At the end of BMW's new Super Bowl commercial, actor Christopher Walken sits down to dinner at a restaurant and finds Usher at the next table. They (and a waiter) end up saying “yes!” each other at times, and for that matter, publishers for each of the six songwriters on Usher's 2004 smash “Yeah!” manage to split a huge sync payout — even though not another word or melody from the song is performed during the one-minute spot.
“We, of course, smiled and said, 'You bet, we'll grant you a license,'” he says. Brian Monaco, president/chief marketing officer for Sony Music Publishing (SMP), which represents James Phillips, one of six writers on the “Yeah!” “It was a full charge, like they used the whole song.” Pamela Lilligvice president of sync licensing for BMG, which represents co-writers J. Que, LaMarquis Jefferson and Sean Garrett, adds that BMW wouldn't have to pay the fee if random actors said yes to an ad, but “why Usher is in, they felt they probably should.”
“Yes!” — as well as Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's 1970 soul classic “Express Yourself,” which plays throughout the BMW spot — is one of several big, easily recognizable tracks used in Super Bowl ads this year. Dove Licensed Soap “It's the Hard-Knock Life” (from Annie soundtrack); Budweiser brought back its Clydesdales for a spot featuring The Band's “The Weight.” Volkswagen celebrated 75 years of history in the United States with “I Am .” by Neil Diamond. . . Did I say?” and a Popeye ad includes “Elso Sprach Zarathustra” and “Turn Down for What” by DJ Snake and Lil Jon.
“The majority of the songs used for us this year are catalog songs,” he says Tom Eaton, senior music agent for commercials for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), which represents the Band and Diamond catalogs. “They make an immediate impact.” He adds Patrick Joesthead of sync for Hipgnosis, which owns stakes in Heart's “Barracuda,” which was used in a Hyundai ad, and “Turn Down for What”: “What you're seeing this year is people are going for the sure shots.”
Super Bowl ads are one of the most profitable showcases for the nearly $1.5 billion a year publisher syndication business. According to timing sources, the 2024 fees range from $150,000 to more than $1 million. Last fall, when Hollywood writers and actors were still on strike and songwriting for television and film was on hold for the foreseeable future, the start of the Super Bowl song licensing season was a welcome relief. “He looked a little shaky,” she says Scott Cresto, executive vp of sync and marketing for publisher Reservoir, who has a stake in Coi Leray and David Guetta's “Make My Day,” used in an E-Trade spot for this year's game. “Last quarter, all of our top 20 syncs were ads. It definitely helped our numbers.”
UMPG (which brought the Diamond and Band syncs) has 18 syncs during this year's Super Bowl. Sony (whose catalog includes the O'Jays' “Love Train,” used in a Coors Light spot, and Perry Como's “Round and Round,” for Lindt Chocolate) reached 14, and Warner Chappell Music had 12 (including “Express Yourself”) , while BMG had five, Kobalt four, Reservoir three and Hipgnosis two. (Advertising sign in-game scores, national commercials that appear during the CBS broadcast.)
For recent Super Bowls, according to Rich Robinson, Warner Chappell's executive vice president of global sync and media, many commercials used authentic orchestral “sound-design,” as opposed to traditional song syncs that generate high licensing fees for publishers. This year, the pendulum has returned to the familiar. “It feels like a comeback,” says Robinson. “Almost every one we've licensed is a version of a well-known hit.”
However, a minority of Super Bowl LVIII ads feature newer songs and stars: Ice Spice's “Deli” (UMPG) soundtracks a Starry soda ad, and Maizie's 2021 track “Dumb Dumb” (BMG and SMP) is at an Uber Eats point. And prolific songwriter Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic took a request last Monday (Feb. 5) from a T-Mobile contact and wrote a new song, “Try,” in an hour, then submitted it as a voice memo. The ad will air during the Super Bowl. “It works fast,” says Sony's Monaco.
“There is a mad rush sometimes. It's super last-minute,” he adds Lisa Bergami, vp of creative sync for Kobalt, whose Super Bowl placements include Flo Rida's “Good Feeling,” used in a Veozah menopause medication spot. “Some [advertisers] they did a million laps and ended up with the song they wanted in the first place. There's not a lot of rhyme or reason.”
