Those who have dismissed Twitter, the 140 character micro-blogging platform, as a waste of time and effort may need to re-evaluate their perception of the service as a valuable platform for music marketing. A new report suggests that it could offer up a potentially very powerful new tool for brand marketeers in accessing two huge consumer passions - Music and Socialising. A new study from NPD Group reveals a strong correlation between Twitter devotees and music, with active Twitter users buying 77% more digital music downloads on average than non-users. The study also highlighted that one-third of Twitter users listen to music via social networks, 41% listen via online radio and 39% watched music videos online. "Twitter has the potential to help foster the discovery of new music, and improve targeted marketing of music to groups of highly-involved and technologically savvy consumers," said NPD entertainment analyst Russ Crupnick.With the amount of time spent on the micro-social network having increased by a sizeable 175% since last year (from 6 minutes to 17 minutes), and another report highlighting the services dedicated niche audience (10% of Twitter users are generating around 90% of all Tweets), the platform has opened up a valuable marketing tool for music. How to leverage this new tool however, is another question entirely and one which will require expertise, insight and creativity in order to fully exploit its potential. With 67% of top Fortune 500 technology companies not yet involved with Twitter - according to one study- it is clear that there is still an air of uncertainty surrounding the platform. However, the service is now a ubiquitous part of Internet culture with musicians among the key players here – Britney Spears has netted over 2M followers in 9 months, John Mayer 1.5M and P Diddy, Miley Cyrus and Coldplay are not far behind. Now more than ever, brands need to be seen to be engaging with new social media such as Twitter in a sustainable, long term, relevant and credible way - and music would appear to be a crucial touch point for reaching and nurturing this new audience.
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A brand new partnership is in the air - as Samsung hook up with Bebo and get jiggy. I was interviewed by Marketing on the subject, and it reads like I was not into the concept - but it could be great - just needs to find it's angle. Read about it here
Also Brands Bands Fans, a little blog my company writes wrote about it here
My quote in the latter says it all really, brands must do something, must stand for something and not just sponsor - it's a new world and the audience rightfully require a reason to buy into a brand inviting themselves into their musical world.
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Digital music start-ups are having a tough time what with the economic downturn and the fact that the record labels have pushed them hard on their licensing deals in the past. However a NY Times article this week suggests that the labels are beginning to cut more reasonable deals in an attempt to help prop up the sector. Numerous services are name checked - Spotify, ILike, Pandora, Napster, and imeem - as the race for pole position as the must have digital music service hots up. "Until we start seeing these guys living on their revenues, as opposed to their investment, we are not going to know how effective their business models are," suggests Mike McGuire, an analyst at the research firm Gartner, which suggests leniency from labels is possibly perpetuating an unworkable model in some cases. imeem, a service which has been under considerable pressure, has been cut some financial slack of late despite questions mounting over its ad-revenue positioning - something the company is quick to refute. "We have over 30 campaigns live on the site, many over the six-figure range and all with custom elements. In the past month alone, imeem has run campaigns with Apple Microsoft, Kia Motors, Wrigley's, VitaminWater, Armani Exchange, LG, AT&T, Adidas and FOX," says Matt Graves, VP of marketing for imeem, "In 2008, we ran campaigns with over 100 brands".
However, given the current state of flux the advertising industry is in, which is not expected to settle and start upward growth in any meaningful way until 2010, this poses a problem for numerous new ad-based models. Even Spotify, the music service of the moment has heavy rotation of ads promoting 'advertising' as opposed to real ads at present - whether this is a true sign of the times or merely a call up for its full advertising roll out remains to be seen. Either way the ad-funded model, which has been circulating across numerous start-ups for years, has got to prove its true worth.
It would be positive to see more media and marketing agencies getting more creative with integration of digital music services into brand platforms - to date there's been nothing to write home about in this area. So that's the call to action - explore the services and think about how they could play a part supporting a campaign, rather than just buying a couple of audio ads on rotation. Or of course give us a call - that's what we're here for!
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