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Is the ad biz ready for a music house that's the real deal? YEAH'

When was the last time you heard about a company that racked up an array of impressive work before it even opened? AFTER creating original music for Adidas, Microsoft, and McDonald’s, and licensing tracks to Apple, Coca-Cola, and GMC, to name a few, record label Quannum decided they should probably open an actual music house for the ad biz. The result is YEAH’, which launches with a roster of diverse and accomplished artists turning out ad music and sound design to complement their influential longform work. Via Blackalicious, Lifesavas, General Elektriks, Lyrics Born, and others, the YEAH’ crew brings to brands a dedicated and discriminating audience drawn not by imitators but originators. At press time, no fewer than three projects had recently been awarded to YEAH’, for Axe, Commonwealth Club, and US Cellular.

“The seeds were planted in 2005, when Microsoft asked us to come up with an original composition to air during the Final Four broadcast,” explained YEAH’ and Quannum co-founder Xavier Mosley (pict., far right), aka Chief Xcel, producer, writer, composer, arranger, and a founding member of Blackalicious.

Feedback from music supervisor Lyle Hysen of Bankrobber Music, who oversees the label’s licensing operations, and contacts at Grey, Ogilvy, and Saatchi, was very encouraging and it seemed more and more brands were interested in connecting with Quannum artists for original works. “We’d been fairly experienced in the licensing game for at least a decade, but we thought if agencies are hiring houses to do knock-offs of our work, why not offer them the real thing?” recalled Mosley. Noting that working with recording artists can be challenging for clients and agencies, he added, “We had another asset, which was that we provide great service, great quality, reliably and efficiently. So we had a feeling we might be on to something.”

“With a lot of music houses, you have people in a studio trying to synthesize info they read and see out in the streets, it’s their perception of what’s cool,” said YEAH’ and Quannum co-founder Lateef Daumont (pict., left). Known as Lateef the Truthspeaker, Daumont is a member of bands Maroons and Latryx, and a frequent collaborator with Fatboy Slim. “We are artists out in the world, on tour; we are active artists influencing the curve and bringing an audience to commercials and film. Our goal is to give the client what they need while staying true to our audience.”

Of the current climate in advertising, Mosley commented, “It’s great that music can be so integral to the advertising process and there are so many platforms now for distribution, it’s like being a painter and instead of just canvas you have all these other mediums to paint on.” “Our audience is web-based, and we sell most of our records on the web, so that’s a medium we understand particularly well,” Daumont added.

“A comment we’ve heard over and over is that our spot tracks sound complete, like full-length compositions,” said Daumont. “That’s a rare skill among composers and it’s one that our artists possess. For a 3 or 4 minute song, there is a story, a structure, and a way to keep it interesting,” he noted. “You have the opportunity to build up to your point, and repeat phrases. In original compositions for spots or with sound design, you need to get to the point. It’s a skill we’ve been refining over the last nine years, making sure that we hit a note that’s memorable and resonates with the viewer.”

Diversity is also a strong suit at YEAH’. “Quannum made a conscious decision early on to be branded as much more than an indie hip-hop label,” Mosley pointed out. “It’s a destination for good music, from samba to dance rock to electropop. Even within hip-hop, where we have our roots, our sound is changing as we grow and evolve with the times.”

“Our roster is 15 artists deep, with critical acclaim within each of the genres,” Daumont concurred. “We can attack music briefs with authenticity and confidence, because it’s music that we already produce, not music we are trying to create, and that is appealing to agencies and brands.”