By Greg Lozoff (Head of Music & Sync for Songistry Brands)
We’ve got a massive reference rundown for you this month. We’ve got over 3 hours of music and over 63 new references that came in over the last month. Let’s take a look at some of the trends we’ve been seeing.
We’ve definitely seen a continuation of the nostalgia trend that we’ve been seeing over the past few months. Brands know that during these scary and uncertain times, everyone is looking for safety and comfort, and for a lot of people that comes in the form of music. But along with this trend comes opportunity. Most of these iconic tracks from yesteryear would cost a pretty penny if you wanted to license them for an ad campaign. So agencies with ever shrinking budgets turn to the next best thing; new tracks that sound like they could be old. If you can come up with some convincing retro/old school tracks that evoke some of the same feelings of nostalgia that the originals do, you may be able to fill a gap when brands want to license that classic track but can’t afford it.
Not only are we seeing a ton of iconic bands and artists from the 60s,70s and 80s coming through as references (Beach Boys, Eurythmics, Cat Stevens, The Beatles, David Bowie, Hall and Oates), but it seems like the eras we’re hearing from the most are the 90s and even the 2000s, trying to catch the attention of nostalgic millennials. Last month we received J-Lo’s “Jenny From The Block”, Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain”, Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” along with references from Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Jane’s Addiction, Fatboy Slim, Mase and Regina Spektor.
Bringing us into the present day, we received some very cool current references last month as well. Brands are always trying to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s current and trending on TikTok so that their products will seem like they align with the lives and lifestyles of young audiences. Artists like Binki, Remi Wolf, BROCKHAMPTON, DJ Seinfeld and Broke For Free, were some of the more interesting references we received last month, along with some newer classics by Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa, Vulfpeck and Gorillaz.
Here’s a full rundown of all the references we received last month: