In Writing Music for Commercials: Television, Radio, and New Media, professor, composer, arranger, and producer Michael Zager describes the process of composing and arranging music specifically for commercials across the growing variety of media formats. Writing music for commercials requires composers not only learn the craft of writing short-form compositions that can stand on their own, but also understand the advertising business. In this third edition of his original Writing Music for Television and Radio Commericals, Zager walks starting composers through the business and art of writing music that aims for a product’s target audience and, when done well, hits its mark.
Chapter by chapter, Zager covers a broad array of topics: how to approach and analyze commercials from a specifically musical perspective, the range of compositional techniques for underscoring and composing jingles, the standard expectations and techniques for arranging and orchestration, and finally the composing of music for radio commercials, corporate videos, infomercials, theatrical trailers, video games, Internet commercials, websites, and web series (webisodes).
This third edition has been updated to include more in-depth analysis of the changing landscape of music writing for modern media, with critical information on composing not only for the Web but for mobile applications, from video-driven advertising in online newspapers to electronic greeting cards. Zager also includes new interviews with industry professionals, updated business information, the latest sound design concepts, and much more.
Writing Music for Commercials: Television, Radio, and New Media features:
·Easy-to-read chapters for beginning and intermediate music composition students
·Over a hundred graphics and musical examples
·Interviews with industry professionals
·An assortment of assignments to train and test readers, preparing them for the world of writing music for various media
·Online audio samples that illustrate the book’s principles
Writing Music for Commercials is designed not only for composers but for students and professionals at every level.
Author Biography:
Recipient of numerous advertising awards for his musical, including a Clio, International Film Festival Awards, Art Directors Club Awards, and a Mobius Advertising Award, Michael Zager is the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Performing Arts, professor of music and director of the Commercial Music Program at Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of Music Production for Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students (2nd edition, Scarecrow Press, 2012). He has composed, arranged and produced music for more than 400 commercials for clients, including Dr Pepper, MCI, Masterlock, Cablevision, Malt Liquor (music sung by Kool and the Gang, the Spinners, .38 Special, and the Chi-lites), Bounce (music sung by Whitney Houston), Budweiser, Crest, Kodak, Ivory Shampoo, Maxwell House Coffee, Clearasil, Lancôme, Volvo, and Burger King.
