This is a weekly digest of the top news at the intersection of the music industry, brand marketing and commerce courtesy of Carlos Diaz & Music Audience Exchange.
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Featured
Forbes profile on new platform for brand/artist partnerships- “The mainstream airwaves (TV, FM radio, Pandora, Spotify) today remain an inefficient marketplace, having yet to leverage audience data to more efficiently monetize airtime in ways that benefit everyone. As brand marketing continues to evolve (less one-way messaging; more meaningful conversations and connecting with customers over shared passion-points), this has massive implications on how experiential marketing efforts will digitize, automate, scale, and be measured.” Link
Brand Marketing & Music
How big data can change the music industry- “Total music sales in the U.S. have dropped below $7 billion compared to $13 billion in 2003. Instead of relying solely on consumers to monetize their music, artists can monetize by helping brands connect with their target audience. The potential is endless, since data is not limited by the rigid structures of the old music industry regime. There is a lot of room to innovate”. By Venture Beat: Link
GE teams up with Nas in music content push- GE is continuing its content-led strategy with the launch of a documentary produced by US rapper Nas. GE produces medical equipment & hopes to shed light on the connection between neuroscience & music. By Marketing Magazine: Link
Hyundai makes music ‘Times Square’- To get the word out about the new Sonata, Hyundai ran ads & was part of all the mentions for their upcoming show on iHeart radio. All the digital banners clicked through to the Sonata website & included a custom video series with a lot of different tools around configuring & pricing. By Mediapost: Link
Marriott content studio rapidly expands presence- Marriott announces a third round of industry-first content development, production, & distribution deals. These new production & development deals continue to fuel Marriott’s strategy of creating content that informs, entertains, & adds value for travelers. By CNN: Link
Mazda transforms a car into a musical instrument on YouTube- Using innovative technology Mazda has used the vibrations of a car to create a YouTube track. Upon touching the car the vibrations turn into a unique sound & groups of musicians are seen ‘playing’ the car or making music. By Marketing Magazine: Link
For Artists
Lessons from a country music duo to make your business ‘big & rich‘- “You’re not selling a product or service, you’re selling an experience. That’s your competitive advantage. Anyone can copy your product, but they can’t duplicate the value in the unique experience only you can provide”. By Entrepreneur: Link
3 branding lessons from music superstars- Numerous factors can go into an artist’s gradual rise to the top. Some examples are image & branding choices that help boost an artist’s career. By Hypebot: Link
Music Industry
Facebook, YouTube & Pandora still dominate millennial smartphones- Facebook’s app has over 47 million unique visitors; an 8 percent increase from the same period last year. Among the top 15 apps for millennials Facebook also operates the fastest-growing one: Messenger. This gives Facebook the fourth-largest millennial user base, behind YouTube (43 million) and Pandora Radio (36 million). By Digiday: Link
TiVo 2nd annual millennial survey – The top two preferred types of video millennials watch are TV shows & full-length movies. After that millennials watch more music videos & less live sports than other generations. By MarketWatch: Link
CD Baby VP of Marketing reviews 2014- As an independent artist, Breuner responds to the current streaming debate saying, “You never know where your fans are going to come from. For that reason, I feel it’s important to have your music in all the places people go to enjoy music, including Spotify. I would hate to find out that someone who hadn’t heard us before, but happen to be at a show, opened their Spotify app in a moment of intrigue, couldn’t find us, & just moved on”. By Hypebot: Link
Music Law & Legislation
Apple not guilty in iPod antitrust trial- Apple was found not guilty in a case alleging the company harmed consumers & suppressed competitors by barring competing music songs from playing on the iPod. By CNET: Link
Music Technology
Technics mimics Beats with music platform launch- Technica launches music streaming service & Bose is planning the same as well. By Marketing Magazine: Link
Deezer’s new CMO targets U.S. market- Deezer, the world’s second-largest music subscription service, has stepped up its bid in the US market. The Paris-based company debuted in the US in September with Deezer Elite. Deezer Elite emphasizes mobility, high-quality audio, & home listening. The company also hopes to reach new customers by offering a mix of audio & talk. By Billboard: Link
Platformz mobile looks to help out indie artists- Platformz plans on releasing an insights dashboard that will enable real time data such as what artists get searched the most, what content is streamed across all sites, how long its streamed, & in what order. By Hypebot: Link
Messaging app Line buys Microsoft’s MixRadio streaming music service. By Music Ally: Link
Digital music distributor DashGo is acquired by YouTube’s music admin service AdRev- With the addition of DashGo’s music distribution, AdRev’s is positioning itself as a key partner in the world of rights management, content licensing, distribution, & administration. By Music Week: Link
Carlos Diaz
Latest posts by Carlos Diaz (see all)
- Weekly Dispatch | February 1, 2016 - February 1, 2016
- Weekly Dispatch | January 25, 2016 - January 25, 2016
- Weekly Dispatch | January 18, 2016 - January 18, 2016