Composer Spotlight: Amanda Yamate on creating music for brands

Sound is fundamental to TikTok: users create and engage with sound in a new and different way that enhances its ability to elicit emotion and forge meaningful connections. The platform's growing impact on music and culture presents a unique opportunity for brands to connect with highly-engaged audiences.

When it comes to creating branded music, choosing the right sound collaborator is vital, and authenticity is imperative. TikTok's badged Sound Partners are experts in creating music specifically for TikTok and helping brands to utilize sound in impactful ways. One such partner is Heavy Duty Projects, a New York and Los Angeles-based music studio specializing in custom sound design.

We sat down with Heavy Duty's Amanda Yamate to learn more about the process of composing for branded TikTok content, and to celebrate their experience as a nonbinary composer navigating the music industry.

Amanda is a uniquely positioned composer who has honed their craft across various mediums, from scoring for feature film and TV to creating original music for branded content. Amanda and their colleagues at Heavy Duty work with brands to create custom music for ad campaigns, hashtag challenges, duets and remixes, fostering collaboration and engagement between creators, brands and users. Amanda has an exciting portfolio of TikTok work across blue-chip brands in fashion, beauty, health, tech, and entertainment.

“I love that music from all generations will go viral on TikTok," says Amanda. "People on the platform seem to be open to whatever is resonating with them in the moment and not just what's being pushed on the radio. This makes it fun to write music for TikTok, because it doesn't feel like I need to follow any sort of script on what's trending.”

How custom TikTok music is created

Typically brands approach Amanda through Heavy Duty's team of music producers. Briefs arrive with various budgets, timelines and creative directives; in response, Heavy Duty's producers will curate a specific group of composers to write music, craft lyrics, record singers and musicians, and revise in line with client direction.

No two projects are alike, but Amanda and their colleagues at Heavy Duty exist to interpret and define multiple creative solutions for any given brief. Turnaround times are always different, but projects can come and go in as little as two weeks from concept through to final delivery.

The benefit of working with an approved Sound Partner is that they are vetted, trained and have direct lines of contact to music teams within TikTok to facilitate communication and guide the process.

What makes a great branded TikTok sound?

Amanda has written countless tracks for brands on the TikTok platform. Connecting with creators on TikTok is something Amanda is well versed in, and part of what powers their unique approach to crafting music for the platform. As a TikTok user, they understand how pacing and energy influences how content is consumed, and this informs their compositions. "TikTok is such a creative platform, and in my experience, brands seem willing to try things that are a bit more out-of-the-box, which makes the creative process all the more exciting."

One recent example was a weird, wacky and relentlessly catchy pop-punk jingle for Applebees' "wing-a-long" campaign, which garnered over 1.4 million views and was widely celebrated as a "bop" in the comments section—with one user even describing it as "honestly one of the best things I’ve ever seen on TikTok."

Celebrating representation in the music industry

“Growing up, I only ever saw men in the studio and writing music," says Amanda. "This felt discouraging when starting out. There always have been women, nonbinary, and trans people in the studio, but now they're getting so much more visibility and recognition so I feel lucky to be a non-binary music producer at this point in time. The majority of music producers are still cis men though, so I hope to see this imbalance progress in the future."

Besides shattering the gender binary, Amanda is inspired to expand the definitions and possibilities of film music, while using their craft to uplift underrepresented voices. Amanda currently has two feature film scores in production and is a regular score contributor to HBO Max’s Gossip Girl, working under Grammy-winning producer and Heavy Duty ECD/Founder Ariel Rechtshaid.

Amanda's advice to aspiring TikTok sound creators is simple and heartfelt: “Make sounds that you love and make you happy.” This sentiment rings true throughout each project they work on.

If you are interested in working with Amanda or learning more about Heavy Duty Projects, you can reach out through the TikTok Marketing Partners directory.