From the Speakers

Why Shazam is Important to Advertising and the Music Industry

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:51:00 -0400

At this point you would be more hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t know what Shazam is, let alone someone who doesn’t have the app currently installed on their phone. The popular music tagging program has become a marketing tool for many popular brands, one such being Old Navy who featured the app in an attempt to have the viewer tag and purchase a song featured on their ads. Consumer engagement is the name of the game now and marketers are taking notice by placing Shazam tags and QR codes on their TV ads in order to extend the campaign into the digital realm.

Shazam continues to grow and is one of the most popular apps on all phones

Creating new experiences and being more accessible is making marketers think outside the box and using Shazam is a great way to cross-promote and extend your campaign on traditional mediums to digital. Of course with Shazam you need to ensure you are using content that people are interested in. If you decide to use a song that isn’t popular or you, like Old Navy, have a song written for a specific purpose you have to make sure it will be popular among your consumers. You now have quantifiable information on how popular of a choice using Shazam was and if it is a worth investment to use that in your advertisements again.

I am a big believer in using music in advertising in order to create a connection to the consumer, such as Chrysler using Eminem in their Super Bowl ad. When using a popular song you have already created a connection and have drawn the consumer’s attention to the TV or radio. Giving people something recognizable automatically causes a synapse to go off and people are immediately drawn to the source to either try to figure out where they know the song from or to listen intently because they enjoy that specific track. This is where the music industry needs to take notice and work with marketers and advertisers.

With the current state of the music industry, A&R departments and music marketers need to look to other sources to promote their bands and advertising could be the best way to do so. When licensing music, industry executives should make a stipulation stating that Shazam, or a similar competitor, should be placed in the ad. The idea of licensing music to an advertisement is to promote a band and get their music heard by millions however due to limited time in an ad and microscopic sourcing the band and song may go by the wayside. Having Shazam in an ad allows advertisers to spend less money with music labels and also creates an extension to the original campaign. Once the song is tagged you have another page to brand your company, while the band reaps the benefits of millions of viewers listening to their song. Advertisers can also use this type of stipulation to bring bigger acts into their ads as well. Giving these artists another platform to advertise themselves on is something that the music industry needs to do if they want to get out of the red. The days of radio air-plays leading to album sales are slowly fading, the day of digital sales is what is growing and the music industry needs to shift the paradigm in order to save the industry as a whole. Yes, to some bands and artists this may be considered as “selling-out” but if you don’t sell any albums or create a buzz around your music then you don’t have a career. Taking advantage of everything the ad industry has to offer is something that should not be taken lightly. Music executives have been looking for new promotional platforms for their artists and Shazam coupled with the ad industry may just be the new way music is marketed.

Music Marketing and Turntable.FM

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:48:00 -0400

If you follow this blog, aside from being a brave soul, you know that I am obviously a fan of advertising and marketing but also enjoy speaking about the music industry and how, I believe, it can rebound from years of grueling losses. By embracing the same technology music industry executives detest, they can patch up the holes and right this ship to get it back to its glory days of sold out arena concerts, private jets and platinum records. I have discussed how the new video game Rocksmith will change the way people interact with music, I have talked about how Shazam should be used much more as a marketing tool than it currently is and today I will focus on Turntable.FM a new music streaming service that allows users to “spin” their favorite in chat rooms of like-minded people and how, I feel, it can change the way people discover, connect and share music with each other while making those bitter executives happy.

Image of a Turntable.FM Room

After seeing countless Tweets about Turntable.FM I finally decided to go check it out myself and was blown away instantly proclaiming “finally there is a successful social media platform for music!”, something that Apple and Google, to name a few, have failed to do. I was blown away by the premise of having their users act as DJs playing songs based off what they purchased through the platform itself, last.fm accounts, iTunes and a plethora of other sources in rooms dedicated to specific genres and time periods of music. I also discovered that you can create your own room in which you can choose to play whatever you want, whether it be as broad as “Robert F. Peterson’s Music Tastes” or as specific as “Songs Featured on Dancing With the Stars” (not sure why I picked that one, but it works).

Considering I finally tried Turntable.FM on the day Billboard released their “30 under 30” list, and I was quite jealous of the snub, I wanted to find a way I could make my mark on the music industry and become an industry powerhouse! In the midst of my pondering and scheming I realized the power of this new website and how it can help create connections between users with bands and become a new source for direct, unobtrusive music marketing.

One of the best ways for a band or label to use Turntable is for simple market research with some of their most faithful fans. By generating real-time responses in the chat portion of the “room” it allows the person conducting the research to see what songs get the best response and which songs they should consider cutting from their next album, compilation or various other releases. The benefit for the fan is extremely effective, you are providing them with a chance to dictate the outcome of an album and are putting them on the “inside” of the recording process. Plus, not to mention, they get the exclusivity of being chosen, by the artist or label itself, to take part in a small sample of people who get first listen to new material, a win/win for all parties.

Another way is for bands to leak out new releases or songs to a public as a marketing strategy. The artist or label would create their own room or rooms and stream their new album or song to their faithful followers. Not only would you generate the buzz surrounding the fact that you are releasing new material but those who hear the song(s) can then choose to buy it and, in turn, play it in rooms they frequent. The obvious idea behind this strategy would be that the momentum would gain traction and end up in multiple rooms being spun by many different DJs to a very wide spectrum of users generating more fans leading to more sales.

One interesting way Turntable can help the music industry is by labels/managers/scouts/agents using the website as a means to discover new talent. Bands and smaller labels have already started creating their own rooms in hopes of getting seen by the right people who can make or break them. Scouts would no longer have to scour the country looking for the hottest talent as bands would not only have their music, but would have fan interactions that show how popular they are. Plus through Turntable those seeking talent can directly contact bands and labels to pursue opportunities. It would save money on travel for the labels and marketing/pr materials for the bands, the information is all in one source for everyone to see.

One more, of many others, I could probably go on for hours, is to stream live shows in these rooms. Sending out an email blast for a contest or thanking those in your official fan club by inviting them to a special live show, somewhere inaccessible preferably (England for those in the US, etc.), means you are giving back to the fans who put you in the position you are in today. Most bands make the majority of their money touring, letting those hear your live show would only further their interest in seeing your band for themselves. This could also work in a DIY atmosphere where bands may not be able to travel from NY to LA until they gain some recognition and earn some money, a live performance could help sell them to a new group of fans or a label looking for fresh new talent.

The main obstacle in this process are the label executives who want to keep their stranglehold on copywrited materials and make sure they make a buck on their talent as fast as possible. Instead of looking at the long-term benefits of allowing people to freely share music and the money it would generate they would rather limit the amount of exposure and allow the industry to drown while trying to turn a quick profit. In the coming years those who understand that digital can only help the music industry will start taking over power in these labels, let’s hope that it’s not too late by that point.

Exclusive: The Pink Spiders 2011 Return

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:43:00 -0500

Our New York blogger/contributor Robert Peterson caught up with The Pink Spiders this past week for a quick Q&A…

ihurdat!: How does it feel for The Pink Spiders to be back together with the original lineup after an almost 2 year hiatus?

pink spiders: “We’re really happy just to be playing music together again. It’s pretty easy sometimes to lose track of why you were doing something in the first place and it’s nice just to be bashing things out in the basement with the guys again.”

ihurdat!: Your music has been feature in various television shows and other placements, tell us a little about that experience.

pink spiders: “We’ve had a few song placements over the years in shows like the Hills and Hell’s Kitchen, but honestly I don’t know much about how all of that stuff comes to be. It’s nice to make a little unexpected money and hopefully a few people hear it and go to find out more about the band.”

ihurdat!: The Pink Spiders have a great following on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, including numerous fan pages wanting you to bring your music to their hometowns. Do you have any future plans for touring? If so, when and where would this tour be taking place?

pink spiders: “We’re working on getting something put together for the spring of 2011 right now.”

ihurdat!: Besides “The Viper Room” where are some of your other favorite places to play?

pink spiders: “We love the Chameleon in Lancaster. And any House of Blues really. I also really like playing in casinos. Basement/house shows are usually the most fun to play.”

ihurdat!: Any plans on releasing new material?

pink spiders: “Yes, we’ve been working on new tunes for most of the second half of 2010. We’re hoping to record something in February.”

ihurdat!: All musicians/bands dream of the day they are signed by a label. Can you explain what that was like for The Pink Spiders? Who were the first people you told?

pink spiders: “The major label process was slow. We knew it was happening about three months before we actually signed the contract so the word had pretty much gotten out. When we signed our first indie deal with CI Records, it was still kind of business as usual. We were touring a lot then and didn’t have a lot of time to really make a big deal of it. It meant a lot to us just because we finally had someone to help us out.”

http://www.thepinkspiders.com
http://www.facebook.com/PinkSpidersBand

SXSW 2011 Preview - March 11th - 20th

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:06:00 -0500

With South by Southwest quickly approaching we would like to provide you with an in-depth preview that outlines the hottest artists, panels and speakers featured during this years festival. So without further ado, let’s get started.

At ihurdat we are all about music, so what better way to start then with artists to watch?

SXSW Music - March 11-15: full list of all bands performing @ SXSW:2011

Artists to Watch/See

City and Colour - Listen Here

Show 1 Venue: St David’s Historic Sanctuary (All Ages) - 301 E 8th St

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th

Show 2 Venue: Stubb’s (All Ages) - 801 Red River St

Time and Date: Friday, March 18th - 9:30pm

Genre: Singer-Songwriter

Why I picked them: I’ve been hooked on City and Colour ever since I listened to “Comin’ Home” on their album “Sometimes”. The great acoustic guitar lines and melodies played underneath Dallas Green’s sweet vocal tones mixed with emotionally charged lyrics makes for a great performance in SXSW’s intimate club settings.

Das Racist - Listen Here

Show 1 Venue: The Phoenix (21+ Show) - 409 Colorado St

Time and Date: Friday, March 18th

Show 2 Venue: Emo’s Main Room (All Ages) - 603 Red River St

Time and Date: Friday, March 18th - 1:10am

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Why I picked them: When I found out about Das Racist and their comically charged lyrics I knew I had to find them on Grooveshark immediately. I picked a good amount of their tunes to listen to and enjoyed every moment of it. A laid back mix of old school drum tracks coupled with a slow paced rap style, this group is a great way to finish a night off or to get the party started.

Emmure - Listen Here

Venue: Emo’s Annex (All Ages) - 600 Red River St

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 12am

Genre: Metalcore

Why I picked them: I’m a man of many musical passions and heavy metal/hardcore is definitely one of them. Emmure isn’t my favorite band but the raw emotion from the group and the devotion of their fans make them a must see band. If you like Poison the Well crossed with Ion Dissonance you will be in heaven, make sure to bring your dancing shoes.

Los Lonely Boys - Time, Date and Location TBD check here for updates - Listen Here

Genre: Blues

Why I picked them: The second I heard the opening guitar riff to their breakthrough hit ”Heaven” I was compelled to listen to their entire self-titled debut, and wasn’t disappointed at all. If you’re in to Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar playing crossed with soulful harmonized vocals this is the band for you. Los Lonely Boys promise to deliver a great show along with providing a great upbeat vibe to the fold. If you just want a night to go out and relax, without having to run into hipsters, this is a great show to attend.

The Almost - Listen Here

Venue: The Bat Bar (21+ Show) - 218 E 6th St

Time and Date: Saturday, March 19 - 12am

Genre: Rock

Why I picked them: A full rounded rock band that is just as likely to put together a highly charged, fast paced punk song as they are to play an acoustic ballad in the vein of Dashboard Confessional. Worth checking out if you are a fan of bands like Yellowcard, Brand New or New Found Glory.

B.o.B - Listen Here

Venue: Kiss & Fly (18+ show) - 404 Colorado St.

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 1am

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Why I picked them: B.o.B is a unique talent that only comes around every once in a while. A great lyricist who isn’t afraid to show he is having fun on stage, which is generally a big “no-no” in the rap community. His uplifting message and tales of how he motivated himself to “make it big” are inspiring and refreshing. His musical tastes are diverse and you can hear them in his songs and the artists he chooses to collaborate with - to see/hear an example check out his cover of MGMT’s song Kids

Evergreen Terrace - click band name to listen

Venue: Prague (21+ show) - 422 B Congress Ave.

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 1:05am

Genre: Hardcore/Melodic Punk

Why I picked them: A trail-blazing hardcore band with hordes of devoted fans seems to be the best way to start. Evergreen Terrace has been a force of the underground hardcore scene for years and provides a high energy show every time they take the stage. Breakdowns, sing-alongs and standard punk drum patters that will have everyone on the floor two-stepping, enjoy!

Geeks - Time, Date and Location TBD check here for updates - Listen Here

Genre: Hardcore Punk

Why I picked them: Simple, a Japanese take on American hardcore. These guys are unbelievable and have turned the clock back to when hardcore was three cords, fast paced drum beats and still carried a message. Get ready for pile-ons, tattoos and a high energy show that may end up with the entire crowd on the stage with the band.

Josh Ritter - Listen Here

Venue: Radio Day Stage Austin Convention Center (All Ages) - 500 E. Cesar Chavez St. (Exhibit Hall D)

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 1:30pm

Genre: Singer/Songwriter

Why I picked them: Josh Ritter is a man of conviction who conveys his raw emotion through strong lyrics and simple instrumentation. A unique singing voice and poetic delivery make the listener feel as if he is telling a story directly to them. A great example and pure definition of why artists should do what they do best and not try to fit into an “industry standard” mold.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group - Listen Here

Venue: Emo’s Annex (All Ages) - 600 Red River St.

Time and Date: Saturday, March 19th

Genre: Rock

Why I picked them: Plain and simple Omar Rodriguez Lopez is one of the most underrated and overlooked guitarists of all time. I don’t know much about this band, but what I do know is that if I ever have the chance to see Omar Rodriguez Lopez play live, I’m there! I wouldn’t expect any Mars Volta or At the Drive-In songs but for fans of their music this is a show you should attend for sure.

Keynote Speaker:

Bob Geldoff @ Austin Convention Center

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 11am

Panels: In Date Order

Globe Trotting On An Indie Budget @ Austin Convention Center

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 5pm

Speakers:

Brande Lindsey - President: Global Access World-Wide Entertainment Visas
Brian Smith - Talent Buyer: The Troubador Inc
Josh Mills - Owner: Its Alive! Media
Mia Crowe - Manager: Visionworks Music
Stuart Coupe - Director: Laughing Outlaw Records

UK Supervisors and Independent Music @ Austin Convention Center

Time and Date: Thursday, March 17th - 5pm

Speakers:

Mark Gordon: Score Draw Music
Ross Sellwood - Head of Music: Zodiak Media
Marsha Shandur - Reporter: Hit Street
Alex Lavery - Managing Director: P&S

Emerging Artists Making It With Independent Support @ Austin Convention Center

Time and Date: Friday, March 18th - 11am

Speakers:

Sybil Bell - Founder/Director: I Like The Sound Of That
Menno Versteeg - Royal Mountain Records
Mark Meharry - Managing Director: UKTI
Jon Mansfield - Founder: MusicConnex

The Independent Music Label Roadmap @ Austin Convention Center

Time and Date: Saturday, March 19th - 12:30pm

Speakers:

Rich Bengloff - President: The American Association of Independent Music
Portia Sabin - President: Kill Rock Stars
Jenna LoMonaco - Head of New Media: Glassnote Records
Dorothy Hui - VP Marketing and Sales: tinyORGE Entertainment LLC

Does Music Work in Cycles?

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:11:00 -0500

An old adage claims that fashion works in 20 year cycles. Which got me thinking, if that’s true does the same stand for most elements of pop culture? Mainly though, is this true for music? There are arguments that say this is the case however, you won’t see exact replicas of musical genres, but there are certainly recurring cycles present.

The Decemberists had the #1 album this week on Billboard’s top 200, an impressive feat for a band that generally would be defined as alternative or “indie”. Especially due to the fact that the charts are filled with teeny boppers, such as Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift, pop musicians, such as Katy Perry and Bruno Mars and rap artists, such as Nicki Minaj and Kayne West. If we take a trip back 2 decades ago the charts were filled with artists who fell into similar genres of music, who were knocked off the charts when “grunge”, a sub-genre of alternative, came into popularity.

Back to today we see more “indie” bands coming into popularity putting out records that are climbing the charts and getting spun on the radio. At the beginning stages of grunge you saw something similar, bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were making their move, however it took a few years for them to be fully accepted by pop culture. Today we see bands like Neon Trees, Vampire Weekend and Phoenix getting recognition but aren’t completely breaking the barrier and getting played on Top 40 or AC radio stations. (Of course you could make the argument that “Rock” radio is dead, but that’s for another time) But music, like fashion, usually has to work its way through the underground before it can make it’s way to the “big time”.

With these “indie” bands being relevant today it is easy to compare them to bands of yesteryear and how they were accepted at the height of their popularity. You can pick out similarities and obstacles they both had to endure to get to the point they are at today and the struggles they faced to become “socially accepted” and then go on to make the argument that it’s a repetitive cycle. This is true it’s easy to make comparisons of two periods of music and make a generalization for the whole entire industry. However, there are many more examples that support this “cycle theory”.

Here they are:

In the mid to late 80’s there were an immense amount of “Hair Metal” bands. Some of them were one-hit wonders and some of them even have survived the test of time and are still around today. In some instances these bands have been involved in the “cycle theory” as well (i.e. Bon Jovi). In the late 90s to early 2000s we saw a reflection of this genre when bands such as Nickelback, Saliva and Creed, among others, came into popularity and ruled the charts. These bands played cookie cutter heavy metal that was friendly enough to get plays on the radio and also sell a ton of records and spur even more one-hit wonders who seized the day.

In the late 70s Disco was all the rage, riding on the success of Saturday Night Fever this genre was fueled by funky beats that got people up and dancing. Widely seen as more of an annoyance than anything else Disco faded out in the early 80s to never be heard from again. In the late 90s Nu-Metal was all the rage, with bands like Limp Bizkit climbing the charts a new form of Heavy Metal was accepted by outcasts alike. Like Disco, here comes the tie-in, Nu-Metal faded away to wither away and die. Bands who fell into that genre and are still around today made sure to make themselves marketable by dropping any ties to Nu-Metal and never looking back.

In the mid 80s the underground movement of thrash metal was taking place and gathering a huge cult following before the genre exploded in the late 80s when Metallica released the famous Black Album. This opened the door for heavier bands to come to the forefront and, despite having mainstream success, lead lucrative careers that allowed them to tour the world and gain legions of fans. In the mid 2000s we experience another underground movement of fast paced heavy metal that was inspired by trash metal. Like their heroes, bands such as Avenged Sevenfold and Trivium have garnered huge success playing fast, heavy, guitar laden tunes that have taken them to new heights of success.

In the late 80s to early 90s Madonna and Mariah Carey were everywhere. If you had a Top 40 station as a pre-set they were probably being played with any number of their popular songs. Today we see artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, among many others, ruling the charts and gaining success in all facets of popular culture. Some say Lady Gaga is emulating Madonna in terms of sexuality and the provocative nature of her songs.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are a plethora of musical genres that can be examined but I just wanted to lay the groundwork so you can do your own investigating. Music is a creature of what is going on in the world today, so let’s hope whatever caused boy bands to become popular in the late 90s doesn’t come back into popularity later in this decade.