The Jingle Writing Career
By: Arin Broderick
Summary
 A jingle writer is someone who composes music and lyrics in
a catchy tune, that grabs the audiences’ attention. They do
this in order to sell their clients product or services through
TV or radio commercials. They must portray the positive
experience when using or their product or services.
 They must follow their clients’ guidelines:
 Length of Time
 The Key words
 Style of music
Education
 There is no specific degree requirements to be in this field,
however most jingle writers attended multiple courses to
develop their talent in music composing.
 Courses Available:
 Music Theory
 Commercial song arrangement
 Business Law
 Songwriting
 Song Arrangement
 Digital Music Composition
 Ear Training
Skills Required
o There are many general skills needed to succeed in jingle
writing such as
 Knowledge in different types of genres
 Ability to relate to your clients
 Ability to create new ideas for their clients
 Time management and Organization Skills
 Background knowledge of other careers (recording & Scoring)
 Musically Inclined
Salary Range
o A jingle Writer Salary depends on certain variables
 How large/long the jingle project is
 How big the company/client is (determines their budget)
 The amount of jingles they sell a year
o Most writers charge for a demo fee between $500- $1500, which
covers the equipment, musicians and vocalist.
o In most cases jingle writers won’t get the job, and result in no pay
o Successful jingle writers make an average of $100,000 - $200,000
annually.
Salary Continued…
o The salary also depends on what type of jingle writer you are
and who you are working for.
o Freelance Jingle Writers
 Their salaries tend to vary, because they don’t have control over
the incoming jobs.
o Salaried Jingle Writers
 They have a regularly salary which gives them stability within their
earnings
Minimum Rates…
Musician & Writer Unions Minimum Rates
Screen Actor Guild (SAG) American Federation of
Television and Radio Arts
(AFTAR)
DAY PERFORMERS
$809 per day
$171.35 - $1,493.55 per day
SINGERS
$398- $875 per day
$398 - $875 per day
Well Known Professionals
o One of the many famous jingle writers become song writers
and full time musicians
o Barry Manilow is a great example of a past jingle writer, who’s
jingles are still commonly used.
o His successful career as a singer-songwriter led him to
 5 oh his albums on the best seller charts in n 1987
 His many platinum albums made him Radio & Records' No. 1
adult contemporary artist.
 Receiving 3 American Music Awards
Barry Manilow
o Lets see if you recognize any of his jingles!
http://windycitylive.com/video?id=8735249 Stop at 2:20
Opportunities
 Jingle Writers are usually employed by:
 Advertising Agency
 Recording Studios
 Radio and Television stations
 Governments
 Large corporations
 Small business
Help Wanted Ad
New Jingle needed for Amy’s Boutique!
Ability to compose music and sing!
Minimum of 15 of your jingles from your past clients!
Deadline of 2 weeks to work on the jingle demo
Salary of 2,000 for the melody
Dangers Of This Career
o
Jingle Writers have to make sure that they create only their original work to
use for the clients jingle.
o
If the client is requesting an original rif and you infringe in another artists
copyright, they could be sewed.
Elements In Jingle Writing
o The elements greatly affect the jingles
 Texture: Usually Homophonic, so its usual to follow
 Form: Can decide how catchy it is
 Timbre: They use certain instruments to show different feelings
 Melody/Pitch: Can decide if the piece sound happy or sad
(Major & Minor)
o Jingle Writers must use the elements to find a way to capture
the attention of the audience.
Bibliography
 http://musiced.about.com/od/musiccareers/p/jinglewriter.htm
 http://www.insidejobs.com/careers/jingle-writer
 http://voices.yahoo.com/careers-music-jingle-writer-287475.html?cat=15
 http://www.bls.gov/soc/2010/soc272041.htm
 http://www.bestjobdescriptions.com/entertainment/jingle-writer-job-
description
 http://www.ehow.com/info_8348363_much-do-jingle-writers-paid.html
 http://popdust.com/2013/06/17/barry-manilow-fanilow-jingles-state-farm-
mcdonalds-band-aid/