Pandora: Add Experience to the Mix

As a long-time follower of Pandora Radio, I’ve watched them start-up, almost fail and then keep on keeping on. I’ve shared a few articles about them in the past (Here).

In 2004, I was a paying member of this Internet music service. A paying member gets “special” treatment and that means – no advertisements in my way on the web page, just straight music. When I met president and founder, Tim Westergren, in 2007 he asked me, “Why are you paying? You are probably the only one who does!” I guess I didn’t care since I felt like I was supporting internet radio and what they were trying to achieve; a community of like minded people who can connect and share the music they love amongst each other.

Every three months the Gods’ of Pandora would take $12 out of my account automatically. I didn’t notice it much until my credit card expired and all of a sudden advertisements started showing up all over my experience. At that point, I became intrigued. Pandora was targeting me as a savvy consumer.

Now it looks like they are taking ad’s one step further and creating experiences around them. In an article found on “The Future of Ads”, they go about explaining Pandora’s innovating advertising by way of banner experiences. Not only will they show me an ad, they will create some personalization around that ad to get me to notice and interact with it. Since they already know me (i.e. my musical style and my demographics) they are able to widget into my Pandora station interface and get me thinking…

Ah…My favorite Christmas station reminds me of chestnuts and open fires, friends and family. Oh wait; I need a new shovel and salt for the driveway to get them in, this is Minneapolis!

-Jodi

Pandora: Add Experience to the Mix

Capitalize on photo sharing via Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace: Visual endorsement; the new way of advertising?

Much of product placement research concludes that when the product and the plot of the scene are congruent then memory is affected along with attitude change. But there is also a negative effect if the product and the plot seem to be unrelated. Then the consumer will detect the product as being out of place and discredit the product. More times than not, consumers can detect product placements leaving them thinking negatively about the product.

“It’s like people only do things because they get paid, and that’s really sad.”

Check out this clip from Wayne’s World exploiting product placement:



In this example of Wayne’s World, Wayne doesn’t want to harm the reputation of his show by adding a segment in about his sponsor. He then continues to mock product placement by showing how obvious it really is.

Marketers have been using product placement since the 80’s to reach their audience, and now consumers can endorse the products, services, and people they believe-in by putting their own credibility on the line to do so then brands can pay them for their contribution. New start-up companies such as Udorse are capitalizing on visual endorsement by connecting brands and Facebook. Here is how it works, from Facebook you click on your picture and endorse an item, a service, or a new favorite band. If your friends then take action, such as visiting the endorsed products’ website, then the brand will pay you.

Whether Udorse is exploiting social media sites or creating a web version of word of mouth advertising, it is in deed another phenomena to the social media world.

-Annie H.

Capitalize on photo sharing via Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace: Visual endorsement; the new way of advertising?

The New Media Ark (under construction)

While a lot of the old heads stand in the raging rains waiting for it to pass, we have these new media sites which are becoming an ark. So when the water eventually passes over everybody's head, only those that focus on what's "now" and keep building on their ark will survive.

Everybody knows about declining record sales and feel as though their drowning in their past strategies. From several counts it can be to lack of good music- But with countless different genres and many variations with the lowest near 200,000 and top over 2 million on MySpace artists I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. Some call it over saturation which could be the case. Could it be the overall quality?

Well in hindsight we see where we went wrong when we find the finished ark of our new media, but I don’t think there will ever be a finished ark. With media and software always changing, so should the ark. Those who stick to the old ways will fail and those who are late on what's new will just miss the ship (i.e. those who don’t use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace [which is quickly becoming old], Pandora Radio, and/or any other start-up sites that use a word of mouth approach to marketing).

Right now the best sales pitch is friend-to-friend, not billboard-to-billboard on the highway. A lot of new media is free. It's just a matter of standing out, which is why the ark will never be finished, just like in DC it’ll always be under construction. We must continuously be on the lookout for what's new and jump on the ship before its time to build another.

From the mind of

Keveeno Reeverts

The New Media Ark (under construction)

Tweeting a Buzz, “Rehab” Style

Hip-hop artist Eminem’s new album “Relapse” was released May 19th, but far before that there was a tweetabuzz going on at marketing headquarters.

In the hip-hop world, being away from the scene for five years is a near deal-breaker, so Eminem’s marketing team at Aftermath/Interscope Records had a unique challenge ahead of them: bringing back the dead. Using Twitter as a means to convey a story, something Eminem is very good at conveying musically, they were able to tell a tale in a series of disturbing and intriguing “tweets” that blurred the lines between real and fiction creating the type of viral buzz that is slated to carry the album to platinum status.

There were basically two types of tweets going on simultaneously. One type was directly related to the release of the album with its accompanying iPhone/iTouch game and interactive website. While the other revolved around a haunting thought or something that would link Eminem to a mental institution/rehab facility called Pompsomp Hills.

By using this method of anticipation via intrigue, this musician was able to pre-engage his fans to talk about the experience and ultimately push them to hurry out to buy the product; a recipe for success!

Eminem is not the first artist to use new media marketing in order to engage a fan-crazed rage as you can see in the case of the “Twilight” book series , but it does take an imaginative artist to realize the power of a story and how incredible this power is for sales. This type of characteristic campaigning proves that you don’t need to be extra talented in order to bring yesterday’s news out of the closet.

A compelling story and some clever marketing plotted out over a period of time will create a chattering frenzy; ultimately boosting a band or even a product like the Beanie Baby back, even if it was proven dead and gone.

-Jodi

Tweeting a Buzz, “Rehab” Style

A Brand of Band - Part 1

Throughout my short music career (about 7 years if you include me writing songs and recording artists through a $20 4-track, and $20 radio shack microphone), I had many artists that were a favorite because of their “off camera” lifestyle. They had a brand, an image that has been latched onto them that surpassed their music and sometimes surpassed real life. Their image made them seem larger than life and it made fans spend money to go see their “god comparative” performances. Where did all that go wrong? It seems now because of the internet, we as fans of music know some things about these artists that they probably forgot. Being a fanatic takes a lot of work and those “god comparative” performances became just something else we can see on Youtube now.

Right now there is no God figure because a god would last longer than a year or two. We saw the god in Michael Jackson try to break out and look what happened to him. What happened to the large marketing teams? What happened to the people that made gods out of musicians? To break a god costs money that not many people have any more. We turned to demi-gods of niche’s, or The Long Tale. I finally got to read this book by Chris Anderson and I’m learning that in today’s world there almost can’t be that “hit” anymore. We broke genre’s up to the hundreds and now they are breaking into their own thing. Underground rap is not underground anymore if billions have a chance to listen to it. Same thing with punk rock. You are fighting the “man” yet you are on Rupert Murdoch’s Myspace!
To be continued...

From the mind of
Keveeno Reeverts

A Brand of Band - Part 1

Music IS Business

I admit it. I'm the resident country music fan in this office (you may not have known this, but does it surprise you? I think probably not). And sometimes I feel a little out of place-- not because the people here make me feel that way, and not because I don't enjoy this indie rock thing, but because I don't know much about it. What good am I to an indie rock label?

I can't answer that definitely, but here's what I've learned so far.

Music is business. You can love it or hate it. You can claim all you want that music is NOT product, bands aren't brands, it's all about the ART. Unless you're sitting in your basement with a guitar and no intention of ever coming up, music is still business, and marketing, promotion, and management skills transcend genre. Since I'm here to learn about the music industry on a more hands-on level, I think we can agree that it doesn't matter that indie rock isn't my first musical love. I could be here working with rap or R&B, and I'd still be learning many of the same things.

I'm 22, and that alone gives me more expertise about current marketing strategies than some people who have been in the business for years. It seems like most new music is marketed to the 30 and under crowd (obviously with some exceptions), and people in my particular age group have grown up with the internet, and the social marketing craziness. We have ALWAYS had MTV and CMT. We inherently get it. We also know it's not new anymore, which gives us the ability to look beyond it. One of us is going to find the key soon, and it will be something no one, especially the major label dinosaurs, expected.

Key or no key, there will never be a magic answer. Big breaks are called breaks for a reason-- some people find their success the first year out, some people spend 15 years in undeserved obscurity before gaining much sought-after recognition. Nothing will ever happen if you're not out there doing your thing, but nothing might happen even if you are. Opportunity meets preparation was never more true.

Courtney

Music IS Business

How Effective is Word-of-Mouth?

I'm itching like crazy for November 21st. Trampled By Turtles is holding a CD release party at First Avenue in Minneapolis, and I can't believe I have to wait two whole months. TWO WHOLE MONTHS. The craziest part? I've never seen them live, I've never heard them on the radio, I can't honestly say I've ever listened to an entire song of theirs. But they have this crazy-amazing reputation among the friends I made at school-- the friends I shared my own favorites with. And when I mentioned Chris Thile (the God of the Mandolin and King of Progressive Bluegrass) to a friend who I later learned also plays a little mando, he immediately replied, "You know Trampled by Turtles, right?" No, I don't, but now I have to.

Word of mouth, indeed.

So I'm rounding up a few people who also migrated to the Twin Cities area at the same time I did, and we'll be there. Actually, I'll be there if I have to go alone. I'll probably end up throwing a few dollars their way for that album, too. If there's one thing I know about these particular friends, it's that they know great live music, and I can't continue to miss out on TbT any longer.

-Courtney

How Effective is Word-of-Mouth?

We are the Curator, the Light and the Frame

As posted on Hypebot

The roles we play and responsibilities we take on in relation to the artists we represent have changed over the years. In the beginning we were known as managers and marketers, since then we've transformed into curators and storytellers. We are now responsible for presenting art to our audience and telling them stories that make it come alive.

For the average person, at the slightest mention of visiting a museum, you're already bored. Once inside, a guide brings you piece to piece and gives you a whirlwind of facts. Every so often though, you get someone who is passionate and deep down loves what they do. Suddenly, the date, the style, and the story behind each piece creates a collage of mental images and meaning which allow you to feel and understand it as a window into this person's life.

New media allows us to heighten the level of intimacy with our audience and provides us with an opportunity to become the curator. We can guide them through our collection and make it come alive for them. At one point in time major record labels were the biggest art dealers and buyers in town. They bought everything, whether it was to ...

keep you from their competitor or put you in distribution, high dividends were involved. This went on for years before their foundation, the brick and mortar beneath their feet deteriorated.

Major labels stood for nothing and fell for everything. Because of their huge overhead when the business transitioned, they had the most to lose. Jobs were cut left and right. They were a big machine built around the old ways and because of this they weren't able to understand the changes fast enough. No one cared which label an artist was signed to because it didn't make a difference. Unlike earlier decades when Motown Records held onto a niche market, they now tried to acquire every profitable market which diluted their brands and transformed them into money empires.

In this era independent labels saw a resurgence as fans sought out quality music with an authentic message. Moving onward, sales slowed down for everyone during the age of the web. In reaction big box retail outlets lowered the prices of albums at a rate which locally owned stores could not compete. The very people who distributed the rarities and shared the stories of their deep collections were out of business or struggling.

The angle and intensity of light and the way it reflects off a canvas can change the way art is presented and the mood it creates. You are now in control of the light and can determine what windows into your world become illuminated. Now, more then ever the frame you put around your music and the world view it aligns with matters. Marketing music has evolved into the consistency and authenticity of your story and how it relates to those who've given you permission to tell it. We are now curators and proprietors of the music we collect and sell.

Kyle

What kind of music do you curate, how do you control the light, and what frame do you use to present your art?

We are the Curator, the Light and the Frame

That Thing That Separates Us From the Rest

As I look at entertainment and its boundaries, I see they are more blurred than ever.

Justin Timberlake has a new project that combines different art forms into one central arena. In this project, he portrays himself as a rough guy with a tough girlfriend. He comes at us under an edgy alter-ego named, William Rast.

William and his chick, Birdie’s objectives are to sell clothes ‘bad’ style. They will do whatever it takes to sell designer duds and the public is invited to watch a series of trailers that revolve around danger, excitement, romance and sex. The short scenes don’t bring the clothes to the forefront yet; the attachments to the characters are being developed. Are William and Birdie attachable? Hell yeah!

I spent some time on the website, getting a look and feel of the whole image. I gazed objectively at what it has to offer the eye and psyche. Amazingly enough, I found myself eagerly anticipating the next installment of his life. Believe it or not, I am itching to buy some of the clothing items too.

How could this happen to me? I have my Visa card on my lap as I write this article and I’m not the one who makes emotional purchases just because I get a whiff of boy toy, Justin Timberlake disguised as someone else.

Why can’t I tear myself away? I seem to be captivated by the blurry images blending together in a smart way that is intriguing. Oh no, it’s must be me that’s searching for that ‘new thing’, that thing that separates us from the rest…

Jodi

That Thing That Separates Us From the Rest

The Fall of Communization and the Rise of the Music Fan

It has become very apparent that when author, marketer, and blogger Seth Godin talks, people listen. In his Ted Talks video "Sliced bread and other marketing delights" he covers a wide range of topics that I would like to expand on today.

He argues that at the heart of spreading ideas is TV and stuff like TV. Within the system that he calls the TV-Industrial Complex he explains the process of how early companies figured out how to spread their ideas by buying ads, which got them more distribution, this allowed them to make a bigger profit, and they then turned around to use the money to buy more ads, thus completing a cycle.

He goes on to say that companies used this complex to touch people in a way that they weren't expecting, in a way they didn't necessarily want, with an ad over and over again until they bought that product. What the marketers who brought us the likes of Fruity Pebbles and Pop Tarts have found over the last couple of years is that these old ways are no longer working. Record Labels used a system very similar to this idea, but they of course added a few steps.

1. Release the single 3 months before release
2. Pay mass radio to play song, 3 times an hour
3. 1 ½ months before release send MTV and Fuse video
4. Release album on a Tuesday with other popular artists
5. Rise up the billboard charts
6. Use profits to buy more distribution and tour support
7. Release the second single 2 months after release
8. Pay mass radio to play song, 3 times an hour
9. Top the billboard at #1
10. Make second video
11. Start tour of the United States
12. Halfway through, release third single
13. Make third video
14. Finish the tour dates
15. Use whatever money the label didn't take to go on three year journey
16. Find your inner self before continuing to work on second album
17. Do it all over again

What record labels found out years after CD Release Complex stopped working, their money had been spent, and the bands they threw at pop radio no longer stuck is that the environment of the music industry had changed as well. No one cared about what they had to say. In a world where people now have way more choices and far less time, the obvious thing happens, people start ignoring you.

To bring this full circle, in the YouTube video "An anthropology introduction to YouTube" professor Wesch highlights that there is a cultural inversion happening where people are becoming increasingly individual and the more individualized we become, the more we value this sense and want for community. We become more independent yet long for stronger relationships. There is commercialization all around us; therefore, we now seek out authenticity.

This cultural inversion that he speaks of is a perfect example of how the way people interact with music has changed. Many of us have developed very diverse and complex listening habits. We now form communities around our favorite bands, we want to establish a connection or relationship, and we have a strong desire for music that is real, authentic, and meaningful.

As music fans we are now walking in a crowded room where everyone wants our attention and what happens naturally is that we've tuned out the frequency of noise in our lives. The permeability of the walls we put up around ourselves now only lets certain messages through. You now have to be smarter about what you do, because it's no longer as easy to buy your way into our headphones.

What relationships are you building, where is your community, what connections are being made, how authentic is your message?

-Kyle

The Fall of Communization and the Rise of the Music Fan