Music in advertising

Music composed with the purpose of selling consumer goods and services makes up a fair proportion of the songs, jingles and melodies we encounter on a daily basis. Whether we go shopping, listen to the radio, watch television or surf the Internet, we are likely to be exposed to music crafted with the explicit purpose of supporting sales.

Nonetheless, music for commercial settings is largely neglected in research on popular music and in media studies. This book is thus the first volume dealing exclusively with these various aspects of music in advertising.

»At last: a book that brings together a wide range of approaches to a phenomenon that is not just socially and economically important, but provides one of the best ways into issues of musical meaning. With its interdisciplinary orientation and international scope, this book is an obvious starting point for exploring a field of study that can only grow in significance both within and outside the academy.«
- Nicholas Cook, Professor of Music, University of Cambridge

»Until now, there has been no monograph or edited collection that addressed the work of music in advertising, which is the central focus of this excellent volume. While a single volume – and especially a first one! – can never be exhaustive, the breadth of topics and of literature discussed here means not only that this is a ground-breaking project that will open a conversation, but also that it will remain important for quite some time to come.«
- Anahid Kassabian, James and Constance Alsop Chair of Music, University of Liverpool

»This volume is an admirable introduction to the interdisciplinary research field music in advertising, an important field of study, which has gained only little attention until now. Some chapters contain detailed analyses of media texts while others give a broad view of the medium in question, while theory and empirical observations go hand in hand. Taken together, the chapters give the reader a new and relevant insight into the workings of music in different advertising contexts.«
- Morten Michelsen, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen

»The role of music in advertising is finally receiving the scholarly attention is deserves, and this book makes a significant contribution to work in this field with its rich and varied collection of interdisciplinary essays. These move effortlessly from aesthetics to sociology and consumer research, offering new perspectives on the use of music in shopping malls, television commercials, and in Internet advertising as well as in specific areas such as sound branding of products.«
- Derek B. Scott, Professor of Critical Musicology, University of Leeds