{"id":9949,"date":"2017-05-17T14:58:48","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T18:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/takenote\/?p=9949"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:23:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:23:52","slug":"using-brand-names-songwriting-creative-perspective-business-prospective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/using-brand-names-songwriting-creative-perspective-business-prospective\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Brand Names in Your Songwriting: The Creative Perspective and the Business Prospective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brand Names in Lyrics Create Instant Imagery and Open Sponsorship, Sync, and Licensing Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Let\u2019s do a little experiment: <\/span>
Take a minute to imagine a generic pair of jeans. Once you have the perfect pair in your mind\u2019s eye, take a moment to list a few adjectives to describe them. Now set that list aside. Next, imagine a pair of Levi\u2019s jeans (if you\u2019re unfamiliar, you can read up about them here<\/a>). Now, let\u2019s do the same thing with the adjectives. Take a moment and think of some adjectives to describe a pair of Levi\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s compare our lists of adjectives. I don\u2019t know about you, but when I think of a generic pair of jeans, I use words like blue, denim, or maybe even ripped to describe them. I use words that describe the specific pair of jeans. When I describe of a pair of Levi\u2019s jeans, however, I use words like tough, timeless, classic, cowboy \u2013 words I associate more with the Levi\u2019s brand than with a generic pair of jeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using brand names in songwriting is a powerful tool for two reasons.
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The Creative Perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a songwriter, my job is to pack three minutes with as much imagery as I can, both lyrically and musically. Brands spend millions cultivating their image. They position themselves in the market with commercials and ads hoping that we, the consumer, will view their product in a very specific way. Furthermore, that brand wants us to view the people who use or wear that brand in that very specific way, too. Using the word \u201cLevi\u2019s\u201d in a lyric immediately conjures the image that Levi\u2019s has spent millions (or, more than likely, billions!) of dollars cultivating for over 150 years. Suddenly, the adjectives I use to describe a pair of Levi\u2019s (tough, timeless, classic, cowboy) actually describe the person in my song who is wearing them. The listener gets a clearer, more real image of the person I am describing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s do the same experiment we did before — only this time, let\u2019s try it with a lyric from my song \u201cBurn Right Through.\u201d<\/a> Read the lyric below, close your eyes, and really try to imagine the character I am describing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You had a sinful little smile and a wild stormy look in your eyes,
In your dirty old boots, your leather jacket, and your jeans<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you imagine someone? This lyric has a fair amount of imagery on its own but did you get a crystal clear image of someone? What do they look like? Do you have a clear picture of their face? How are they standing? How do they carry themselves? Can you answer those questions definitively? Maybe, maybe not. Now let\u2019s try that same thing with the actual lyric from the song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You had a sinful little smile and a wild stormy look in your eyes,
In your dirty old boots, your leather jacket, and your Levi\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now who do you see? What do they look like? Do you have a clear picture of their face? How are they standing? How do they carry themselves? I bet you have better, more descriptive answers for these questions when I use the brand Levi\u2019s in the lyric. Artists have used brand names in their lyrics for years and it\u2019s because of this simple fact: brand names will always<\/strong> invoke more imagery than any adjective ever can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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