{"id":22725,"date":"2025-10-08T19:14:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22725"},"modified":"2025-10-08T19:14:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:14:48","slug":"how-creator-jake-schroeder-unlocked-a-comedy-and-audio-niche-tailor-made-for-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22725","title":{"rendered":"How creator Jake Schroeder unlocked a comedy and audio niche tailor-made for brands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TikTok creator Jake Schroeder tries to post at least two ballads a day.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re entirely original songs, usually performed by the singer-songwriter as he plays piano, and they can be about anything from the quadratic formula to political violence. There\u2019s almost no way to predict what subject he will take on in musical form next\u2014unless you\u2019re a brand partner.<\/p>\n

Schroeder has been posting on TikTok since he was in high school, but he only began \u201ctaking it seriously\u201d this May, he told Marketing Brew. The recent University of Chicago grad wanted to be more creative and had begun using a journaling technique called \u201cmorning pages,\u201d a method from author Julia Cameron\u2019s book The Artist\u2019s Way<\/em> that requires a stream-of-consciousness, 30-minute writing practice every day. This practice led to what he calls his \u201cdumb songs\u201d written as musical comedy, which he posted to TikTok. He now has more than 360,000 followers.<\/p>\n

After Schroeder\u2019s songs began going viral, brands started reaching out to commission their own ballads, drawn to his platform-specific humor and his ability to stand out on the app without the typical barriers around copyrighted music trends.<\/p>\n

In just three months, he\u2019s completed around 60 wide-ranging brand deals, including work with AI writing assistant Grammarly, deodorant brand Degree, and a Swedish music library brand called Epidemic Sound. And he\u2019s only seeking to do more. The topics Schroeder features in his songs are wide-ranging and often random-seeming, which he sees as an asset in creating funny and feel-good posts about just about anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings that are as simple as the Caesar salad can be exciting and fun,\u201d Schroeder said. \u201cWorking with [so many brands]…sort of represents what I\u2019m trying to say in my other songs too, which is like, life can be enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trending audio<\/h2>\n

Schroeder said he doesn\u2019t seek out brand partnerships so much as they have come to him, and brands of all kinds have come calling. The first brand to approach him was personal hygiene company Good Wipes, he told us. The second? Luxury designer brand Jimmy Choo.<\/p>\n

\u201cGag of the world,\u201d Schroeder said of the dichotomous duo. \u201cIf I can do butt wipes and Jimmy Choo\u2026what\u2019s in between that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Schroeder credits the brand outreach to his decision to make a series of ballads featuring brands that he already loved, including Diet Coke and Costco; those posts, he said, led to more brand attention. (He didn\u2019t sing about those brands because he thought it would attract sponsorships, he told us, instead choosing them simply because he thought they were funny to sing about.) As he continued recording his songs, Schroeder recognized that his particular approach could be brand-safe while still offering a comedic sensibility that so many social media managers chase.<\/p>\n

\u201cComedy could be really good for brands, but a lot of people are either like, really hypersexual or kind of take the comedy over the top in a way that\u2019s inaccessible,\u201d Schroeder said. \u201cI am really conscious about what is brand-safe in my content.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maggie Khoury, social media manager at Grammarly, told Marketing Brew that Schroeder\u2019s Diet Coke ballad helped pique her interest, and she bookmarked him as a creator to watch for potential future collaborations. When it came time to work on Grammarly\u2019s back-to-school campaign, she said she reached out to compare Schroeder\u2019s audience demographics to the campaign\u2019s target college-aged audience, finding that there was a great deal of overlap.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not just a great creator who\u2019s really taking off. He is so specifically himself,\u201d Khoury said. \u201cWe wanted to basically say, \u2018You\u2019re the expert of your audience and this corner of the internet that you\u2019ve carved out for yourself.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Khoury said that she wanted to give Schroeder as much creative liberty as possible in order to not \u201cdilute\u201d his work with \u201cbrand brain.\u201d The resulting post riffs on the use of the word \u201cperiod\u201d as both a punctuation mark and a slang term, and it nabbed more than 100,000 views.<\/p>\n

This hands-off approach Grammarly took isn\u2019t always what brands are comfortable with, though, which Schroeder said can sometimes be detrimental to engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ones that don\u2019t perform well are the really rigid ones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For brands looking to get in on trends on TikTok, singer-songwriters like Schroeder can offer up a unique opportunity. Instead of jumping on a trending audio, which can be complicated by copyright concerns, a brand can essentially create its own audio-based piece of internet culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cPartnering with Jake gave Degree a unique opportunity to lean into a musically driven platform while also making the creative execution feel distinct, ownable, and fun to watch,\u201d Christopher Symmes, head of marketing at Degree US, said in an email. \u201cHonestly, his song has been stuck in my head for weeks now, so he\u2019s definitely doing it right!\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep it cute<\/h2>\n

As brand requests continue to roll in, Schroeder said he isn\u2019t agreeing to every single one. He describes his approach to selecting partnerships as a way to build his universe, and he goes off a gut reaction of whether, ultimately, the brands feel \u201ccute.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say he doesn\u2019t also do his research. When a doorbell security brand (whose name he declined to share) approached him, Schroeder chose to look a little deeper into the company, which ultimately led to him turning down the partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that they give all of their data to ICE,\u201d he said. \u201cThey offered me a really big, fancy, crazy deal, and I was like, hell no, because why would I support and raise the voice of this company that is doing evil things?\u201d<\/p>\n

Schroeder does often choose to weigh in on political subjects or current events in his non-branded ballads, which he said can affect how his brand partnerships operate; sometimes, he told us, existing brand partners request that he delay posting branded content to avoid being too close in proximity to hot-button topics. Still, Schroeder said he doesn\u2019t plan to stop making this kind of content, and his commitment has opened up opportunities to work with organizations that align with his beliefs, like the New York Immigrant Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s obviously so important to show my humanity beyond my thoughts on food, or my thoughts on TV shows, or my thoughts on countries in my songs, especially because I am putting out something every day,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019d be strange if I didn\u2019t share my opinions on this dying world around us. But it\u2019s dope when a brand is like, we\u2019ll pay you to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n