Is music licensing the reason why we love music so much?

As a music lover, hearing a great new track from a new artist can really uplift my mood, turning my day from a good one to a great one. This can be from a number of things, the pacy beat, the resonating lyrical content to the irresistible melodies running through the track. Music licensing has got to be partly responsible for this... For as long as I can remember hearing music against adverts, tv shows and films is the norm and it has impacted on the way music has made us feel, so much so that every time I hear a song I can imagine a visual that goes with it. For example, if I hear anything remotely folky I instantly feel like I could be in a log cabin with friends around a camp fire. I must have heard something of this genre with this backdrop in a film or an advert or tv show. Even now when I hear a new track I can already think about the type of visual that would go with it. Is this why we like music so much? Is it because of what we see when we hear it? There are many studies into the science of music that show that certain genres can cause blood flow to the brain when they listen to music associated with reward, emotion and arousal. Perhaps it is linked with these things because we have seen visuals of people experiencing success or reward. For instance, the 2015 film Focus with Margot Robbie and Will Smith includes a scene in which the anti-heroes are succeeding in their scam while "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones is playing in the background . The upbeat , rhythmic song, which for lack of a better word is just utterly timeless and "cool", resonates with the theory that listening to certain tracks does create the sense of reward. Another example of this is "Field Of Gold" by Eva Cassidy (originally done by Sting) which is often associated with adverts for charities as it pulls on the heart strings and taps into the emotional part of the brain that makes us want to cry. Then there is arousal, tracks that have been used in steamy scenes in films and TV shows - when hearing them again that song can instantly make us think of our own sexual wants and desires. Powerful stuff ...

As a music lover, hearing a fresh track from a great new artist can really uplift my mood, turning my day from maudlin to awesomesauce. This can be from a number of things;

• the funky or pacy beat, that means you can't stop tapping your feet
• the resonating content of the lyrics, with the beauty of hieroglyphics
• or the irresistible melodies running through the track... that require a further play-back

Well thinking of Music Synch Licensing's role in all this... For as long as I can remember hearing music against adverts, tv shows and films, (often introducing me to new artists or even whole areas I might not otherwise be listening to,)the marrying of the audio track with the visual has impacted on the way music has made me feel, so much so that every time I hear a song I can imagine a visual that goes with it.

Have you ever heard a cool folky number and instantly felt like you could be in a log cabin with friends around a camp fire? I guess I must have heard something of this genre with this backdrop in a film or an advert or tv show, and for me the visuals stuck.

Even now when I hear a new track I can already think about the type of visual that would go with it. I think its really interesting how these visual cues affect my predisposition to vibing with certain songs. When I first heard Josef Salvatt's rendition of Rhianna's "Diamonds in the Sky" on Sony's Ultra 4K TVC I instantly fell in love. Granted the cover is amazingly performed and granted the tune is itself a spanker, but somehow hearing the song that first time alongside the film with those kids awestruck faces blowing bubbles of crystalline beauty in that enchanted pine forest , means that every subsequent time i hear that espacial, verb-soaked haunting piano line with Josef's emotive vocals, I am immediately teleported back to that forest such that I can almost feel the chill on my spine.

I can't tell if I'd like the song just as much if I heard it on the radio stuck in traffic on the M1 or if somehow the visuals are turbocharging my love of the song? Is this why I ended up in the synch licensing industry? Or do we all conjure stories in our heads the second we hear something that stirs emotions within us? How many of those tingles is because of what we see when we first hear the music we love?

There are many studies into the science of music that show that certain genres can cause blood flow to the brain when they listen to music associated with reward, emotion and even arousal (wink;) Perhaps it is linked with these things because we have seen visuals of people experiencing success or reward. For instance, the 2015 film Focus with Margot Robbie and Will Smith includes a scene in which the anti-heroes are succeeding in their scam while "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones is playing in the background . The upbeat , rhythmic song, which for lack of a better word is just utterly timeless and "cool", resonates with the theory that listening to certain tracks does create the sense of reward. Or even the emotive desperation of John Legend's voice in "Made to Love" featured on the trailer for the film.

Another example of this is "Field Of Gold" by Eva Cassidy (originally done by Sting) which is often associated with adverts for charities, like Cancer Research as it pulls on the heart strings and taps into the emotional part of the brain that makes us want to cry. For me... tearing up literally straight after that "you'll remember me" lyric. Is that just the song - or the product of years of sync-licensing visual matchup pre-programming??

Then there is arousal, tracks that have been used in steamy scenes in films and TV shows - when hearing them again that song can instantly make us think of our own sexual wants and desires. Powerful stuff ...

Or how the musical landscape is shaped by synch licensing

As a music lover, hearing a fresh track from a great new artist can really uplift my mood, turning my day from mediocrity to mega-ocrity?!? This can be from a number of things;

• the pacey beat biggin' up your little world that one lyric that makes you question your direction, or the pied-piper quality hook that makes you want to follow

(often introducing me to new artists or even whole areas I might not otherwise be listening to,)

Well lets think about the role of Music Sync in all this... For as long as I can remember hearing music against adverts, tv shows and films, seeing the audio along side the visual has impacted the way I feel. In fact... so much so, that every time I hear a song I can imagine a visual that goes with it. Have you ever heard a cool folky number and seen yourself surrounded by friends, at some kind of a log cabin... campfire ... shindig. [pause for effect] Well I guess I must have heard some folkey business with some kind of an outdoorsey, kum-by-aah sitch' (with marshmallows,) at some point during my formative years.... in a film or an advert or tv show, and for me the visuals stuck.

Even now when I hear a new track I always think about the type of visual that would go with it. I think its really interesting how these visual cues affect the way I vibe with certain songs. For example, on Sony's Ultra 4K TVC, I first heard Josef Salvatt's rendition of Rhianna's "Diamonds in the Sky" and instantly fell in love. Granted the cover is amazingly performed and granted the tune is itself a spanker, ... but somehow hearing the song that FIRST TIME alongside those kids awestruck faces, blowing bubbles, means that every subsequent time i hear Josef's emotive vocals, I am immediately teleported back to that enchanted pine forest, such that I can almost feel the chill on my spine.

I can't tell if I'd have liked the song just as much if I heard it first time, on the radio stuck in traffic, or if somehow those visuals of crystalline beauty are turbocharging my love of the song? Is this why I ended up in the synch licensing industry? Or do we all conjure stories in our heads when hear something that stirs emotions within us?

NOW! There are many studies into the science of music, showing that certain genres can cause blood to flow to the brain when we listen to music oozing with cool confidence, brimming with heartfelt emotion and even awakening arousal (schoolgirl laugh;) Perhaps this is the case because we have seen visual pairings like, the 2015 film Focus with Margot Robbie and Will Smith, where the soundtrack featuring "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones, gives a feeling of success & reward when the anti-heroes are succeeding in their scam. This upbeat, driving classic, which for lack of a better word is just utterly timeless and "cool", resonates with the theory. Another example of this is the Eva Cassidy rendition of Sting's "Field Of Gold", which is so often associated with charities, like Cancer Research, as it pulls on the heart strings and taps into the emotional part of the brain that makes us want to cry. For me... tearing up literally straight after that "you'll remember me" lyric. Now.. is that just the song - or the product of years of visual matchup by guys like us?? Hmm??? (eyebrow raised)

Then there is arousal, tracks that have been used in steamy scenes in films and TV shows - when hearing them again that song can instantly make us think of our own sexual wants and desires. Powerful stuff ... especially in the explosive, short-form world of advertising... the shameless "in-your-face sexuality of Timberlake's Lady Million Sync, the Gucci Guilty "strangelove" reboot or of course Flat Eric.

Gucci Guilty