"Brand" New

While many believe the only way to know if your making noise in the industry is if MTV or BET is acknowledging you. Those who truly understand this game respect branding. A prime example of an artist who made major moves this year was Santi White, better known as Santogold. If not familiar she provided the soundtrack to Bud Light Lime, Ford Flex, VO5 hair products, Nokia and Telus wireless ads. She provided the visual and music for the Converse campaign as well. Maybe you missed these commercials this year. Well her songs appeared on CSI:New York, Gossip Girl, Entourage, 90210, and Grey's Anatomy.

Santogold was able to license 75% of her tracks from the self titled debut album. It is very well possible she could have the entire album licensed at the rate she is going. Note it has been out for 8 months and should break 100,000 by years end.

I did a summer promotion for Santogold with Dowtown Records and was impressed with how they truly cover the market. It may sound repetitious but understand in the new age we are in, there are multiple ways to get your music to the people. Research is required to find out which brands suit your style and can be most beneficial.

Another group to dive into the market along the same lines were the The Cool Kids. They appeared in a Rhapsody ad and linked with Mountain Dew on a few singles. They were able to sell 36,000 copies of the EP "Bake Sale" according the Nielsen Soundscan. The group Chairlift was able bolster their sales scoring the Apple Ipod ad. The single "Bruises" sold 108,000 copies and the 6,000 copies of their latest album"Does You Inspire You," according to Soundscan. None of these groups suffered a loss since they still received publishing royalties, and a nice penny for the synchs. I wouldn't say you can make a career of it, but it can be beneficial if your strategy is correct.