Music & Sound Design: Paul Reynolds

Paul Reynolds, MD, MassiveMusic London, looks forward to dark days ahead being brightened by a new generation of rebel songs from protest singers

The Western world has seemed like a crazy place over the past 12 months. After a reasonable period of general stability we find ourselves looking at an uncertain future. Should we be celebrating (our independence day)? Or should we be heading for a nuclear shelter? Will advertisers hit the panic button and switch to survival mode?

While the natural reaction to uncertainty is to play things safe, in fact, the current situation is an enormous opportunity for advertisers to capitalise on a new era of artistic expression.

When dissatisfaction, resentment and even anger grow due to political, social, economic and technological change, this kind of upset can be expressed in many impactful ways. Perhaps the most potent and enduring means of expressing these feelings lie in the hands of musicians, artists and the creative industries.

Whatever emerges promises to be a welcome relief from the usual stream of songs about love and heartbreak. Like a phoenix from the ashes, what’s likely to emerge from the turmoil is music that is energised, engaged and enriched.

The liberal snowflake songbook

With the creative industries being full of those pesky liberal elites, we may comfortably assume that the hits being written right now will be lamenting these changes rather than singing their praises.

Gorillaz has just made a return with new track Hallelujah Money, featuring Mercury Prize-winner Benjamin Clementine. Released the day before the US’s mogul-in-chief took office, the lyrics are brazen in their criticism of the influence of big business on politics and the track is sure to be just one of many such songs to come.

Conversely, U2 has announced that the release of their new album – which was due early 2017 – has been put on hold due to its incongruity with today’s world. Publicity stunt or not, it shows the deep chasm that the current state of affairs is scoring through the creative landscape.

Although 2017 may feel like a unique era in history, modern human rights and social justice have been fought over for decades, and artists have always been involved in the frustrated and bitter struggle. The sentiments expressed in many of these historic works are still relevant today.

This January, hundreds of thousands of women around the world marched to defend the rights that previous generations fought so hard to gain. Released half a century ago, Aretha Franklin’s rendition of Respect remains as empowering a soundtrack for the feminist movement as ever. And this power was put to effective use in Pepsi’s 2011 Super Bowl spot, featuring Melanie Amaro singing that very song.

A lesser known example is the song Little Boxes, as re-recorded for an O2 campaign in 2012. The original meaning behind the track – a political satire from the 1960s about the complacent, conformist middle-class in their identikit suburban houses – may have been lost, but I’d say it still worked. Its message regarding change is prominent and malleable enough to mould around any product – and to sell phones at a time when the country, in the midst of London Olympics-fuelled nostalgia, appeared relatively indifferent to change, at least on the surface.

Don’t piss off the protestors

The same year – gosh, 2012 was busy – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, with Mary Lambert, released the song Same Love, a positive commentary on equal marriage, which was immediately adopted as an unofficial anthem for the gay marriage campaign in the USA. In 2015 the AdCouncil used a version of the track for their Love Has No Labels campaign, gaining support from countless brand partners and even an Emmy award.

Many protest songs are written to galvanize their audience into taking positive action and the call-to-action songbook looks like it will gain a whole new chapter this year. Even the long-quiet KLF – as readers of a certain age will have noticed – are rumoured to be making a return.

But protest songs, for all their bravado, are a delicate beast. It’s a tricky balancing act to maximise their use while avoiding pissing people off in the process. Avoid misappropriation.

Do not cause offence. If you want to avoid creative ideas falling to pieces, check that the writer will understand and support the cause or story, then they’re more likely to license the track – or less likely to kick up a fuss if they don’t control licensing. Stay on the pulse, and do everything with slick and – more importantly – mindful execution.

This coming generation of ‘down with the establishment’-driven music could prove a treasure trove for advertisers and agencies alike.

As for the rest of us, we may well be listening to some of the most incredible music ever written – and maybe buying more stuff as a result.

Power to the people! Power to the brands!