What does music for an ad cost?
Daan Koekelkoren — producer and founder of Studio ZK. Has been making music and sound for campaigns, brands and cultural institutions in Amsterdam since 2016.
Custom music for an ad has no list price, and that is not evasion. A track for one social campaign in the Netherlands and the same track for TV, radio and online in five countries is the same work in the studio and a different product. This page explains what moves the number, what you get per format, and what a good quote contains, so you can compare offers on the things that matter.
What sets the price of music for a commercial?
Five things set the price of custom music for an ad: the usage rights (media, territory, duration), whether the track is original or a rerecording, how many versions and cutdowns you need, the delivery specification per channel, and the timeline. The minutes of music are rarely what makes one quote twice the other.
What you get per format
| What you need | What you get | Typical timeline | What moves the price most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social or online video, one country | One custom track, 2–3 lengths, a mix for social | 1–2 weeks | Number of lengths |
| Radio commercial | Music and sound design under an existing voice-over, radio master | About 1 week | Number of versions per station |
| Rerecording of an existing song | A new recording you own, without a licence on the original master | 2–3 weeks | Publishing rights on the composition |
| National TV campaign | Original score, 30/20/10/6 seconds, broadcast master, social mix, stems | 3–5 weeks | Rights and number of versions |
| Campaign music that becomes a sonic logo | A score plus a short motif that returns in later campaigns | 6–10 weeks | Scope of the identity |
The timelines come from our own work: one custom track takes one to two weeks, a full campaign with several cutdowns and formats three to five. Studio ZK quotes every project up front against your budget and the formats you need. Ask for a quote.
1. Usage rights
This is the line people underestimate. Agree three things before the first note:
- Media: TV, radio, online, social, cinema, in-store
- Territory: the Netherlands, Benelux, Europe, worldwide
- Duration: one campaign flight, one year, unlimited
Rights can be extended later, usually for less than buying rights up front that you never use. Worldwide rights for a brand that only advertises in the Netherlands is the most common overspend we see.
2. Original or rerecording
Sometimes the edit was built on an existing song and the licence turns out too expensive, or not available for the countries you need. A rerecording captures the feel of that song in a new recording that you own. That removes the licence on the recording, not always the one on the composition: if the new version follows the original melody, you still need permission from the publisher. A track that only captures the mood does not. When each route works is explained in music licensing 101.
3. The number of versions
The music is written once. The hours go into the versions. A national spot leaves our studio with about ten files: the main mix at the length that airs, the same mix in the 20, 10 and 6 second cutdowns, a version without voice-over, the separate music stems and a social mix. What each of those is for is on what an ad music project delivers.
Ask which of these each quote includes. A price without stems and cutdowns looks cheaper until the first change.
4. The delivery specification
A spot for Dutch television is delivered at −23 LUFS on average, with peaks below −1 dBTP (EBU R128). A Spotify audio ad is delivered at −16 LUFS. Social is usually mixed louder still. That makes two or three mixes of the same music, and a studio that does all of them in house keeps the spot from coming back at the technical check. The numbers per channel are on audio delivery specs for TV, radio and social.
5. The timeline
A track in three weeks costs less than the same track in five days. Rush work means freeing up people who were doing something else.
Stock music or custom music?
Stock is fine for an internal video or a test. For a campaign that runs on TV for weeks you mostly pay with recognisability: your competitor can license the same track, and the hook rarely sits where a six-second cutdown can reach it. The full comparison is in stock music or custom music.
What should a quote for ad music contain?
Ask for these five points if they are missing:
- Scope: which lengths and which versions
- Usage: which media, which territory, for how long
- Revision rounds: how many are included before extra work starts
- Ownership: who owns the master, who owns the composition
- Specifications: are the TV mix and the social mix both delivered
An example: Boska on national television
For Boska we made the music, sound design, post production and mastering for a national TV campaign that ran for several weeks. The brief asked for something that sounded handmade: real instruments, a hook you can hum. We wrote to the tempo of the edit, so the musical accents land on the cuts and the product shot, and delivered the broadcast master and the social versions in one go. How that went is in behind the scenes at Boska and the Boska case.
How long does it take to make music for an ad?
One custom track takes one to two weeks. A full campaign with several cutdowns and formats usually takes three to five weeks. The fastest route is a locked edit and two or three reference tracks with the brief. Our briefing template lists what to send.
When is campaign music no longer enough?
When you commission new music every year and nobody hears the previous campaign any more. You keep paying for recognition you never build up. A sonic identity with a fixed motif carries over between campaigns. What that costs is on what sonic branding costs.
Want a price for your spot? Send the edit or script, the lengths and the media it runs in. → Music for advertising