Music for Different Industries
Music Trends for Different Industries: How to Leverage Sound for Successful Campaigns
Intro
Music and sonic branding plays a vital role in shaping brand identity, creating emotional connections, and driving audience engagement across industries. From gaming to fashion, automotive to technology, the use of music in advertising and branding has evolved dramatically over the years, with specific trends emerging for each sector. Understanding these trends and leveraging them can significantly impact how businesses communicate their messages and engage consumers. Below, we delve into the latest music trends in key industries, providing examples of successful campaigns and discussing future trends to watch out for.
Music in Gaming: Adaptive Soundtracks and Immersive Experiences
Current Trends:
The gaming industry has embraced music as a core component of the player experience, with a growing trend toward adaptive soundtracks, music that changes dynamically based on player actions. This approach enhances immersion and provides a personalized soundtrack to the gameplay experience. Additionally, the rise of synthwave and electronic music has given a retro-futuristic feel to many modern games, appealing to both nostalgia and modern tastes.
Example
Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red featured a rich soundtrack blending electronic music with dark, atmospheric tones. Music for a dangerous dirty world. The game’s score by composers Marcin Przybyłowicz, P.T. Adamczyk and Paul Leonard-Morgan, perfectly matched its dystopian, high-tech world, creating a fully immersive experience that resonated with players globally. Great article here at Headliner.
Future Trends:
AI-Generated Music: As AI continues to evolve, games may feature soundtracks that adapt in real-time, generated uniquely for each player’s actions and choices.
Interactive Music Platforms: Future games may offer players the ability to co-create music within the game environment, furthering engagement and personalization.
How to Leverage:
Game Developers: Can consider Investing in bespoke music to create tailored, adaptive scores that enhance immersion. Collaborating with a library music provider can also give you access to diverse music libraries suited for different game genres.
Gaming Advertisers: Use high-energy electronic tracks or nostalgic synthwave music to tap into the gamer audience’s love for retro-futurism and excitement.
Music in Fashion: Sophisticated, Genre-Defying Sounds
Current Trends:
In the fashion world, music trends often mirror the industry's avant-garde, ever-changing nature. Fashion brands are increasingly using eclectic and genre-blending tracks in runway shows and ad campaigns. From retro 80s tunes to experimental electronic music, these sounds create an aura of sophistication and style. Additionally, there has been a surge in using lo-fi beats to complement streetwear campaigns, appealing to a younger, more casual audience. Fashion and music have close common associations, and this has been celebrated by the British Fashion Council in a series of celebratory videos featuring stars of music and fashion.
Example:
Prada’s 2021 campaign "Feels Like Prada" used a variety of compositions. This one incorporates sensorial samples to create a mood of instinct and touch, evoking the sense of feeling. The music added significantly to the intimate tones of the campaign, resonating strongly with Prada’s tactile qualities.
Future Trends:
Ambient and Minimalist Music: With the increasing focus on sustainability and mindfulness, expect more brands to use minimalist and ambient tracks to create a zen-like, relaxed atmosphere in stores and ads.
AI-Powered Custom Scores: In the future, fashion brands might leverage AI to generate personalized soundscapes based on individual consumer preferences, enhancing the shopping experience.
How to Leverage:
Fashion Brands: Partner with a bespoke music provider to create unique, genre-defying soundtracks that enhance your brand’s identity. Alternatively, tap into library music to find eclectic sounds that reflect current trends in fashion.
Fashion Retailers: Use music to set the tone in-store or online. For high-end fashion, opt for sophisticated, classical tracks, while streetwear brands may benefit from incorporating urban, lo-fi beats.
Music in Automotive: Cinematic and High-Energy Beats
Current Trends:
In automotive advertising, cinematic scores and high-energy beats dominate. Brands use orchestral music to highlight the power, luxury, and elegance of their vehicles. Alternatively, upbeat electronic music or rock tracks are often used to convey speed and performance. The trend is toward using music that enhances the visual narrative, making the vehicle the star of the story.
Example:
The 2023 Audi Q8 e-tron campaign featured an orchestral track combined with electronic synth and pulsating electronic beats generated a futuristic feeling. The music mirrored the car’s balance between luxury and cutting-edge technology.
Future Trends:
Electric Vehicle Soundscapes: As electric vehicles (EVs) rise in popularity, brands may incorporate futuristic, minimalist soundscapes to reflect the clean, innovative technology of EVs.
Personalized Audio: In-car audio systems may eventually adapt to a driver’s mood, location, or journey, providing a custom soundtrack for every drive.
How to Leverage:
Automotive Brands: Use bespoke music to craft cinematic, powerful scores that highlight your vehicle's features. Partnering with a library music provider can help you access high-energy
Car Dealerships: Play sophisticated or ambient background music in showrooms to create an inviting atmosphere that enhances the brand’s luxury image.
Music in Technology: Futuristic and Minimalist Beats
Current Trends:
The technology sector has a strong preference for futuristic and minimalist music, often featuring ambient sounds, electronic beats, and digital soundscapes. These genres reflect the sleek, innovative designs of tech products and help to convey a forward-thinking brand image. Many tech brands also use subtle, mood-driven soundtracks in their advertisements to build emotional connections with consumers.
Example:
Sony Playstation 5 “Play Has No Limits”, composed by Luke Atencio, used minimalist and eery soundscapes to showcase the game’s immersive experience. The music was subtle yet effective, reinforcing the Sony’s appeal to the most engaged gamers.
Future Trends:
AI-Composed Music: As AI-generated music becomes more sophisticated, tech brands will increasingly turn to AI to create original, adaptive soundscapes that can adjust to consumer interactions in real-time.
Sonic Branding: Expect more tech brands to develop unique sonic logos or auditory signatures that become synonymous with their products, much like the Intel “bong” sound.
How to Leverage:
Tech Companies: Partner with a bespoke music provider to create futuristic, minimalist tracks that align with your brand’s innovative image. Alternatively, use library music to quickly access a wide range of ambient or electronic tracks for product launches and campaigns.
Startups: Consider using AI-powered tools to generate unique soundscapes that reflect your product’s technological advancements.
Conclusion: Music as a Powerful Tool for Brand Engagement
In all industries, music is more than just background sound, it is a strategic tool that shapes brand perception, deepens audience engagement, and creates lasting emotional connections. As trends evolve, businesses in gaming, fashion, automotive, and technology must stay ahead by leveraging the right soundtracks. By working with a music library and bespoke music provider, companies can access a wide range of music options tailored to their specific needs, whether it’s creating adaptive gaming soundtracks, using cinematic scores in automotive ads, or curating minimalist soundscapes for tech products.