We've all experienced it, the powerful, emotional upwelling when you hear a piece of music for the first time that really hooks into your soul. For me it happened with the opening of Led Zeppelin's "The Rover," the elemental funkiness of James Brown's "I Got the Feelin'" and my capitulation to Radiohead's masterwork OK Computer. These and many others simply blew me away, like a first kiss or the birth of a child.
Because of this visceral effect, music has always been an art form marketers are eager to tap for their clients. And with digital reshaping the music business and everything from the high-definition Walkman to the notion of artists selling out, the ability and desire to link music and advertising has never been greater. This week's music-themed issue of Adweek reflects that, as does our sister brand Clio's extension, the Clio Music Awards, now in its second year. Adweek and Clio decided to join forces to uncover the brightest talent and driving forces behind the ever-evolving relationship between music and media, music and branding, and music and creative.
A number of this year's 23 Clio Music jurors are featured in this issue.
Evan Greene, CMO of the The Recording Academy/The Grammy Awards and a Clio Music juror, is featured in our CMO Cold Call. Gauging the delicate creative balance brands play with music, juror Omid Farhang, CCO at Momentum Worldwide, pens this week's Voice column.
For our cover story, juror Brian Loucks, a talent agent with Creative Artists Agency, invited us to his personal and exclusive Living Room Series, where music, marketing and Hollywood converge to refresh and redefine their relationship. We were lucky enough to attend when music icon Annie Lennox was the featured artist. We photographed her there for this week's cover.
Singer-songwriter, producer and Clio Music juror Janelle Monáe has assembled a group of young talent for her new label, Wondaland, backed by Epic Records. We feature Monáe and her future superstars. And juror Dominic Sandifer, president and founding partner of Los Angeles-based GreenLight Media & Marketing, takes us inside its super-cool offices for our Spaces department.
This issue presents a small coda leading into the rising harmony between music, creative and commerce, which we look forward to celebrating with Clio Music as part of the Clio Awards gala on Sept. 30 in New York. Hope to see you there.
James Cooper is editorial director of Adweek. Follow him on Twitter at @jcoopernyc.