If you’ve been planning and producing events for any length of time, you have probably run into issues regarding music licensing. Hopefully, you or your producers were prepared; there are plenty of horror stories about people and companies that were not.

This is one of many areas I play close attention to, whether the exposure is limited as with small, private local meetings, or great as with webcasts that reach hundreds and thousands of people publicly across the globe.

If you were in this business in the late 80’s or early 90’s, you may be familiar with the industry shake-up regarding music and the performing rights organizations (PRO’s) BMI and ASCAP. They waged a large scale, sweeping assault on companies and associations who were, until then, using music as they pleased without paying royalties to these PRO’s, who in turn compensate the artists, producers, songwriters and so on.

Using music for audience walk-in, parties, or video scores without paying for it was technically illegal but had gone largely unenforced. To many event planners it was free music that shouldn’t have been free, but the chances of anyone finding out were minimal; moreover, many people didn’t even realize it was wrong.

Before the internet took over, satellite broadcasts were commonplace, and simply an extension of the private meeting. So, the use of music could still go under the radar. Such was not the case with television and film, which were viewed in great public numbers and paid for prior to their use, of course.

Enter the webcast.

PRO’s and other entities such as publishing and record companies, who own the rights to songs, have much greater awareness of and access to the public use of their material on webcasts.

The problem? There are a number of horror stories about production companies and clients who have lost thousands of dollars as a result of not using and paying for licensed music, particularly with wide scale use such as webcasts. Many production companies don’t understand how to properly secure rights for webcasts or how to avoid such issues entirely.

The solution? Corporations and associations, like hotels, bars, and other public use venues, have royalty/use agreements in place for general use. But I always insist on using high quality licensed music for webcasts and securing video sync rights separately. We have a myriad of sources for such safe and high quality music. It’s another reason to leave the worry to us.

I put a great deal of time and thought into selecting the music to be played at each and every corporate event our company produces. I do so because I am certain that music plays an active role in how people react to an experience. Whether it’s a movie, TV program, theatre production or “business theatre”, (such as a product launch event or sales meeting), music triggers emotional reactions, consciously or unconsciously. If chosen strategically, music can help you direct your audience’s thoughts and emotions to the benefit of your business event strategy.

Music – carefully sequenced – can help you build up the audience’s energy and sense of expectation during walk-in to the venue. In the 20 minutes or so between opening the doors of the ballroom or theatre to the moment the first Presenter walks out on stage to begin the event, you have essentially 5 songs (at roughly 4 minutes each) at most to leverage to your advantage to get your audience in the exact frame of mind you want them to have. Don’t ignore this important opportunity!

A very strategic sequencing to the last 5 songs leading up to the “curtain up” moment on stage is crucial. Think this through backwards – from the minute before your first Presenter is introduced on stage backwards to the first song of walk-in. What is the energy, level of excitement you want your audience to feel in that last minute before the “show” starts? You want to build up to that moment. Once you are clear about exactly how you want them to feel in that minute before the start of show, then pick that song very carefully.

Now that you have your last walk-in song selected (song #5), then pick song #4 – the perfect song that would seamlessly segue into that last song before your first Presenter’s walk-on to stage. The tempo, energy and style of song #4 should fit well with song #5.

AND – if you are using music with lyrics – be certain that the words to all your songs build up to the exact message and attitude you want to convey to your audience just before the curtain rises on your event. Note: Do not make the mistake of choosing popular radio hits that have a great rock tempo, energy, yet have depressing or negative lyrics in some way.

Of course, visuals are extremely important in this process as well. Yet I believe music is the stronger emotional trigger.

This is not new science. Much has been written about the physiological effects of music on the brain and, in turn, on emotion in art and commerce. (See these links below for more on music and neuroscience from the highly regarded research conducted by Oliver Sachs and Daniel Levitin):

http://www.oliversacks.com/books/musicophilia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Your_Brain_On_Music

Knowing which music is strategically perfect for your business event goals and the impact you want to have on your audience requires you to know a few basic things. We’ll talk about those specifics in Part 2 of this topic to follow here soon. Stay tuned!

One of the key components in using music strategically is demographic appeal. In fact, next to theme and purpose, this can be the single most important parameter on which to base your selections. It’s yet another way you need to know your audience.

Think about the music you relate to most. It’s probably the same music you listened to in high school. Those artists, songs, and lyrics are imprinted on your brain, providing an emotional link to the music. So, age is one demographic to consider when you’re “scoring” your event. Other demographics include gender, race, geography (domestic and globally), social strata, and so on.

If we’re producing an event for a group of young sales women, we know they’ll respond to electronic dance music and top forty. If our audience is predominantly older C-suite males, we know that type of music will not only not inspire them, it will have the opposite effect. Can country music work in New York? Hip hop for a global sales rally? Of course, provided the purpose and branding of the event ties in.

When we’re producing a marketing activation event for the public, the audience can vary widely, so we let the product or service drive the music. Of course, the demographic draw at an outdoor public event can be narrow or wide, so we have to take that into consideration as well.

It’s important to realize there are no hard and fast rules, only guidelines. What’s more important, is that you give it serious consideration and make the right choices based on your demographic goals. There’s a reason Ford and Chevy use a lot of country music in their commercials. All I’m saying is, music selection is no accident. It’s designed, carefully chosen, and as I said last week, carefully sequenced, too.