Songtradr Presents Series: Discover how Jane’s Party went from playing cover songs to soundtracking television commercials to achieving viral fame and $$$$ from TikTok ads.
When you think of cigarettes, you likely don't think of film or television commercials next. In 1970, former President Richard Nixon signed legislation officially banning images of people smoking on screen. Songs named "Cigarette Buzz," however, are fair game, much to the delight of Canadian indie-rock band Jane's Party who has had a track with that same name licensed more than 20 times on the Songtradr platform.
Perched on a balcony overlooking the California coast, the band's drummer Zach Sutton explained that he first learned of sync licensing several years ago when he saw an ad for Songtradr on Music Business Worldwide. "I loved the idea of music sync meets tech," he said of his first encounter with the B2B music licensing platform. The group had arranged to meet us for a sit-down interview to discuss their career, the many ways they monetize their music, and the success of "Cigarette Buzz."
"When we put it together, we knew it was gonna be a high-energy rock song, so there's a lot of excitement built into the track," singer, songwriter, and bassist Devon Richardson said of the extraordinarily catchy 3-minute rock number. Richardson was responsible for the song's lyrics, which have little to do with smoking despite the cigarette reference in the title.
"I was comparing that rush of your first love – or dating someone – with the head rush you get [from cigarettes]," Richardson said of his motivation for the song lyrics. "I don't smoke cigarettes, so when I do, I get a crazy head rush. And all the smokers I know are like, 'oh, I remember when I used to get that."
The band's friends aren't the only ones to find the message relatable. Numerous brands have found the energetic rock song to be a perfect match for their ad campaigns. Unilever, home to more than 400 consumer goods brands including Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Dove skincare, and Hellmann's mayonnaise, once licensed the song for an Indonesian Vaseline commercial. Underscoring the value a major sync placement can carry, the ad, which currently has more than 7 million views on YouTube, provided the band exposure and access to a market they otherwise may have found difficult to reach via more traditional music discovery methods. Jane's Party now has a reason to tour Indonesia.
Blanket license deals also exposed new audiences to the song. You can access and submit music for overhead radio in shops, restaurants, hotels, and more via the Songtradr monetization portal.
"Sometimes you walk into an H&M and you hear your song," Richardson proudly proclaimed. "If people don't know who you are it's just background music. But for your fans who do know you... they hear you walking through an H&M or a Starbucks and you get that social interaction: like, 'Hey, I'm in a mall right now and I heard you guys.' Even for us, it's super cool to walk into an H&M and hear our song playing."
Inclusion in a TikTok For Business license as part of Songtradr's ongoing relationship with the short-form video app also benefited the band. Songtradr is one of six certified Sound Partners supplying music for brands of all sizes to use in their TikTok content. Sutton explained that their song "Daydream" has been used to soundtrack more than 37 thousand TikTok videos and has blown up as a result. Further highlighting social media's strength as an important source for music discovery, fans who heard the song on TikTok sought it out on other music streaming platforms. The song went from 20,000 streams on Spotify to almost a million.
It's fair to say that the band has gained a lot from their Songtradr Pro subscription thus far. However, one thing that has eluded them is a major sync placement in a popular film or TV show. Before our cameras stopped rolling, guitarist Tom Ionescu declared his desire to enter this space in 2022.
"We could score most things and we'd have a really great time doing it," he said, exchanging a wry smile with his bandmates. "It'd be really cool if we could have a song chosen for this exact vibe of a scene. Like The Killers on The O.C. or Chuck Berry in Pulp Fiction," added Richardson. "Something like that, where it becomes an iconic moment of film and music together." But whatever the future brings, the band will be happy doing their thing. "We're not picky," said Richardson, signing off.
Watch the full interview and a performance of "Cigarette Buzz" now!
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Brilliant — great quirky song and nice lads, deserve success.
Thanks Mike, glad you enjoy the video!