Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

graphics. A strong decision about nil the elements was apparently made in the planning. You could tell because there was no indication of words to begin with. It may have been that the words were thrown out, but 1 doubt it. Sound is usually in commercials because it should be there — not because someone had a helluvan idea for it. "Most of the time sound follows the artwork. Sometimes, as in animated commercials, the general scheme of artwork is decided upon first, but its actual mechanics are planned according to a pre-recorded sound." According to Scott and his vice president, the cost of the music for commercials is based on the time involved, the amount of creativity and the cost of production. Vice president Barclay explains that the length and coverage of the advertising campaign, as well as the appropriation of the advertiser, also enter into the price. "If the commercial," Barclay explains, "is going to be aired nationally and the product message could reach 190 million people, obviously we're in a position to be paid better than if the same commercial were intended for a single city with a population of a million or less. "We do have — and this is common in our business of music and sound — a rate structure which reflects: first, the area of broadcast; second, whether tv and/or radio will be used; third, the creative effort. "There are factors that enable us to give price considerations, however," continues Barclay. "For example, if the commercial is going to be used in a test market, the price might be cheaper. If a jingle is going to be played in Pittsburgh or Atlanta only, the price would be less than if it were to be used regionally, such as along the whole East Coast. By the same token, we charge less for national use in Canada because the population is lower. "I think all composers would like to be paid an annual fee, but competition forced that out several years ago. And we don't get the usual residuals. Any residuals we get for music in commercials, disregarding electronic music for the moment, are the natural residuals Ray would get as the leader of the orchestra or a member of the band. These are performing fees, not composition fees." However, in electronic music, a relatively new area in commercial music, Scott and his partner do obtain some sort of residuals. Wanting but shying away from new ideas. "Electronics has been a hobby of mine for some 25 years," says Scott. "About four and one half years ago the cry went out for something really new in sound. Everybody wants a new sound. It was the same then as now. It suddenly occurred to me that I have electronic equipment, 1 am a composer and the advertisers want something different . . . "Client goes by 'I know what I like.' why not give it to them electronically? We first did a Vicks Cough Drop commercial. The Vicks people said they were willing to try electronic music. Now advertisers are less afraid of it, but they still hesitate^ — that is, the ones that don't have the courage to lead." Barclay recalls the director of advertising for a large auto firm. He liked the idea of using electronic music, but said the dealers wouldn't understand and he didn't want to risk his job. "It all depends on the advertiser," says Scott. "Recently we used electronic music for the General Motors Futurama exhibit and commercials. For that advertiser it was terrific. Then Listerine and Autolite accepted it, as have Nescafe and Sprite. "There is a great potential for electronic music in commercials. Our installation is so vast, it's as though we have a symphony orchestra of 4000 people. I have $250,000 worth of equipment here. We could play electronic music in the studio for 40 hours straight and exhaust nothing. The resources are so infinite you could live a trillion years and not use up what we have right now. Our competition, however, doesn't agree with us on this." By competition Scott refers to Eric Siday. "I don't know of anyone besides Eric who does good work in electronic sound," comments Scott. "There must be others who have done things, but I'm not aware of them. It's Eric and us, as far as I know." Raymond Scott has made great strides since he published his first compositions in 1934 as a staff pianist for CBS. For the next four years he played with orchestras conducted by Andre Kostelanetz, Mark Warnow and Freddie Rich. Later he built a small band called the Raymond Scott Quintet, and in the late '30s he appeared in Hollywood musicals with Eddie Cantor, Shirley Temple and Fred Allen, in addition to making records like "The Toy Trumpet," "In an 18th Century Drawing Room" and "Twilight in Turkey." It was in 1949 and 1950, as director of Your Hit Parade, that Scott started doing commercials. Since then he has devoted more and more time to compositions for commercials, until today they are his prime interest. He has established a jingle workshop and a new Sounds Electronique division to handle advertisers' needs. Scott works from his home in Manhasset, Long Island, where he resides with his wife, tv star Dorothy Collins, and their two daughters. In addition to award winning commercials for Autolite, Esso and RCA Victor, Scott's firm has done work for Proctor & Gamble, Lever Bros., Hamm's Beer, Chrysler, Scott Paper, Shell, Gulf Oil, Nescafe, Mercury, U.S. Steel, Greyhound Bus, Salada Tea and Alka Seltzer. His commercial for Lucky Strike, "Be Happy, Go Lucky" is probably one of the best remembered. ♦ 4i SPONSOR