In the last post, I discussed how over the course of the last decade, high profile advertising placements have helped launch the careers of many little-known artists.
Now, brands are also finding much more creative ways to partner with musical acts that go beyond the confines of the 30 second TV spot, despite the fact that it will always be an important source of revenue and exposure, especially for emerging artists.
So, what will the future of brand/band partnerships look like especially for indie artists? I believe it’ll be centered on two themes: 1) “Brand as Label” and 2) “Band as Corporate Tug Boat.”
Brand as Label:
Lately, a growing number of large companies have taken the brand as label concept literally.
For example, Mountain Dew launched its own record label back in 2008 called Green Label Sound. It promotes exclusive music content, and sponsors tours by hip up-and- coming artists, many of whom already have existing record/publishing deals in place.
What makes this concept effective is that fans are able to download the music for free, but first have to visit the GLS website (greenlabelsound.com).
It’s a win-win for the brand and fans, but what about the artists? Well, in addition to exposure, bands also receive residuals from Mountain Dew based on the number of downloads they’re giving away.
(This triple-win scenario also reminds me of the “Letters for Lyrics” campaign that country artist Zac Brown Band did with Ram Truck: www.ramtrucks.com/en/letters_for_lyrics)
Another powerful example? Coca Cola chose artist K’naan’s song, “Waving Flag,” as the official theme song for its $300 million 2010 World Cup Soccer marketing campaign. The result was an unprecedented swap of exposure for credibility in which Coke benefited tremendously from the once-obscure Somali-born rapper’s universal appeal.
K’naan went from playing local shows near his hometown in Canada to performing in front of thousands at Coke-sponsored concerts in literally dozens of countries.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/12478957]
Band as Corporate Tug Boat:
More brands are depending on indie artists to reach out to a younger target audience.
One of my favorite examples comes from Trojan (yes condoms).
For a while the company has been making videos featuring artists – part viral ads (no pun intended), part public service announcements – to help promote their products.
Here are two such videos that feature a couple of unsigned artists, Good Old War and April Smith.
http://trojanvideos.com/video/64/evolution
http://trojanvideos.com/video/66/colors
All of these examples point to a clear trend that I think will only continue to grow in the coming years.
Large corporations are going to partner with new and emerging artists by placing their music in high profile advertising campaigns or larger scale brand/artist tie-ins, while the brand’s credibility rises among the ever-more discerning and fickle consumer base. In exchange, the baby band gets some much needed exposure and potential new streams of revenue by teaming up with a company like Mountain Dew, Coke, or Trojan.
Even as overall record industry sales continue to decline steadily and the amount of marketing dollars coming from record labels continues to shrink, clearly the stage is set for a new wave of opportunities for both musicians and brands–where companies find it worthwhile to hitch their wagons to small but bright rising stars.
– Mario Davis, Director of A&R