“The
music business in 2013 awaited no one—especially those pondering” (Gensler,
2014).
The music industry saw many changes in this past year, and
one of them was how artists were marketing their music. Everyone was trying to
be different, and we saw a lot of new strategies arise from their attempts to
be unique and to have their albums stand out. Lady Gaga created an app, Jay-Z
partnered up with mobile company Samsung, and nearly every musician took
advantage of social media.
One artist that really stood out this past year was Justin
Timberlake. He was everywhere! Even though he had not released an album since
2006, Timberlake found ways to stay relevant with his other talents every year
leading up to his two album releases in 2013. Timberlake had arguably the
largest and most complex marketing campaign of the year. From Grammy
performances, week-long stints with Jimmy Fallon, and partnerships with Target,
Bud Light, and MasterCard, you really couldn’t go for very long without hearing
about the upcoming album.
And the plan worked: with more than 2.5 million albums
sold in the United States, “The 20/20 Experience” was the top-selling album of
2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan (Hamp, 2013). Timberlake’s music appeals
to people of every demographic, and makes him “one of the most brand friendly
artists in music” (Hamp, 2013). Timberlake really could have partnered with any
company to help promote his albums, but the choices his marketing team made
could not have been any better. “It’s not just a commercial for Bud Light, it
has to connect to the feel of what we’re trying to do” (Hamp, 2013).
After the marketing frenzy that was 2013, something very,
very different happened in December. Out of nowhere, Beyonce dropped her fifth
studio album on iTunes at midnight of December 13th , with no
promotion at all. The album soared to Number 1 and sold nearly a million albums
in 10 days (Gensler, 2014). Beyonce’s strategy was literally the exact opposite
of Timberlake’s, but it still came with incredible success. The only promotion
for the complete visual album was an Instagram clip with the caption
“Surprise!”, and a picture on Beyonce’s Tumblr page. In more ways than one,
this album release was genius. “The
online reaction to the album’s release — according to data from Twitter cited
by Billboard, the news generated 1.2 million tweets in 12 hours — became a news
story in itself” (Sisario, 2013). The entire world promoted Beyonce’s album for
her. Her team essentially did not have to spend a single dollar to promote this
album.
One way that Timberlake and Beyonce are very similar is that they both
have remained in the spotlight even in the breaks between their album releases.
Album sales increase because they have found ways to stay relevant each year. Both
have acting careers, have had successful world tours, and have kept up with
their fans on social media.
This being so, everyone knew that Beyonce was recording new music.
This past summer she filmed a music video on Coney Island in New York with
thousands of people surrounding her, wondering what was going on. She also
performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, released an HBO documentary, and
started on a world tour in April (Sisario, 2013). So even though she has been
relevant in years past, everyone knew something was up in 2013 because she
really was everywhere.
Beyonce’s marketing strategy did come with a little bit of trouble and
controversy, though. Amazon and Target refused to stock the physical version of
Beyonce’s album in protest that she released it first on iTunes (Edwards,
2013). Amazon has since started selling the MP3 version of the album, but
Target still refuses. How did Beyonce respond? She went shopping in a Wal-Mart
in Massachusetts and gave 750 shoppers a $50 gift card. Even though Amazon and
Target clearly lost the battle to Beyonce, they are sending a message to
artists for future album releases. “Do not screw with us by giving preferential
treatment to Apple and iTunes, or we will severely curtail your album sales in
our stores” (Edwards, 2013).
I can’t help but think it is ironic that Justin Timberlake had a huge
partnership with Target and released an exclusive deluxe edition of his album
to them, and the same store refused to even sell the Beyonce album. All because
of their different marketing campaigns. Yet they were still arguably the 2 most
talked about and best-selling albums of the year. After a crazy year in the
music industry in 2013, only one question comes to mind: what will be in store
for the rest of 2014?
Works Cited:
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And
Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance)
22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Gensler,
Andy. "The Music Biz in 2013: In Flux, Disruptors Disrupted." Billboard.
N.p., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Hampp,
Andrew. "Johnny Wright, Tom Corson on Making Justin Timberlake the Year's
Best-Selling Artist (Q&A)." Billboard. N.p., 9 Oct. 2013. Web.
19 Mar. 2014.
Sisario,
Ben. "Beyoncé Rejects Tradition for Social Media’s Power." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Heather Madore
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I was more than surprised when I woke up and heard that Beyoncé surprised-dropped her album on iTunes the night before. Although I did not purchase it for personal music taste reasons, I definitely knew about it, thanks to social media sites and the buzz that followed the surprise release. As if Beyoncé didn’t already have an ‘I can do anything’ aura surrounding her, she certainly did after this.
As Kyle Anderson wrote, “This is not something an emerging artist or a middle-class artist can do,” (Anderson). Only someone who has reached the status that Beyoncé has, would have the ability to just drop an album and have it do so well. I think, more than the power of Beyoncé, this shows the power of the internet. Had this been surprise released in stores in physical copies, I don’t think it would have done so well. First of all, the release would have been leaked. There is no way to ship millions of CDs out to stores and have them stocked by workers, yet still keep it a secret. By utilizing iTunes and their online store, she was able to take distribution into her own hands, making sure that the release information was on a need to know basis, therefore keeping her album a secret. The internet also came into play due to promotion. She posted on her Instagram page when the album went for sale, and it went platinum 5 days later, before the album even hit stores. Not only that, but it was tweeted about millions of times on Twitter (Anderson). Beyoncé didn’t pay for any advertising-and she didn’t need to.
It’s obvious as well that Beyoncé does not need Target as much as Target probably needs her. The fact that she gave out over $37K in Wal-Mart gift cards just to stick it to Target (Edwards) pretty much proves that she doesn’t need that company to sell her records. However, they likely missed on out million and millions of dollars in sales by not carrying her CD, and possibly ruined the business relationship that they had with her- and it’s pretty obvious that she is not a one hit wonder. I think that, although Edwards predicts that they were trying to send a message to smaller artists, it’s almost impossible for a smaller artist to do a surprise release, so I think their point was moot.
Comparatively, Beyoncé seems to have won this year. Justin Timberlake, who did extensive amounts of promotion for his album, only sold 2.43 million copies (Lewis). Although he got paid for sponsorship deals, album sales equate to more than just money, but also album popularity for future references, and reputation. So far, according to her Wikipedia page, Beyoncé has sold over 3 million copies with no promotion. I think it’s a little embarrassing for Justin that his big comeback, while receiving a lot of radio play, didn’t sell as well as someone who literally did no promotion and who’s album wasn’t even sold in as many stores. I think that in the future, we will see many more surprise releases- maybe not of a whole album, but surprise singles and performances. After all, it seems like the best publicity is no publicity.
Works Cited
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyonce." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
"Beyonce (album)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Lewis, Randy. "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke Post 2013's Top-Selling Album, Single." Los Angeles Times 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReading about what Justin Timberlake did, I think it was a good idea for him to do so. Being absent from the music industry since 2006, and coming out with ways to stay relevant until the release of his album in 2013 was very smart. All of that attention and publicity benefited him and provided him a great launching pad for his two-album release. However even though what he did was very smart, I still don’t think it was as impressive as what Beyoncé did with 2013 album release. I personally think generally speaking Justin Timberlake could have done none of that and still been successful with releasing new music. After all artist like Eminem and Alicia Keyes have managed to do it. Eminem released his fifth studio album ‘Encore’ in 2004, and didn’t release his next one Relapse until 2009, while Alicia Keyes released her second studio album ‘The Diary of Alicia Keyes’ in 2003 and didn’t release her next one ‘As I Am’ until 2007.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, Beyoncé’s way of marketing her music was in my opinion nothing short of amazing. I think her ability to keep this album a secret for that long of a time, and not have anything leak to the press, was very impressive. That is something that rarely happens in the music industry in this day of age. Also using twitter to essentially do the dirty work promoting the album I thought was really smart as well. The reason I feel that way is because just based on the fact, that anytime something big happens, and you broadcast it on twitter, it’s inevitable that people are going talk about it. I think what also made Beyoncé’s marketing of her muscle very smart, is even though she didn’t promote it like Timberlake, the release was still very strategic and based on a chain of events like Timberlake. Supported in the the article by Kyle Anderson where he says “Beyoncé’s sneak attack capitalized on a perfect conflation of events: She hadn't released an album since 2011's tepidly received 4; her fellow pop divas Katy, Gaga, and Britney had all under- whelmed with fourth-quarter releases; and Bey's strong presence on social media allowed her to effectively spread the word about the surprise "visual album”. (Beyond Beyoncé)
And yes controversy might have come with Beyoncé’s market strategy and yes perhaps Amazon & Target refusing to sale her record in stores might have hurt her, but nonetheless they lost the battle to Beyoncé and an argument could be made their actions still didn’t hurt her that much as people suggest, because according to the article by Jim Edwards “Despite Apple's head start, Billboard reports that Sony and Columbia still managed to ship more than 500,000 units of the CD before the general release date. “So despite Amazon and Target not selling her record in stores, her album still sold well without their help regardless. That speaks to the quote in that article that Beyoncé isn’t most artists, and her success isn’t contingent on whether big retail companies like Target or Amazon support her.
I think in conclusion, the actions of Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Jay Z ect, are just a sign of things to come. The music industry is forever changing, and those who can keep up with it, and evolve with as well, will continue to be successful. Artists like Beyoncé, Jay Z, and Justin Timberlake have shown they are able to do that, and as a consequence they are still relevant in music and going platinum.
Works Cited
Edwards, Jim. "Beyoncé Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyoncé." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI really love that you chose to compare and contrast the album release styles of Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé in your blog post this week. I absolutely love both of these artists. Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé are more than talented artists. They are skilled managers and marketers of their music, public personalities, and fame. They both pay attention to their fan base and explore developing their fame and fortune into success on many media platforms. I cannot tell you how many times I watched Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon YouTube videos in the year 2013. A part of me is incredibly disappointed I will never have the opportunity to marry JT, but despite my basic feelings of attraction for him, I have to admit that I really think that Beyoncé wins the prize for the style of her release of her newest album.
The year 2013 has provided Beyoncé with goddess-like status in the music industry. In Beyond Beyoncé, Kyle Anderson writes: “When pop historians inevitably look back at 2013, they'll likely declare it the year of Beyoncé. She started things off with the presidential inauguration, hair-flipped her way through one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows ever, traveled the globe on her much-beloved Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, and then dropped a career-defining opus, Beyoncé, without any pre-promotion or fanfare. She's a game changer…” (Anderson). Anderson’s take is already proving true; Rutgers recently announced that the university will be offering a class called “Politicizing Beyoncé.” The teacher of the class, Kevin Allred, states: “[Beyoncé] certainly pushes boundaries. While other artists are simply releasing music, she's creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona" (Rutgers University Offers Beyoncé Class). Beyoncé may have sung Run the World (Girls), but the real answer to the question “Who runs the World?” is Beyoncé.
(cont.)
ReplyDeleteAlthough, Randy Lewis points out Beyoncé was only on the chart for three weeks before 2013 ended, Beyoncé made the Billboard Top 10 with virtually no album promotion. Lewis also stated that Beyoncé and Jay-Z “became the first wife-husband pair to post top 10 sellers separately in the same year” (Lewis). My personal assessment is that although Justin Timberlake scored the top-selling album of 2013 with the release of his “The 20/20 Experience” and 2 million copies sold, the release of the Beyoncé’s album got more buzz simply for the fact that it was a complete surprise to everyone and for the novel manner in which she released it. Although Beyoncé’s album release did not come without controversy and protest by both Target and Amazon, I think it terms of her fans and marketing, it was a brilliant way to drop the album. In the article Beyoncé Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album, Jim Edwards points out: “Beyoncé gave iTunes a one-week exclusive to sell the album, "Beyoncé," and it shifted 600,000 units during the period at $15.99 each. That's $9.5 million in total sales… Despite Apple's head start, Billboard reports that Sony and Columbia still managed to ship more than 500,000 units of the CD before the general release date.” Beyoncé used media and word of mouth as a tool for her own personal financial gain, and she was very successful in manipulating media to benefit herself and her album sales.
Work Cited:
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyonce." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Lewis, Randy. "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke Post 2013's Top-Selling Album, Single." Los Angeles Times 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
"Rutgers University Offers Beyonce Class." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about the different promotional methods Beyonce and Justin Timberlake used for their 2013 music released. I can speak from experience that I knew nothing about JT’s first release until my Facebook friends posted about how much they liked the album. To be fair, I was abroad when the album was released and since I am not an avid JT fan, I didn’t follow his social media, thus the huge ad campaign was lost on me. Was “The 20/20 Experience” counted as one album when it was listed as 2013 top album with 2.43 million in sales (Lewis)? I know he released it in two halves, so the Neilson SoundScan figure is a bit confusing since it does not clarify. Justin has been in the music scene since the 1990s during his time with boyband N*SYNC, so he has much experience in album releases and promotions. The Anderson article went into detail of just how intricate “The 20/20 Experience” campaign was. Between the Grammys, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and a Budweiser deal (Anderson), not to mention the anticipation fans had for JT’s return, since the last solo album he released was “FutureSex/LoveSounds” when us students were in middle school, it was almost destined for the album to do well. Of course as I said, most of this was lost on me as I was in South Korea when the album began promotions – so I didn’t see the Budweiser ads, Grammys or spot on Jimmy Kimmel, so these promotions were lost on those not in America and abroad only JT’s starpower was able to push sales.
Interestingly enough, albums are promoted in South Korea very differently and I feel as though it’s relevant enough to talk about here before I go into Beyonce’s game changer. I have been a fan of Korean music since 2011, and I have picked up on a lot of the trends since. It seems most groups only release mini-albums of 6 or so songs every few months, with the more popular groups releasing one full album a year like clockwork. These albums are then promoted on music shows that fans can attend, [each major channel has one] and each week a song can ‘win’ the show with points from various sources, and then in order for an extra push of album sales, certain stores will sell albums for fansigns. This pushes sales of albums even higher. Generally boy-groups sell more copies of physical albums than girl groups, but many girl groups do better in digital sales. Some companies even pull marketing ploys such as releasing multiple covers of an album (such as my favorite group, B1A4 did in January, which caused me to pay more to ensure I received the cover I wanted), or a repackaged album with one or two new songs. Almost every single artist and group in the Korean music scene I am familiar with follows these trends and promotional cycles, so it is rare to see any group do things differently or think outside the box for promotional methods.
(cont.)
Unlike Bey, who after months of build up and promotions – but absolutely no warning aside from the promise that an album was coming, (Anderson) she released it at midnight on a day in December. Note, as I said on my social media I mostly follow K-Pop and anime blogs, but I could not escape posts about Beyonce’s album drop. Without following her music, I still heard about it because of the iconic way she released it. What is really fascinating is that Beyonce’s self-titled visual album still ended up as the 8th top selling record of the 2013 year, despite that it was only released with three weeks left in 2013. (Lewis)
DeleteWhat I found actually hilarious about the situation was that Target and Amazon, two prominent retailers, refused to carry her physical album because Beyonce released it on iTunes. While seemingly, this did not hurt the sales of the record too harshly, it hurt Target and Amazon, by costing them approximately $10 million in sales. (Edwards) The article makes a great point that most artists need these monster retailers, since they don’t have Beyonce’s star power, but the fact is these companies made a huge mistake. One third of Beyonce’s sales were physical copies. (Anderson) Beyonce even managed to get the last laugh in by stopping at a Wal-Mart in MA before one of her concerts and giving shoppers store gift cards. (Edwards) Even though it doesn’t seem like it, this gave Beyonce additional promotion for her self-titled release; it put her name out , it showed her generosity to the shoppers, and one picture I remember seeing on the web of her in the store showed a copy of her album in the cart.
Obviously not every artist can be Beyonce and release a record without any notice, or as some people were joking, any cover art. The Anderson article talks about how other pop divas had very underwhelming releases in 2013, despite that they also seemingly have “major leverage” – though the long intervals between album releases gave Bey, JT, and even David Bowie an extra boost for relevancy. While not every artist would benefit, or should even try, a campaign like Beyonces, only A-list names are able to afford the promotion JT had for his release. These releases just show that in the US there is really no one right way to do things, and what works for one artist, may not work for another.
-Christine
Works Cited:
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyonce." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Lewis, Randy. "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke Post 2013's Top-Selling Album, Single." Los Angeles Times 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I enjoyed reading your blog was because you chose to talk about two of my favorite music artists of all time. Although I do love both, I am more of a Beyoncé girl. I am glad you based this blog on both artist’s marketing strategies. When Beyoncé’s album came out, I remembered being on Facebook and as I scrolled down I saw my friend’s status that said “Yes! Bey did it again with her new album!” You can only imagine my face when I saw this. I was confused, so I did some digging online, and found out she had release her album on iTunes. I did not hesitate twice, I bought it. It was the best purchase I’ve made in 2013.
I know music artists try to keep up with what’s trending but more than that I think they seek ways to maintain their relevance and most importantly how to keep their audiences interested. I think in Beyoncé’s case, although Target and Amazon refused to sell her album, it really did nothing to her. You see, I think what people need to understand is that, the more exclusive it is, the more people want to know about it. The way to keep us interested is through our curiosity. For the audience, or I guess the world, people were shocked but also intrigued at why Beyoncé out of nowhere dropped a new album. No one saw it coming, and I think this was such a clever strategy. The moment the album was on iTunes, all social network exploded. People were tweeting, others were updating their Facebook Statuses, and some people were taking pictures on Instagram with Bey’s iTunes CD cover. Everyone, or at least her fans wanted that CD. I am proof that when news broke out about her CD, I bought it right away.
Don’t get me wrong, each individual artist has their own way of marketing, and I am sure that with whatever they do, it is a success. With Justin Timberlake, his partnership with Target and performances with Jimmy Fallon helped him stay in the music game. Which is why he was always in the spotlight and people still knew of him. It truly all depends on how they promote themselves as artists and how their marketing strategies are used on audiences. There really isn’t a law or a rule where it tells the artist how to promote their music or albums. What would the fun be in that if the artist cannot express himself or herself the way he or she wants to. In Kyle Anderson’s Beyond Beyoncé article on Entertainment Weekly, president of the Music Business Association James Donio said, "So the question Becomes, which do you do? Is there a right way to do this? The answer is no."(16) In other words, artists don’t really have an specific way they have to promote, no promotion or yes promotion, each artist finds a way to get their music out there.
I think when it comes to places like Target, it is a notion of fear. With technology growing, everything is now becoming easy to access through online sites or even mobile applications. The reality is, stores like Target fear that they will lose clientele and money if things are not being sold in their stores. Like Beyoncé, she did not have to spend money promoting, and although her album came out a few weeks before the year ended, she managed to stay on top. According to Los Angeles Times “Beyoncé made the top 10 with her surprise release even though it was on the chart for just three weeks before the year ended.”(Lewis1). This just shows that even without the use of promotion, big sales are doable.
At this point, anything can happen in the music game especially now that artists are relying on social networks and technology.The truth is that technology will continue to grow and so will new marketing strategies.
Works Cited:
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyonce." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
Lewis, Randy. "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke Post 2013's Top-Selling Album, Single." Los Angeles Times 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
Great blog Emily! This was fun to read because I personally am intrigued about the different methods and strategies artists use to promote their music and themselves. I am a HUGE Justin Timberlake fan. Although his former N*SYNC members probably despise him right now, him going solo was the best thing that has ever happened in music history. I am not a huge fan of Beyonce’s music, but I do think she is beyond talented and she is literally everywhere so it is very hard to ignore Queen Bey.
ReplyDeleteComparing JT’s marketing strategy and Bey’s marketing strategy, I believe both were equally as effective considering the success of their albums. The approach Beyonce took by not promoting her album at all and then dropping it suddenly would have been risky for a less successful artist or an artist with a lower Q-score. This passed year I noticed that Beyonce blew up even more. She was made to be a goddess like figure and at times not even a real human being. Was this all part of her strategy to stay relevant to the public? I think so. People call her and Jay-z a power couple and you see them hanging out at the White House. She is obviously a big deal.
According to Kyle Anderson’s article “Beyond Beyonce” 2013 should likely be declared the year of Beyonce because she is a game changer. I agree with that statement because of her ability to drop an album without promoting it, but if the tables were turned and Justin Timberlake took that approach, I am not sure how it would go. I am assuming pretty well because of his popularity, but it is somewhat hard to tell. They are both tremendous artists. You also brought up a good topic when discussing Amazon and Target’s decision to refuse stocking CD versions of Beyonce’s new album. I heard about that but wasn’t sure what the reasoning was and then I read the article “Beyonce Has Gone to War Against Amazon and Target for Refusing to Stock her Album.” The title says it all. I found out that it was to protest over the fact that she released it on iTunes first, which could really hurt the physical album sales that stores rely on selling, so I could understand their frustration.
Overall, I found both marketing strategies to be intelligent but because I am a bigger Justin Timberlake fan, I would go buy his album over Beyonce’s. My man JT is a multi-talented artist and his way of staying relevant by appearing on Jimmy Fallon and SNL over the years is only one way he has succeeded. According to the article “A Marketing Lesson from Justin Timberlake” he broke the news via social media, which made his most loyal fans feel as if they were a part of his secret, as if they knew him personally. To me, that says a lot about his loyalty to his fans. I think 2014 will be the year of JUSTIN!
Works Cited:
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Anderson, Kyle. "Beyond Beyonce." Entertainment Weekly 10 Jan. 2014: 15-16.
Russo, Jamie. "A Marketing Lesson From Justin Timberlake." BKV Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé each had spectacular years in 2013. Each made their respective comebacks after spending several years pursuing other opportunities such as movies, concerts and television appearances. They also released their new albums in rather unorthodox ways. Beyoncé’s album came out exclusively on iTunes a week prior to it being released. That led Amazon.com and Target to boycott selling her album (Edwards). Justin Timberlake’s “20/20 Experience” was the only album to sell over 2 million copies at 2.43 million. The music business saw an 8% drop in sales compared to 2012, a sign of where the music business is right now (Lewis). These two super stars learned how to appeal to Millennials to top the charts and other artists surely will follow.
ReplyDeleteMTV conducted a study called ‘Music to the M Power’ which studied how Millennials’ relationships with their favorite artists. Obviously, many of those in this generation are tech savvy and get their music in a variety of ways. Apps such as Spotify and Pandora stream different music based on interest and similar music. Social media is used by the majority of Millennials and is a way for artists to interact with their fans. “Millennials are looking for constant access to their favorite artist in social media, and have different expectations from different channels” (Hillhouse) With that in mind artists must find a way to get noticed and these technologies could help them get an advantage.
As the ways in which we communicate with each other, industries like music, movies, and television must find a way to continue making the money that they had been making for decades before. Marketing through social media is an excellent way for them to get their name out there as well as interact with their fans, which helps when you are trying to sell an album.
“Marketers who leverage music in their platforms should consider the unique relationships between fan and artists, giving them opportunities for brand-sponsored “zero distancing” moments. Metaphorically, what’s happened to the music industry in terms of the collapse in hierarchy between fan and artist is also being observed in many other industries, and brands should consider giving Millennials opportunities to have a voice, co-create and collaborate” (HIllhouse).
By marketing through social media and putting some of their hit songs available to stream, artists could actually help their bottom line. By getting their name out there, whether it be through promotions, television appearances, billboards, or even radio, whatever can get people to listen is what will keep them purchasing their albums. When it is all said and done the music business comes down to one thing, the listeners. If they begin to evolve than the music business should too. The more creative an artist can get the more successful they will be. Answering some Tweets probably would not hurt.
WORKS CITED
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Hillhouse, Allison. "MTV's 'Music to the M Power.'" Blog.Viacom 5 June 2013. Web.
Lewis, Randy. "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke Post 2013's Top-Selling Album, Single." Los Angeles Times 3 Jan. 2014. Web.
Melanie Morse
ReplyDeleteEmily,
This was an interesting topic and you’re blog is very well written. I never thought to compare Justin Timberlake’s and Beyonce’s marketing strategies before, even though I knew how different they both were.
I definitely agree with you that it would have been pretty hard to avoid Justin Timberlake in 2013. He really was everywhere, like you said. I honestly loved seeing him everywhere though. He’s always been one of my favorite artists and this time seemed like a true comeback for him. I didn’t realize how much he really was out there until you pointed it out, but now that I think back to it, I remember seeing him everywhere and liking it! It was a new Justin Timberlake that we hadn’t really seen before. He seemed to have more confidence and seemed to be making the type of music he really wanted to (At least that’s what all the advertisements made it seem).
As for the whole Target and Beyonce thing, I think Beyonce was extremely smart in her decision to release her album on her own with no promotion and Target was smart not to sell it. Their “war” will be the least of either of their problems in the long run. Beyonce is Beyonce, so she will most definitely be fine without having her album sold at Target. If people want it, they’ll get it. And as the article, “Beyonce has gone to War with Amazon and Target for Refusing to Stock her Album” said, “most artists are not Beyonce”. Other people will need the commercial selling power of Target and Amazon to keep their success going. Not everyone has created their own franchise. Newer artists don’t have that reputation and need the help of big corporations to sell their brand for them. The article also went on to say, “
“Why would Amazon and Target want to make enemies of Beyoncé?...They probably have their eye on the long game. This is only $10 million or so in lost sales between the two companies, after all — not even a rounding error in either company's revenues…they're sending a powerful message to the 99% of other record companies and musicians: Do not screw with us by giving preferential treatment to Apple and iTunes, or we will severely curtail your album sales in our stores.”
What will be in store for the rest of 2014?
I think some artists will try to pull the same stunt as Beyonce, but will most definitely not succeed. Like I said before, Beyonce is Beyonce. She has created her own entity of herself, while others would need the help of stores like Target and Amazon to jumpstart their careers.
I also feel like I saw a trend in hit singles this year. I feel as though getting that one really great single is key to success. But I also feel like a lot of people will have or two hit songs and than we will not see them again. In his article, “Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke post 2013’s top-selling album, single”, Lewis Randy says, “In the realm of singles, Thicke’s hit, which featured Pharrell and T.I., was the top seller with 6.5 million units, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” landing not far behind at 6.15 million. But they were the only two songs to cross the 6 million sales mark during the year—a peak that only two dozen other singles have ever reached”. How long will Robin Thicke (even though he’s been around for years) or Lorde really be in the spotlight for? I’m not sure. I think we will see a lot of new artists in 2014 go as quickly as they came.
Sources:
Edwards, Jim. "Beyonce Has Gone To War Against Amazon And Target For Refusing To Stock Her Album." Business Insider (Yahoo Finance) 22 Dec. 2013. Web.
Lewis, Randy. “Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke post 2013's top-selling album, single” Los Angeles Times. 3 Jan. 2014. Web.