In an exclusive conversation with Emirates Reporter, Pierre Carnet, Managing Director, MassiveMusic MENA shares how music has evolved from a background element into a powerful strategic tool for brands. He speaks about the science behind sonic branding, the emotional impact of sound on consumer perception, the growing influence of AI in music creation, and why brands must treat music as a core asset rather than an afterthought.
E.R- What made you believe music could be more than just a background sound for brands? What is the concept of Sonic Branding & Design?
Pierre Carnet-The effectiveness of music as a marketing tool is backed by collective data, as well as individual emotion and observation. Over the years, research has shown that highly engaging music in campaigns can boost marketing ROI by an average of 32% (source), and that sonic branding is now the most effective way to drive brand recognition, increasing brand awareness by 191% within two seconds (source) – more than slogans and written brand names. Beyond the research, music is also often quoted as the singularly strongest memory builder by audiences, who remember iconic campaigns thanks to their choice of tracks. This is what we try to channel with sonic branding work at MassiveMusic: ensuring the brands we work with build emotional, long-lasting memories with their audience, and stand out in today’s noisy world.
E.R- How do you decide what a brand should sound like when each and every audience is different? Talk about the kind of research that goes into the strategy.
Pierre Carnet- Identifying the right brand sound is a fundamentally strategic and data-based approach. To ensure that we select the right tones, genres, and instruments, we do in-depth research into the identity and persona of a brand, its audience, its competitive landscape, and the context within which the music will be used. This allows us to remove subjectivity and find common themes that apply to the audience of the brand, that can then be translated into music. Though individual music tastes may vary from person to person, our approach allows us to find the common ground that will reach the largest amount of people within a specific target audience, whilst remaining consistent with the brand’s overall identity.
E.R- Can music really change how people feel about a brand, or is that just required for marketing? What is the overall impact on a brand and how do people take it?
Pierre Carnet- Music is a powerful tool to influence how a brand is perceived across metrics like trust, quality and premium-ness, cultural relevance, and more. Our role is to tweak and adjust music so it sends the right messages to the audience, subconsciously informing them of the identity of the brand they are interacting with. But this doesn’t always have to be subtle, and there are many examples of brands operating complete turnarounds through a smart use of music. A great reference is Cadbury’s iconic drum-playing Gorilla ad, which was developed on the back of a salmonella outbreak in a Cadbury factory that seriously tarnished the brand’s reputation. This music-driven campaign did not show the product or any promotional elements, and achieved a 10% increase in sales and 20% increase in positive brand perception after launch (source) – through creating engaging, relevant, and entertaining brand content with music.
E.R- What’s the biggest mistake brands make when choosing music for ads or content? Alternatively, how can brand owners choose the right kind of music to convey a complete and compelling message to the audience?
Pierre Carnet- The biggest mistake is leaving music to the last minute, considering it as an accessory and not a tool, and therefore not allowing the right time and budget to achieve results. Music choices should be creative, but also strategic: how can music tell the brand’s story, connect with its audience, or ride the wave of a trend? Too often we still see brands resorting to generic stock music or rushed compositions that don’t add to their messaging, and sometimes even cheapen or weaken it. Another classic mistake on the other extreme is overspending on famous hit songs thinking that they will carry the campaign for you. Nobody wants to see another commercial with “Eye of the Tiger” or “What a Wonderful World”! A brand won’t stand out by doing something that has been done dozens of times before. Instead, how about exploring some interesting local music, up and coming artists, or developing crafted custom music for your unique story?
E.R- How is AI changing the way music is created? Anything on licensing if you can talk about?
Pierre Carnet- We are in the midst of a seismic shift in culture and the music industry since AI technologies have come to the forefront, which has moved much faster than many expected. Last year, Xania Monet became the first fully-AI artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100 charts, whilst in the same period the top two songs in the country album charts were also AI creations (source). AI music is not in the future, it’s already here, and music creators need to be prepared to deal with this evolution. The biggest shift coming out of this is that music creation is now easily accessible for everyone, whether musically trained or not, so experienced music composers now have to compete with amateurs creating music through algorithms. This means that the importance of craft and quality, as well as live performance, will only increase as the only way to stand out for human creators. With regards to licensing AI music, this is still a relatively unclear space as many AI music companies still do not have an infrastructure that allows them to legally license music. Though this has kept AI music at bay in some spaces, it is changing fast and won’t last long as some of the leaders in this space have now started implementing regulated, legally sound licensing models for their customers.
E.R- What advice would you give to young creators who want to work in music for brands, not just artists? How can they associate with you?
Pierre Carnet- MassiveMusic as well as other global and regional music agencies are always on the lookout for new talents to collaborate with, who can bring fresh sounds, expertise, and quality in composition to our projects. My primary advice for artists wanting to enter this space would be to put effort into approaching it as a professional venture: build a portfolio and website, communicate clearly and professionally, and have your back-end in order to be able to issue invoices and licenses. Producing for brands is a serious professional venture: at MassiveMusic we work for brands such as Unilever, Saudi Aramco, Nike, L’Oreal and Nakheel, and last year delivered an award-winning sonic branding project for KSA’s AROYA Cruises. Our clients expect the highest level of professionalism from us, and we expect the same from our partners and suppliers. If you’re reading this and feel that you have something interesting to propose, you can reach out to us at dubai@massivemusic.com.
