No Sellouts: How Fans Become Customers When An Artist Keeps Control

Note: this article was originally published via ANA.

For musicians, technology is a double-edged sword. Today, every musician has access on a laptop to the full firepower of a recording studio. And when they've created their masterpiece, they need only press a few buttons to distribute their music around the globe. 

These are the benefits of living in a world where digital streaming has made music a constant part of our everyday lives. The challenge is that those same technologies also cut the recording industry machine to pieces, decimating a top-down model where gatekeepers could throw money and promotional resources at a handful of bands and garner legions of fans. In the wake of that transformation, musicians and audiences now face the same challenge: how do they discover each other?

Brands Step In

Unlimited music streaming on-demand is an opportunity for brands to play a prominent marketing role in helping artists connect to their core fans. Lifestyle brands like Bacardi, Dr Pepper, and Red Bull — to name just a few — have had successful partnerships with artists and seen positive audience responses and brand lift as a result.

But the value of partnering with musicians is about much more than just brand lift. Music is one of humanity's most meaningful connection points. There are psychological studies that speak to music's value for social bonding, but we can also point to ample anecdotal evidence. Every school has its fight song, every nation has its anthem, and yes, when we ask strangers what kind of music they like, we're making a judgement about whether to admit them to our social circle.

Brands can leverage music's powerful connection. A brand's promotional budget can help musicians create greater visibility in public spaces, airwaves, and digital platforms, exposing their music to new and existing audiences. These marketing campaigns provide audiences with more access to their favorite bands, increasing their connection with both the music and the personalities that dominate our playlists.

Authenticity is Essential, Partnership is Non-Negotiable

Brands also get a chance to expand and vary their marketing message and tone through an artist, which helps them register with an otherwise unreachable audience. In fact, a vital step in creating a successful musician/brand partnership comes early on at the concept phase, because any content or messaging must be authentic to the musician and feel true to the audience. Fans know when it's real.

To create something authentic, marketing departments need to see artists as partners, and they need to communicate about creativity from the very beginning. A good example of authenticity is Morton Salt partnering with OK Go to help the indie rockers create one of the most visually inventive music videos their fans have ever seen.