Healing Power of Music and Emotional Storytelling with Matt Borck

“And it’s also a progression, right, that you don’t know why that progression did it for you. Like, there is a moment in this one song by Manchester Orchestra where they hit this C [note], and I, the first time I listened to it, just ugly cried, and I had no idea what they were saying because I wasn’t listening. It’s this one note, and the way they hit it as like, a quote, like just as a unit, as a band, they come in together, and it just does something in me. And I recognize that I then hold the power to be able to do that when I create content.” – Matt Borck

This episode is the second half of my conversation with Partner, Chief Listening Officer, and co-founder of The One Group Agency, Matt Borck, as we discuss Matt’s experience with the healing power of music and his strategies for breaking through social media algorithms to reach listeners.

And if you like what you hear and you want to support this podcast, there are a bunch of ways to do that at audiobrandingpodcast.com, including subscribing to the YouTube channel, the newsletter, writing a review, or buying me a coffee. Because this takes a lot of coffee. Thanks so much.

(00:00) – The Emotional Power of Music

The second half of our conversation starts as Matt shares his thoughts on the connection sound fosters between people, and how AI fits into his branding strategy. “People want to get to know the human behind the brands,” he explains. “They need to feel that moment. That’s why I encourage people [to] get the people that you’re working with to do the voiceover if they’re comfortable, and if they’re not, kind of choose somebody else that’s close to it as best as you can. And at this point in my life, AI would be the last resort.” We discuss his experience with the healing power of sound, and the backdrop it forms to our lives and memories. “People talk about having a soundtrack to their life,” Matt says. “They’re able to look back and go, oh, I remember, right. I remember exactly where I was when that song came on. I’m actually better at that than I am at remembering my own memories.”

(14:30) – Authenticity in Storytelling

Matt shares a clip from a travel tourism project in Bermuda, and we discuss the dangers of letting social media be a substitute for connecting with the audience. “That aspect,” he says, “I really feel is something that is disheartening. I feel like we’re not actually honoring the audiences. What we’re doing is just creating a whack load of slop and hoping that at one point someb