Worldwide
The case
Audi’s agency Philipp & Keuntje developed “Tilted World”, a sustainability campaign built around the lyrics of a famous song, reinterpreted to tell a new story. The creative concept required a track that could carry the film and also stand alone as a contemporary release. The choice fell on “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley – an iconic song with strong recognition but also a complex rights landscape.
Tracks & Fields were brought in to secure usage rights for the composition and to design the full musical strategy: defining the sound, selecting and producing with the right recording artist, and shaping the release plan for a full-length single, not just a 30‑second soundtrack.
What the industry playbook suggested
Given the brief, the usual playbook would recommend one of two “safe” routes. Either license an existing cover recording that already lives in the market, or commission a straight production from a work‑for‑hire producer, treating it as pure campaign music rather than as a potential artist release. Both options minimise complexity, but they also limit distinctiveness and make it unlikely that the track will travel beyond the film.
What this approach typically does not do is start from the recording artist as a strategic choice. It rarely builds a structured view of who has real traction, who fits the brand, who can deliver the right sound and who is willing (and able) to engage with the constraints of a brand project. And with limited release budget, the expectation would usually be that any brand-led version will quietly disappear once the campaign ends, rather than entering charts or being picked up by labels.
What our infrastructure unlocked
Tracks & Fields’ infrastructure allowed the project to be designed from the artist outwards. Instead of jumping straight to production, they first built a longlist of potential recording artists with real audience traction, then filtered them systematically for availability, brand fit, sound and style alignment, appetite for the project and flexibility around timelines and approvals. Ten candidates were shortlisted and discussed with the agency and director to lock in the desired style and tone. From this pool, five releasing artists were selected to create demo interpretations: NEBBRA feat. The Great Escape, James Mercy, The Qemists, Robot Koch, and Jungle.
Here are the demo versions of their interpretations:
NEBBRA’s version emerged as the best fit. Finalisation became a global collaboration: Tracks & Fields coordinating from Berlin, NEBBRA arranging in France, and The Great Escape recording vocals in Los Angeles. In parallel, we designed a release path timed with the campaign, including targeted outreach to radio and tastemaker playlists so the single would have real life beyond Audi’s own media, even with limited marketing spend. Because the same infrastructure covered rights, artist relations and release strategy, the team could move from concept to a chart‑ready version on tight funding; treating the track as a genuine artist single, with the right positioning and support, and enabling it to enter charts and attract label interest without a classic high‑budget promo campaign.
Here is the final film:
The result
Tracks & Fields’ approach turned a campaign track into a genuine release. The single, launched in sync with the campaign and then pushed as its own record, reached No. 1 in the Shazam trend charts and entered the top 100 in several other charts. It received thousands of radio plays and millions of streams across Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and other platforms, proving that a brand‑led cover can resonate in the wider music ecosystem.
In France, the track was picked up by Scorpio Music, one of the country’s largest electronic labels, giving the song an additional local life in a key market. Audi not only gained a distinctive musical identity for “Tilted World”, but also extended the campaign into popular culture with a version of a classic song that audiences now associate with their brand.
If you want a campaign song that doesn’t stop at the edit, we’d be happy to explore how the right rights strategy, artist choice and release plan can get you there.
