satirists JibJab, to the viral sensation of their jingle-turned-stadium-anthem “Oh No You Didn’t” for the Mercenaries video game franchise.
Yoga enthusiast, avid diver, and tequila aficionado - Roger is based in Los Angeles but frequents Austin, Zihuatanejo and latitudes close to the equator.
If ever an ad man was a frustrated musician, it’s Tom O’Keefe. He’s brought his great knowledge love for music to much of his most famous work - including Amazon.com’s “Singing Sweatermen”, Schweppes “New British Pop”, Coors Light’s “Rock On” and Taco Bell’s “Think Outside The Bun” and most current “Live Mas” campaigns.
Most recently, as North American Creative Director for DraftFCB, Tom oversaw development on such celebrated campaigns as Docker’s “Wear The Pants”, “Electronic Arts’ “Your Mom Hates Dead Space” and Oreo’s 100th Year celebration. He’s also responsible for giving the world “Bitter Beer Face” for Keystone.
Tom’s received almost every major creative award. In addition, he’s a frequent judge and guest speaker at international festivals such as Cannes, Clios, Effies, Wave and Infopresse, as well as advertising schools across North America.
Thursday, March 14
