Ad Music Brings in Big Exposure for Artists

For artists new and old, commercials are key to attracting listeners.

ByABC News
April 3, 2008, 10:38 AM

April 3, 2008 — -- French-Israeli singer Yael Naim was all but unknown in the U.S. until her single, "New Soul," became the infectious anthem in a commercial for the sleek new MacBook Air laptop.

In a bit of Apple synergy, Naim's bubbly tune soon climbed to No. 1 on the iTunes list of most-downloaded songs.

"We did all of this in a small apartment," Naim said of recording her album. "How come this is number one in iTunes?"

Praise the gods of advertising for commercials are the latest launchpad for hip young artists.

Just ask Sara Bareilles, a pop singer-songwriter and pianist who released her debut album, "Little Voice," last summer. Bareilles made a digital splash on iTunes, but it was about six months later, after belting out "Love Song" for a Rhapsody on Tivo ad, that she became a star-on-the-rise, leaping from No. 73 to No. 16 on the pop singles chart in just one week. Before long, Bareilles was tickling the ivory on "The Tonight Show" as her song shot to No. 2.

"It was sort of that click," Bareilles said. "The record kind of started rejuvenating itself."

Of course, catchy commercial music is nothing new. Retro jingles like Alka Seltzer's "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" remain in our brains and established artists have long licensed their tunes. The Rolling Stones help "start up" Microsoft, Nike swiped the Beatles' "Revolution" and Madonna's latest, "Four Minutes," is currently featured in a psychedelic spot for Sunsilk shampoo.

While landing an ad is an added bonus for the Madonnas of the industry, 30 seconds in prime-time now have the power to insta-launch a budding singer.

"It's completely taken over as a first-hear venue for new artists," said Jon C. Allen, co-owner of AdTunes.com, a blog for music fans who are seeking out the names and titles of songs they hear on commercials.

Ad Tunes was born five years ago in the wake of a memorable Mitsubishi Eclipse ad, but Allen says music junkies continue to visit his site as more ads introduce fresh acts to the mainstream.