David Huron
Musical Quarterly, Vol. 73, No. 4 (1989) pp. 557-574.
A short history of music in advertising is provided. A six-part approach is outlined for analysing the role of music in advertising: (1) How is the music entertaining or engaging? (2) How is the music structured and what role(s) does this structure serve? (3) How does the music achieve memorability? (4) How does the use of language contribute to its poetic or emotive appeal? (5) At whom is this music aimed? and (6) How does the music establish its credibility or authority? It is argued that radio advertisements provide valuable artifacts for studying musical meaning. Finally, it is suggested that the musical advertisement may well be viewed as a paradigm for all musical works, whatever their origin. Each work acts as a sort of advertisement for itself.
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