Talking at a PRS for Music session at the Brighton music convention, The Guardian technology journalist Jemima Kiss said that streaming platforms such as Spotify and Deezer were a hybrid between online promotional tools and traditional music distribution channels. However Kiss - a moderator on the ‘Marketing Value of Digital Services’ panel - suggested that, as streaming royalties were still relatively low, these platforms should be prized more for their marketing function than their revenue-generating potential.
To which Deezer’s Mark Foster replied: ‘Five years ago streaming services didn’t really exist so this is a brand new revenue stream that artists and record companies didn’t have before. We’re pulling back a whole generation of people from piracy to give them a better experience – a legitimate experience – and ensuring artists get paid.
‘People know that this is the best way, but we all need to provide a carrot with the stick. Services likes ours have to give users a great experience, great interface, great editorial, great recommendations, an easy way to discover new music and encourage the artists to engage with fans not just once on release date but on a regular basis. That prolongs the life of the record and the project,’ he added.
Spotify’s Mark Williamson added that his company had already paid out $500m to rightsholders since its inception in 2009 and would pay $500m in royalties this year alone. Both Deezer and Spotify have recently launched new tools aimed at promoting artists and capturing streaming data to help artists and labels better target their marketing.
Williamson said that now was the time to start building on the services his company already offers: ‘How do you take someone from awareness of a band to actually listening to them? That step has always been super-easy with Spotify. But how do we extend that? Once I’ve got into that band and I’ve listened to their catalogue, how do I have a connection with the band? We’ve got to keep acts in people’s minds. We’re introducing tools now to help you keep people’s attention and drive that. How do we encourage people to buy a ticket for a band they like? How do we re-engage fans and keep in touch? How do we give artists feedback so they can understand what’s working? These are the things we are thinking about.’
The panel agreed that online platforms from Twitter to Facebook to YouTube could all provide invaluable promotion channels for artists, but only if used correctly.
Patrick Walker from YouTube Music explained that artists using his platform could successfully create as much hype as artists using more traditional (and expensive) marketing tools such television and print media.
‘I would say the risk of losing money is greater with the old promotion machinery where you have to put so much money into marketing,’ he said. ‘It’s certainly important for artists at a certain stage but if you think about Justin Timberlake releasing his album the same week as Alex Day. Alex Day didn’t use the mass marketing approach and went in at number four in the chart while Justin got to number seven. I’m not saying that one way is better than the other, but of you are restricted economically, but are social media-savvy, you can make a big splash.’
However, Walker cautioned artist managers, labels and publishers to make sure they had cleared rights to artist content across all devices, so content could easily be viewed across all platforms from mobile phones and tablet computers to desktop PCs.
To which Deezer’s Mark Foster replied: ‘Five years ago streaming services didn’t really exist so this is a brand new revenue stream that artists and record companies didn’t have before. We’re pulling back a whole generation of people from piracy to give them a better experience – a legitimate experience – and ensuring artists get paid.
‘People know that this is the best way, but we all need to provide a carrot with the stick. Services likes ours have to give users a great experience, great interface, great editorial, great recommendations, an easy way to discover new music and encourage the artists to engage with fans not just once on release date but on a regular basis. That prolongs the life of the record and the project,’ he added.
Spotify’s Mark Williamson added that his company had already paid out $500m to rightsholders since its inception in 2009 and would pay $500m in royalties this year alone. Both Deezer and Spotify have recently launched new tools aimed at promoting artists and capturing streaming data to help artists and labels better target their marketing.
Williamson said that now was the time to start building on the services his company already offers: ‘How do you take someone from awareness of a band to actually listening to them? That step has always been super-easy with Spotify. But how do we extend that? Once I’ve got into that band and I’ve listened to their catalogue, how do I have a connection with the band? We’ve got to keep acts in people’s minds. We’re introducing tools now to help you keep people’s attention and drive that. How do we encourage people to buy a ticket for a band they like? How do we re-engage fans and keep in touch? How do we give artists feedback so they can understand what’s working? These are the things we are thinking about.’
The panel agreed that online platforms from Twitter to Facebook to YouTube could all provide invaluable promotion channels for artists, but only if used correctly.
Patrick Walker from YouTube Music explained that artists using his platform could successfully create as much hype as artists using more traditional (and expensive) marketing tools such television and print media.
‘I would say the risk of losing money is greater with the old promotion machinery where you have to put so much money into marketing,’ he said. ‘It’s certainly important for artists at a certain stage but if you think about Justin Timberlake releasing his album the same week as Alex Day. Alex Day didn’t use the mass marketing approach and went in at number four in the chart while Justin got to number seven. I’m not saying that one way is better than the other, but of you are restricted economically, but are social media-savvy, you can make a big splash.’
However, Walker cautioned artist managers, labels and publishers to make sure they had cleared rights to artist content across all devices, so content could easily be viewed across all platforms from mobile phones and tablet computers to desktop PCs.
