“Should I invest in custom music?” This question is posed by many marketers. There are several considerations when thinking about a custom musical identity.

From a purely practical standpoint, custom music provides a ready-to-use music bed for any project without the need to pay separate “needle drop” or licensing fees. Typically, even “royalty-free” commercial music can result in fees ranging from a few hundred dollars for local use to many thousands of dollars for national or exclusive licensing.

These licensing fees typically come due periodically if the production remains in use beyond a certain time period, typically 13-weeks, six months or one year.

Depending on the number of productions, a custom music package can often pay for itself relatively quickly.

Custom music can become a strong part of a marketer’s overall brand identity. Many advertisers can be recognized by their music alone.

Beyond the practical dollars and cents reasons for investing in custom music, there are also brand considerations. Custom music, when used consistently, can become a strong part of a marketer’s overall brand identity. Many advertisers can be recognized by their music alone.

And even for those brands that may not advertise heavily enough to create this “I know it by ear” effect, use of custom music can serve to connect different commercials and productions and deliver a consistent and brand appropriate “tone and manner” that creates a synergy that helps every distinct message build on those that came before.