Two notes. That’s all it took for John Williams to make an entire generation afraid of swimming.
The Jaws theme isn’t complex music. A child could play it on a toy piano. But those two notes, repeated with growing intensity, created one of cinema’s most powerful emotional triggers. Forty-eight years later, people still hear that music in their heads when they step into the ocean.
Now think about the last corporate video you watched. Can you remember anything about its soundtrack? Probably not, because most business videos treat music like elevator ambience, something pleasant and forgettable that fills the silence while the “real” content happens on screen.
Your video’s music isn’t background decoration. It’s your most direct line to your audience’s emotions, and most organisations waste that opportunity completely.
Why Music Actually Matters in Video Production
Strip away the mystique around film scoring and music becomes simple: it’s the fastest way to make your audience feel something specific about your message.
Music bypasses rational thought and speaks directly to emotions. When your brain hears certain chord progressions or rhythms, it responds predictably. Minor keys suggest sadness or tension. Major keys feel uplifting or confident. Fast tempos create urgency. Slow tempos allow reflection.
Your music choice will actually affect how images are edited together. Beats and rhythms will influence how long a shot is used before cutting to the next. A higher bpm song (beat per minute) will typically create a faster paced video than a lower bpm track.
This isn’t manipulation, it’s communication. Your audience expects music to guide their emotional experience. When you choose music thoughtfully, you help them understand how to feel about your message.
Research shows music affects decision-making in measurable ways. Restaurants use specific playlists to encourage faster turnover or longer stays. Retail stores choose background music that matches their target customer’s lifestyle aspirations.
Your video music choices send equally powerful signals about your brand, your audience, and your intentions.
The Social Media Reality Check
Most social media videos start on mute, like a silent film festival nobody asked for. Your carefully chosen music remains silent until someone actively decides to turn on sound.
Strong visual storytelling becomes essential when you can’t rely on music to carry emotional weight. But don’t abandon music entirely. When viewers choose to unmute your video, that’s a signal of genuine interest. The music they hear in that moment determines whether they stay engaged or scroll away disappointed.
Always start with empathy for your audience’s viewing context. They’re probably browsing quickly on mobile devices in noisy environments. Your music needs to add clear value when they choose to listen, not just fill silence.
Stock Music vs Original Music: The Real Trade-offs
Stock music libraries offer convenience and legal simplicity. Browse thousands of tracks, pay once, use forever. For many projects, this approach works perfectly well.
But stock music comes with hidden costs that most people discover too late, usually while watching their competitor’s video and thinking “hang on, that sounds familiar.”
The stock music trap
Every other brand has access to the same library. That inspiring corporate track might sound perfect for your company video until you hear it accompanying your competitor’s recruitment campaign next month.
Stock music also gets licensed for purposes you can’t control. Today’s motivational business soundtrack becomes tomorrow’s background music for a weight loss advert featuring before-and-after photos. You have no say in these future associations, which can range from awkward to reputation-damaging.
Search “corporate background music” and listen to the results. After five tracks, they blur together into an anonymous mass of acoustic ukulele and gentle percussion that sounds like the musical equivalent of beige paint.
When original music makes sense
Custom composition ensures your soundtrack exists nowhere else. No awkward moments discovering your music in competitor content. No unwanted associations with unrelated brands or messages.
Original music also matches your specific requirements precisely. Stock tracks come as-is. Custom compositions adapt to your exact timing, emotional journey, and brand personality.
For organisations serious about differentiation and brand control, original music represents an investment in owning your complete audience experience. Research from Leicester University shows that brands using music aligned with their brand identity are 96% more likely to be remembered by consumers than those using unfit music or no music at all.
Choose original composition for brand films, major product launches, or any content representing your organisation at the highest level. Use stock music for internal communications, social media content, and projects where speed and budget matters more than uniqueness.
How to Brief Music That Actually Works
Whether you’re working with stock libraries or commissioning original music, clear communication about your requirements prevents expensive mistakes and disappointing results.
Start with your audience’s emotional journey. What should they feel during the opening moments? How should those emotions evolve throughout the video? What feeling should linger after the video ends?
Understanding your brand’s musical personality
Your brand probably has a personality that extends beyond visual design. That personality should influence musical choices just as much as colour schemes or typography.
Companies have pages and pages of brand guidelines relating to colour and typography, but they never have guidelines on music. Film Division Pro Tip: Add a section on music in your brand guidelines.
Conservative financial services might need music that suggests stability and trustworthiness. Innovative startups might choose sounds that feel experimental and energetic. Different sectors require different approaches to musical authenticity.
Educational video production often benefits from music that enhances learning without overwhelming the message, while charity marketing campaigns succeed when music creates genuine emotional connections that motivate donations or volunteering rather than polished commercial sounds.
Always start with empathy for your audience’s world. What music already exists in their daily lives? What artists do they respect? What musical styles feel authentic to their culture and values? Getting this wrong is like showing up to a black-tie event in flip-flops, or playing death metal at a spa.
Rather than accepting the first musical direction that sounds appropriate, explore at least three different approaches to your soundtrack challenge. The obvious choice might work well, but alternatives often reveal more effective solutions. Show the tracks along with your edit to unbiased or preferably your target audiences and see which one resonates the most with them.
Using Chart Songs
You’ve likely seen the adverts on TV that utilise old eighties hits to more contemporary chart music in their adverts.
Samsung Official TVC – Ostrich
Whilst this is extremely effective in developing a rapport with your target audience, it will most likely cost you as much if not more than the entire production stage put together to obtain the licence for the music. This license will usually also only be for use for a limited time.
If you want to increase your chances of a successful video campaign and have the budget, then by all means do it!
How We Integrate Music Strategy
Music integration begins during our earliest strategy conversations, not as an afterthought during post-production. Understanding your brand’s sonic identity helps inform every creative decision that follows.
Never compromise quality over convenience. Choosing music because it’s easy to license or readily available often undermines the entire video experience. Better to invest time upfront than waste money on videos that achieve nothing.
We research your audience’s world before exploring musical directions. This insight often reveals unexpected opportunities for authentic connection that generic approaches miss entirely.
According to Kantar’s brand asset study, brands with strong audio brand assets achieve 76% higher brand power and 138% more advertising effectiveness than those without strategic sound design.
Guinness – Ahab
Effective video storytelling combines visual narrative with musical emotional guidance. When both elements work together, the impact on audience engagement becomes significantly more powerful than either approach alone.
Common Music Mistakes That Kill Video Impact
Generic music that sounds like everyone else
If your video could work equally well for a dental practice, a law firm, or a pet grooming business, your music choices probably lack specificity. Distinctive brands deserve distinctive soundtracks that reflect their unique personality and values, not something that sounds like it was composed by an algorithm trained exclusively on elevator music.
Adding music as an afterthought
Music integrated during planning creates cohesive experiences. Music added during final editing often feels disconnected from the visual storytelling, like discovering someone’s put ketchup on your carefully prepared meal after you’ve finished cooking.
We recently partnered with Liberation Food and centred the whole production around its BPM.
Choosing music that conflicts with your message
Upbeat, energetic music over serious subject matter confuses audiences about how they should feel. Always ensure your musical choices align with your content’s emotional requirements.
Ready to Make Your Message Unforgettable?
Most video production treats music as background filler rather than strategic communication tool. The difference shows immediately in audience response and long-term brand impact.
Whether you choose stock music or commission original composition, thoughtful musical decisions transform good videos into memorable experiences that drive meaningful change.
We help organisations use every element of video production, including music, to achieve specific business objectives and connect authentically with their audiences.
Book a creative consultation to discuss how strategic music choices can amplify your video’s impact and reinforce your brand identity.
