YOU WANT TO KNOW THE KIND OF SONGS THAT SELL? READ ON!

The highest stage of songwriting is the Commercial Level. I wrote about this and the other stages here. But let me reiterate about the Commercial level some more because this is where the money comes in. In this stage, the composer is at his highest creative self that he can mix his emotions and creative genius to concoct words and melodies that sell. “Whoa”, you might say, ang bigat men!

But what really are the types of songs that sell? Dyaraaann: songs that ARE EASY TO REMEMBER. This kind of song is so easy to recall that you only need to listen to it once and then you’ll catch yourself singing along with it, humming parts of it, or singing it repeatedly that you sometimes embarrass yourself when your crush or your boss catches you singing it. Sounds familiar?

There you have it. Songs that sell are songs that have “recall power”. These are the songs that become POPULAR. Some call it the LSS or Last Song Syndrome factor. Some producers refer to it as HOOK. For jingles it is known as the LOGO or the signature melodic line which contains the brand, product or company name. For complete songs, the recall power is oftentimes in the CHORUS. Nevertheless, some songs have LSS in their intro or stanza.

WHY DO THESE SONGS SELL? First, songs with LSS factor attract album producers, those who pay the composers, because they know these songs would be easy to sell to consumers, in turn (in CD’s or in Digital format). Ask yourself this question: will you buy songs that only the singer can sing or understand? NO! You buy albums because you like the songs, since you can sing along with them, or you can easily remember them either through relevance, emotional attachment, or plain appreciation.

Second, since songs that have LSS factor become popular, companies would be attracted to use them in their promotional campaigns through licensing or buyout (subjects that I’ll cover in my future blogs). They would PAY MONEY, in thousands (or millions, sometimes) just to ASSOCIATE THEIR NAME/BRAND/PRODUCTS with ANYTHING, in fact, that is RECOGNIZABLE, LEAVES AN IMPRESSION or voila: EASY TO REMEMBER. Ever wonder why these companies get popular celebrities as endorsers?

SAME BANANA: by attaching their brands to popular songs, companies believe that they will be on people’s top of mind whenever they buy products or use services. They believe that this ATTACHMENT will create a CALL TO ACTION for the consumers to buy what they offer instead of those of the competition.

NOW, HOW DO YOU WRITE SONGS THAT SELL? This will be the topic of my next blog, so watch out for it! 

In the meantime, check out these songs that became popular that not only were they sold in CD's but they were also used as jingles/commercial background music (NOTE: they are not mine, they are properties of the companies, composers, and publishers concerned):

"Penge Naman Ako Nyan" by Itchyworms, used by RC Cola

"Inuman Na" by Parokya Ni Edgar, used by Mang Tomas Sauce

"Ikaw" by Sarah Geronimo, used by AMA

"Betamax" by Sandwich, used by Cafe Puro

I'm sure you know other songs that were turned into jingles or theme songs, but anyway, I think you get my point.

  

May you be successful in your musical venture,

Robster Evangelista

P.S.

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