If you’ve been surfing the net lately, you might’ve stumbled upon our very own Freddy Reynold!
The musical star of Samsung New Zealand’s latest promotion, Freddy and his track Southside Run It drive the action in this campaign for the Samsung Galaxy S22.
“It’s a surreal moment, I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” says Freddy. “Seeing my friends and family’s reactions to it is an amazing feeling.”
For Freddy, it’s a colossal step in realising his ambitions as an up and coming artist with Bigpop Records. “I’ve always wanted my music in movies, video games and TV,” he says. “It’s so dope to get a taste of it.”
As for how it all happened: “he got an Instagram message and thought it was spam,” remarked Label and Publishing coordinator Martine Harding. “Luckily they sent us an email, too.”
Originally Samsung hadn’t considered including Freddy’s song in the ad, planning to use a generic track instead. “We sent through the music, just as an option, and they were really interested in using it,” says Martine. “After some negotiation, it was in there!”
“It’s all about communication,” she says. “There’s a lot of back and forth to understand the project and its needs. There’s no “one-size fits all” for licensing music.”
“It’s a great feeling to have people outside your circle recognise your work and want to display it to the nation and beyond,” says Freddy.
The campaign itself embodies Freddy’s approach to music, which has always been about staying true to himself. “I definitely feel like the message was the most important part of this campaign,” he says of the tagline: Be The Show. “I’m honoured to be a part of such a sick campaign pushing this message.”
“The people involved in the ad are authentic and real,” says Martine. “Freddy’s music really backs that vibe and brings such a wicked energy.”
“It’s a testament to his talent as an artist that they approached him in the first place, and I’m stoked we could get his music in there too.”
Southside Run It is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.