How to brief a composer for an advertising film

A good music brief does not ask a composer to guess the taste of a room. It turns a creative problem into a set of production decisions.

For an advertising film, the brief should explain what the music has to do, where the film will run, what rights are needed, what the cut still needs to survive, and who will approve the work. Without that information, even a strong first route can become fragile.

The goal is not to write the music in advance. The goal is to give the music team enough context to propose something that can be approved, cleared, cut down, mixed and delivered.

Start with the job of the music

Do not begin with genre. Begin with function.

Is the score there to hold attention through a quiet product demonstration? To make an edit feel inevitable? To create scale without sentimentality? To leave room for dialogue? To make a brand world feel more physical? To bring a final reveal into focus?

A phrase like “premium and cinematic” is too broad to be useful. A phrase like “restrained at the opening, more physical after the product action, never bigger than the voice” gives the composer a real target.

This distinction matters especially with contemporary orchestral writing. Orchestra does not have to mean period drama, pastiche or a large heroic theme. It can mean close strings, small gestures, hybrid electronics, pressure, breath, negative space and controlled release. For more on that territory, see contemporary orchestral music for luxury advertising.

Send the material that shapes the timing

The most useful item is the latest cut, even if it is not locked. Send it with visible timecode, exact duration, aspect ratio, language version and any known delivery formats.

If there is no cut yet, send the script, treatment, storyboard, animatic or director’s note. The music team can then respond to the film grammar rather than waiting for a finished edit.

Mark what is fixed and what may change. A compulsory four second end card, a legal line, a product shot, a pending voiceover or an unapproved scene all affect the writing.

Concrete example: a 45 second launch film opens with quiet handwork, turns at 00:23 into a wider exterior sequence, then closes on a static product shot. A useful brief does not say “make it elegant”. It says: “keep the opening intimate, do not announce the exterior too early, open at 00:23, then leave the final packshot calm rather than triumphant.”

Define usage before the first route

Usage changes the music. A score built for one 90 second film may not cut cleanly into 30, 15 and 6 second units. A track that works online may need more discipline when it has to sit under broadcast loudness requirements, multiple languages and a legal end frame.

Your brief should state territories, media, campaign length, launch date, number of cutdowns, aspect ratios, paid and organic use, events, internal use, cinema, TV, CTV and social placements where known.

For digital video and CTV, the IAB Tech Lab guidelines are part of the wider push toward more consistent ad formats. In Europe, EBU R 128 remains a key loudness reference for broadcast delivery. The composer may not own the final spec sheet, but those constraints affect arrangement, density and headroom.

If the campaign involves many edits, plan delivery from the beginning. Read stems, cutdowns and versioning for advertising delivery before the final week, not after the mix.

Separate original composition, licensing and re-records

The brief must say whether you are looking for original composition, production music, a licensed commercial track, an adaptation, a cover or a soundalike direction that must be avoided.

Each path has different rights, timing and risk. The U.S. Copyright Office explains the distinction between musical works and sound recordings. In practice, a familiar song can involve composition rights, master rights, performer issues and approvals. GOV.UK gives the same practical warning in plain terms: owning a copy of a recording is not the same as owning the right to use it in a film.

For an original score, clarify who will control the composition, who will control the master, what the buyout or licence covers, whether exclusivity is needed, and whether adaptations are included.

A useful line in a brief might read: “Worldwide, all media, two years, paid social and online video confirmed, TV in Europe possible, cutdowns included, category exclusivity requested.” A weak line is: “standard advertising rights”.

For a broader rights and budget view, see original music for advertising: budget, usage and deliverables.

Make references precise, not dangerous

References are essential, but they need annotation. Three links with no explanation can lead the work in three incompatible directions.

For each reference, say what matters. Is it the tempo, the restraint, the string texture, the vocal distance, the edit energy, the absence of drums, the harmonic simplicity, the roughness, or the way the music leaves space?

Also say what must not be copied. This is a creative issue and a legal one. A composer can learn from the function of a reference without imitating its protectable expression.

A strong brief divides references into three groups: emotional references, production references and edit references. They are not the same thing. One track may explain the feeling, another may explain the sonic palette, and a third may explain how the film should accelerate.

Explain the relationship with voice and sound design

Music is only one part of the soundtrack. It has to live with voiceover, dialogue, sync sound, product sound, designed transitions, silence, sonic branding and the final mix.

Tell the music team where speech must lead, where sound design already carries the idea, and where silence is intentional. Otherwise the score may arrive too full and then be reduced until its purpose disappears.

The boundary between music and sound design should be discussed early. A cut impact can be a percussion hit, a processed breath, a product sound, a low string gesture or a hybrid of all of them. The important question is who owns it creatively and technically.

Name the approval process

A music schedule is only as realistic as the approval chain behind it. Include the dates for first routes, feedback, revised route, pre-mix, final mix, stem delivery and launch.

Name the decision makers. If brand, agency, director and production company all have approval, say so. If one person can resolve conflicts, say that too.

Good feedback is timecoded and behavioural. “More premium” is not enough. “At 00:14 the lift makes the reveal feel too early, can we keep the pulse but delay the harmonic opening?” is useful.

If picture is not locked, be transparent. A music agency can design modular sections, alternate endings, clean edit points and stems. What it cannot do is protect the film from hidden changes that arrive after approval.

The limitation: a brief is not a substitute for direction

There is a serious objection to all of this: some briefs become so complete that they leave no room for authorship. They dictate instrumentation, mood, structure and reference so tightly that the composer is reduced to making a safer version of an idea the room already half rejected.

That is not the goal.

A good brief is firm about the business problem and open about the musical solution. It gives the team rights, timings, formats, story, constraints and taste. It does not pretend to have already written the answer.

At Sul Tasto, the most productive starting point is simple: a cut or treatment, a clear role for the music, honest references, real usage information and a calendar. If you have those elements, share them through Sul Tasto’s contact page and the first conversation will be concrete.