These days some of the best marketing can be observed in music and entertainment industry.It seems that sometimes, we just need to face our worst fears to bring out the best in us. As the rise of the online / P2P phenomenon threatens the survival of record companies, a new paradigm in the marketing of music is required. A lot is at is stake to say the least.
Record sales are declining and are expected to continue to decline. Previously, record labels rely on pure airplay (radio, TV, etc) or appearance (concerts, promo gigs, etc), to push record sales, but things seems to be different these days (well, they have to be, I guess). Rather than just fighting the new order, labels and artistes are embracing the new realities in technology and consumer behaviour.
Many artistes are already leveraging on the web to promote themselves to peers through social networking sites like YouTube, MySpace, etc. Some even used it to launch their careers like Esmée Denters, Lim Jeong-Hyun / Funtwo, Andy McKee and more. Being able to connect with the grassroots to create a fan base is always the vital first step...
How many times can you release a record? Based on Beck’s experience, about 4 times give or take - yes, the same record, well sorta. Here’s how Beck’s Guero album was released to the world: (1) the official CD release, (2) the online release of unfinished mix, (3) the Deluxe CD / DVD release with bonus tracks + surround sound mix + interactive video art that accompanies each song, etc, and (4) the fan remix releases. What Beck is pioneering is what I call Multi-Dimensional Marketing (MDM), going beyond my previous thesis of Integrated Marketing 2.0 (that requires marketers to think not just about integrated marketing communications / channels, but also how the marketing or promotional proposition must also be linked back the brand proposition and strategy)
Instead of just pushing record sales, Beck and his label are pushing the full potential of he music assets available. This paradigm opens the doors for Beck to create new audio, visual, interactive, and alternative products, thereby creating new reach and revenue streams.
Not too long ago, we have seen how marketers in the music and entertainment industry have embraced the mobile phone to push their brands and products.Instead of releasing traditional CD singles to seed interest, ring tone versions of the singles are pushed instead (true tones). It made so much sense to deliver the single as a ringtone as it automatically converts each user to a promoter! For the hot-mama-of-music-marketing, Madonna, during the launch of her Confessions album, she not only dished out the first single as ringtone, but also used the mobile phone as a channel to pre-sell her album. There's more to come - marketing through mobile phone screen savers, mobile games, the list just goes on. The mobile phone has since become a part of our daily lives and we can see how marketers have used it to "engage" us through it, particularly those in the music and entertainment industry. Next up, marketing in 3G.Some of the other interesting marketing initiatives we’ve witnessed from music and entertainment industry comes from behind the scenes. It started with David Bowie, who famously marketed himself, or rather his current and future music assets / revenues, for securitization, thereby generating capital for himself creating what is now known as Bowie Bonds. More recently though,a company called Sellaband was formed allowing fans and consumers to invest in bands for shares and a piece of action on future revenue (from CD sales, endorsements, etc.), kinda like Bowie Bonds, except that rather having a big time financial institution to back up the deal, you do it. Don't worry, you don't have to fork out millions, it works like how one would invest in shares in the stock market, tapping into the aggregate investment capabilities of the public / fans. Imagine if you’ve had the opportunity to invest in a band like U2 when they first started - you’d be rich and connected to the famous now.
