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Home , Jamie Hewlett, LCD Soundsystem, Music video, Priority Records, Saturnz Barz, Virtual band

05–06 Tools Byta 07–08 Campaigns VR: LCD Soundsystem/Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Neil Young 09-14 Behind The Campaign-

AUGUST 30 2017 sandboxMUSIC FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 186

VIDEO KILLED THE STAR why are huge acts abandoning the promo clip? n early August 2017, something important happened in the world of I the video. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s ‘Despacito’ became the first video to break 3bn views on YouTube, followed soon after by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s maudlin power ballad ‘See You Again’.

This was no mere statistic shuffling. VIDEO KILLED THE VIDEO STAR Rather, it represented a changing of the guard from the days when Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ ruled the roost at the why are huge acts abandoning the promo clip? top of YouTube’s charts. ‘Gangnam Style’ was one of those brilliantly inventive music that will forever go hand-in-hand with the , a triumph of the music video itself. With the best will in the world, the same cannot be said for ‘Despacito’ and ‘See You Again’, which have the distinction of being hit in the YouTube age rather than stand-out music videos.

From tentative steps by both and in the 1960s and then Queen in When watchers the 1970s, by the , the promo video – inextricably linked to the rise of MTV – was THE become listeners essential marketing tool. A decade ago, YouTube changed video viewing and now major For this is where we stand with music video in 2017. Video content is more acts are starting to question if they even need a video. If they are mainly being listened to, important than ever for media, consumers rather than watched, what’s the point? For niche genres and acts who take huge pride in and artists alike, while YouTube – for their visuals, their use of videos is having to adapt to changing circumstances. For some all the polemic over what it pays – is both an essential promotional outlet for they are just the starting point for a wider need for content that works across multiple music and the biggest platform for music platforms, but the changing consumption patterns of younger consumers mean that consumption. But a large percentage of this video the video is having to become a very different beast. content is being listened to, rather than

1 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 COVERFEATURE watched, which makes the decision to around video is what they are trying to throw big money at a promotional achieve. For global stars like video increasingly difficult. “We’ve moved or Katy Perry, videos are something that away from doing narrative, big-budget international label offices can give to local music videos,” Hospital Records head TV channels to keep the plot bubbling of digital Romy Harber told a marketing when the artist is busy elsewhere. For panel at Midem this year. “I personally debut artists, a good video can serve as a don’t see the value in them anymore […] showcase for both their music and their It’s not the MTV era anymore.” personality. But for a dance music label Harber tells sandbox, “[Hospital is with its own strong YouTube presence, producing] more and more video content splashing out hundreds of dollars, euros or and less and less traditional ‘music pounds on a flashy music video often isn’t videos’.” worth it. He adds, “Lots of artists are still keen “[Dance music labels] don’t really need on having [videos] made, we just have to to get cut through with an official music explain why the money and time can be video,” says Caroline Bottomley, managing better used elsewhere. We no longer get a director of video commissioning platform music video made as a matter of course – music video tool ROTOR, says that big from his recent , ‘Divide’, to YouTube Radar. “It’s not worth the money to get we let the idea lead.” video as we know it may be “dead or on day of release, the majority in simple that extra 50,000 people or whatever to And what is true for specialist dance dying”, with budgets down and multi- packshot video format; this was followed watch an official music video. They can put labels is also up for debate for globe- million dollar videos a rarity. But the by an official lyric video for ‘Galway Girl’ on stuff out on their [YouTube] channel, they trotting singer and their major technology used in the big-budget 17th March 17 (Saint Patrick’s Day) when get cut through with their brand anyway. label homes: UK general videos of the 1980s and 1990s Sheeran announced that the song would They don’t necessarily need to spend that manager Mark Mitchell told music:)ally is now far less expensive, which be his new single. music video [money] to get them there. in April 2017 that “we are having a lot of means it is possible to create Mitchell takes up the story: “We were But start moving back into the world of conversations about videos and what visually impressive videos without asking ourselves, ‘What is a video for pop and grime and a stand-out video they achieve” when discussing marketing the “lavish props and an over- Ed Sheeran going to do? What does the makes a load of difference.” plans for Ed Sheeran. “Arguably people exerted narrative”. Small budget, campaign need it to do?’ When the idea Musical genre, then, is important in understand and like who Ed Sheeran is,” therefore, doesn’t necessarily for the [official] ‘Galway Girl’ video came defining the role of the music video. Tom Mitchell told sandbox in a new interview. mean small ideas. along [Sheeran films the video himself Connaughton, SVP of creative content “Ed just performing in a video? I don’t know Much like Harber, Mitchell says that on a body-mounted Steadicam] it was and programming at , says that hip- if people want to see that. People know traditional music videos can play a vital just a great idea,” he says. “We were hop and R&B tend to over index in video, what Ed does on stage.” role in marketing when the idea is right. confident that we could get that energy while is exploding. Mitchell, “When commissioning a video, for a great and excitement across in the video.” The meanwhile, says that guitar acts don’t The end of video? Or the idea there is a huge budget if needed. But result is 96.2m+ views for the lyric video often get huge numbers of video views. “A end of the lavish video? if not then there is in doing it;” on YouTube and 198.7m+ for the song’s lot of guitar acts might make performance he says. Is it worth doing a video that just official (at time of writing). videos,” he explains. “And it can be quite Does this mean that the big music video, accompanies a song? Not often. But is it something exciting in that area so beloved of our youth, has been slowly worth doing a video that amplifies a song? Different genres; now because it has been done so many killed off by a thousand pack shot clips Then of course it is.” different video needs times.” and backstage Q&As? Not necessarily. Ed Sheeran again proves a case in By contrast, a well-worked grime Diarmuid Moloney, CEO and founder of point: Atlantic uploaded all of the songs The key point for marketers to consider video can sometimes pay off in pop-star-

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into a slightly sarcastic piece of meta- art, leading to coverage (and embedded videos) everywhere from Mashable to to GQ. Or the buzz around the guest-star-packed clip for Charli XCX’s ‘Boys’ in July.

Video’s power to break an act becomes diminished

That said, most people agree that even the most spectacular music video in 2017 is unlikely to break an artist in this multi- channel age, in the same way that A-ha’s ground-breaking clip for ‘’ helped to break the band in the mid 1980s. Media is too diverse for that to happen, level views. Bottomley singles out the definitely a lot of indie people that I with no one outlet guaranteeing the multi- examples of South rapper Dave would expect to see an amazing video million strong audiences of MTV or Top Of and his video for ‘100M’s’ , which has for because I have got to know them The Pops, while the sheer amount of video amassed 1.4m+ views after being released and what they mean as an artist,” says content floating around these days means at the end of May: “Proper big-time pop Bottomley. “And what they mean as an any one piece will struggle to stand out. music-type view counts” as she puts it. artist is art as well as music.” In many ways, this doesn’t really “It’s done like a street music video but it Underlying all this is the importance matter. Rather than relying on the shock is done by people who make music videos of video for certain promotional channels, of a single four-minute music video, the a lot,” she says of ‘100M’s’. “It moves him with the music video premiere still Thug’s song ‘Wyclef Jean’ in January aim in 2017 is for a cumulative effect, with into crossover world a bit more.” important for sites like The Fader and 2017 when the rapper failed to show up different pieces of video – from cheap Noisey. “Some artists are for the video shoot and director Ryan packshot clips, to lyric videos to full budget A good video can still inextricably linked to having Staake turned the resulting promo clip promos – marking different moments in amplify the artist aesthetic amazing videos because that’s the campaign. who they are,” says Bottomley. “For “Packshot videos will often get used More important than musical genre when others, if your marketing channels include really early on in a campaign just to let thinking of video, though, is the artist’s blogs like The Fader, and Vice, people know that something is coming image. Bottomley, names an eclectic list you need a great video to cut through out,” Bottomley explains. “And then maybe of artists known for their artistic video there.” you will get some real-life footage after clips, including Die Antwoord, alt-J, Sia, So well-worked music videos do, then, that, filmed at a or something Róisín Murphy, MIA, The Blaze, Goldfrapp still have considerable promotional worth. like that and then the treat of the official and OK Go!. For these artists the vibrant, And they can still get people talking, music video. Often the quality of video official music video has become an like those spectacular clips will be used to mark different stages of integral part of their image and a lyric or for Fatboy Slim, et al in the the campaign, to tease people and make packshot video might break that finely 1990s. Witness, for example, the media people aware and try and build things up crafted spell. “Outside of pop there are excitement over the video for Young a bit.”

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Moloney says that there is a A multitude of ways performances and, if our partners want Into this video consumption mix we requirement now to produce more video to skin the video cat to deliver a lyric video at the point in the must throw the social networks and, in content “as we witness a shift from campaign where there might not be an particular, – which is making using music videos to promote an album You might wonder, among all this, what official video, that is great. I don’t feel like a hard, protracted push into video. This, to using videos to engage an audience platforms like YouTube and Vevo make that is detracting from the official music clearly, is hugely important for music online”. of the changing role of the music video. videos on the platform.” marketers who must now satisfy a “There’s a need for higher volume and YouTube, sadly, didn’t want to contribute Connaught explains that when clamour for video content – preferably faster turnaround,” he adds. “Plus more to this article, but Connaughton says Vevo is developing an artist then, as individual work – from an increasing short-form formats, native formats, lyrics that Vevo, while supportive of the official well as official music video, it looks for number of platforms. videos etc.” Harber, meanwhile, suggests music video, is happy with different types “content that can prove an artist’s talent The upshot of this, Bottomley explains, that “behind-the-scenes, sets, tour of video content. over and above the music video” like live is that video directors are frequently diaries, ‘in the studio with’ and acoustic “We are a premium platform with content or “that context piece: what is being asked by marketers to make “an sessions all help build the story and premium content,” he says. “We offer their story, where do they come official video and teaser and cut a trailer personality of the artist”, creating a better music videos alongside our own content, from, how do they want to present and provide so many stills from a shoot connection with the fan that a big-budget we create a lot of original content, we themselves, what is important to them, as well”. “So what used to be one video would. have got different shows, we live what drives them”. commission can turn into, ‘Well it is one piece of content but we are going to re-purpose it and we By Music Ally’s have got six deliverables instead of one deliverable,’” she says. THE ROUTE TO VIDEO CONTENT Wesley T. A’Harrah And this, Bottomley concludes, The biggest change around music videos and dance video, remix video, the song Googling/YouTube searching for may ultimately change the way in which promotional videos is the way people now find their performed live… ‘’ lyric videos. Anyone music marketing around video works. way to watching them. Instead of going through That’s about a dozen pieces who isn’t putting out this type of “I labels are going a single TV channel every Saturday morning, we’re of video content that can be content surrounding their releases to be increasingly inclined now looking across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, produced at almost no additional is just missing tricks. to commission creatives who Twitter and more places. And while high-budget, cost to recording the song and The biggest example of this in understand marketing as well, high-priority artists are still going to have cash from producing a single music video. my mind is Adele with ‘’. If who they can go to and say, brands and labels to put out videos, the whole And the best part about all those you go on YouTube and search ‘Right I want a video, I want four process has become much more available to smaller bits of content? If the label/artist for “Adele Hello lyrics”, the first two pieces of content for Instagram, artists – but to different effects. doesn’t do them and put them up results have about 50m views six pieces of content for Just think about how much video content there on YouTube and Facebook, the between the two of them – and Facebook want that to be can be around a single release. A preview of a song, fans will. So it becomes to the benefit of the label/ they are terrible-looking, fan-made lyric videos for used for Twitter and footage of an artist in the studio, the artist talking artist’s YouTube channel, monetisation, subscribers, the track. The third option in search is the official as well,’” she says. about the song before release… a long preview of views and following across other social media music video which, granted, has over 2bn views. But “I expect creatives are going to be the song, the full song with a static image of the following to create all this micro content. what we’re looking at isn’t just lost views to Adele’s expected to know what that means. cover art, the full song with a static image and Just looking at Ed Sheeran’s lyric videos that went channels, potential lost subscribers and monetisation They are going to have to understand lyrics, the acoustic version, the acoustic live version, live on YouTube on release date, this is a video with – it’s a type of yielding control of one’s brand over to what marketing is and what it means. the short music video preview, long music video 705m views in the last eight months. It also gives the fans in a way that is inconsistent with much of As opposed to, ‘Can you think of a really preview, music video itself, music video with lyrics, Ed Sheeran’s channel search dominance when the artist’s campaign. amazing idea for alt-J?’” :)

4 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 TOOLS BYTA

Countless people in the with files that are entered to the system. have to regularly send and receive Anyone familiar with dragging a file digital audio files. When accounting for from Dropbox to iTunes and having artists and producers, managers, labels to reenter all of the track information and publishers, PRs, radio pluggers and will understand how important it is to beyond, it’s rare to find a company that keep metadata consistent (once they’ve has a single method of internally and onboarded their company and everyone externally sending music. else they send audio to onto Byta). Digital platforms for the music industry Files, streams, downloads, with have to be mindful of the size of budgets watermarks, without watermarks… available from music companies, teams most people will use a combination of and artists of all sizes, and Byta has general platforms like Dropbox, Box and specifically been developed to a price point WeTransfer, or industry-specific solutions that any tier professional in the industry like Play MPE or the use of private should be able to afford. SoundCloud links. To get some more perspective on Byta, Habit and policy have led to sandbox spoke with the service’s founder, companies and individuals across the Marc Brown. industry becoming complacent and acceptant of the state of using multiple sandbox We can clearly see the need services to receive and deliver files. if leaked, could wreak havoc across link that anyone with link access could being addressed by Byta, but where did That said, it’s easy to imagine how WeTransfer links and that theoretically click, by making a file available only to the service come from? What made you an effective enough tool, developed anyone with a web browser could access. certain email addresses, or by making decide to build it? specifically for the music industry, could Now understand that this is about the the file available only to people within Marc: My background is in radio. Usually become an end-to-end solution in this level of security surrounding innumerable specific companies. what happens here is people in radio will field for anyone from bedroom artists to releases – be they unreleased, partially There are other available conditions, the biggest of the majors. produced or other audio in our industry. such as capping the number of downloads Enter Byta (based on the Swedish Companies with good CMS should that can occur on a file. The way Byta word “utbyta”, meaning “exchange”) have little difficulty passing music around maintains overall security is by making that is working to provide a secure, internally, but sending it to an outside it impossible to access files in the Byta comprehensive solution for sharing digital company is where security and CMS can system without a Byta account. So, audio in the industry. become compromised or more difficult to once provided with a link, a user has to For those unfamiliar with having to work with. register a (free) account to gain access share music business entity Byta’s process is simple. Someone with to the file they’ve been shared. Because to another, understand that security is a Byta account can put a digital audio file Byta is specifically made for music audio a constant concern. Imagine sending into their account and choose to send it in files, it has been developed in a way that sensitive company documents that, a number of ways – whether as a generic preserves all of the metadata associated

5 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 TOOLS BYTA build a service for people who work in radio If you took a WAV file from the studio and – and that’s not addressing this problem had to send it via WeTransfer, then put it that spans our industry. Everyone sends into iTunes, iTunes won’t be able to read and receives digital audio, so making a any of the WAV file data. So it appears service that everyone can use and benefit blank. No big problem; you just type in the from is where the challenge lies. metadata for the track, track it back to the desktop, put it on SoundCloud, or send it sandbox Quick pitch: what does to radio people… and suddenly the track Byta offer? is back down to the original WAV file data; Marc: Byta allows users to send a stream, so inconsistent metadata is going around have a set number of downloads and to a load of people. Talking to people who automatically include a watermark on work in radio about how many times files if they like. This sounds extremely they’ve played a track that had the wrong easy, but it was extremely complicated to artist name or other info – it’s something do. Up until we came along, this type of that happens all the time. service has not existed. Our userbase goes from major labels, managers and larger sandbox Your pricing is around $45 per artists, promo and radio employees – and sharer, per month. How does that compare all the way to people we’ve never heard to other services and how does that of. We’re offering a clean solution that has actually work for companies? high-level security and actively works to account – and they’re all connected Marc: Looking at teams, a company can prevent stream ripping. into a team. If one of us uploads easily have 20-30 free accounts and music into their Byta account here, just one paid account. Not everyone in a sandbox What would the difference be they can set it so that when anyone company on Byta is going to be a paying between an enterprise-level WeTransfer else on the team logs into their account; this billing is built on the number account, for instance, and Byta? account they can automatically of people who need to be sharing audio, Marc: WeTransfer is good for the sender see that music in their account. not the number of recipients. And if you but bad for the recipient. You have to No email needs to be sent, no look at a radio promo service that has a click the link, download something, find publicly available link. And it just watermarking system, they’ll probably be it in your downloads folder, unzip it, and makes sense. Nobody’s sending paying about $120 – so Byta would save open the file. With Byta, you click a link, a around high-priority records on them about two-thirds on their costs if page opens and you hit play – and you can WeTransfer. they switch. download the file if it’s set to allow you Some labels have terrible to do so. At a large record company, for internal systems. They’ll download sandbox Who’s using Byta today? instance, people have to send links around a watermark from their service and Marc: We have users from all three the office internally. With Byta, everyone send it via WeTransfer – and this major labels, publishers, many indies, has their own individual account. happens inside even some of the tons of musicians, Grammy-winning When talking about internal security majors, depending on the office. and bedroom artists, and studio people. and easily sharing music to a number of Additionally, everything is direct from the files. So you don’t have Some specific companies would be indies accounts, you can chain together accounts powered by the metadata of uploads. to type in any information and all the like Wichita Recordings, Secretly Group, to make teams. So imagine if you, I, and When you upload a record, Byta pulls all information on the track is going to appear companies like Stay Loose, and everyone at your company have a Byta the artist, track, artwork info and so on on your screen when you’re inside Byta. management companies like Year 0001. :)

6 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing

LCD + CLDPLY 4 VR

The VR bandwagon roars down the A-roads and is heading for the motorway. in the crowd that light up in sections, but their concert in Chicago on 17th One argument in the earliest days of VR and August was streamed live to fans with music was that it was a hyped indulgence for the Samsung Gear VR headsets in over 50 biggest acts who treated it as a curious plaything countries. This was part of a broader or heritage acts who wanted to show they were partnership between the technology still in touch (Paul McCartney, etc.). But but for those that do they give you much more company and Live Nation that was it appears to be approaching a tipping point as interactivity (and be able to post clips of their announced in May, and that covers not just Coldplay are, in relative terms, old hands at this, acts really start to look at what it can do rather avatars jigging around). James Murphy of LCD but also major sporting events. having partnered with NextVR back in 2014 to film than lazily waving it about as a hollow signifier for Soundsystem gave a wonderfully Eeyore-ish press Interestingly, the show was free to view while one of their shows and make it available to view on progress. statement on it all, suggesting he is not totally happening and then was available for replay for “a the Gear VR. Last year, NextVR signed its own deal First up, the recently-reunited LCD convinced by the whole thing but is prepared to limited time” afterwards. with Live Nation and Citi to film a series of shows Soundsystem. give it a go. “Live Nation is a trailblazer when it comes to in VR as part of the long-running Backstage With They have made a VR video for their single “I’m not naturally collaborative and I’m not producing live virtual reality concerts, and we’ve Citi series. ‘Tonite’ in collaboration with ’s Data Arts naturally interested in technology,” he griped. been excited to bring Coldplay into the mix since All the parts are aligning: major promoters; Team (retitling the whole thing as Dance Tonite). “I’m a loner and a luddite. If there’s a project that announcing our collaboration with Samsung and forward-thinking technology companies; massive The concept is it’s a dance party and you can walk impels me to collaborate based on technology and Gear VR in late May,” said Kevin Chernett, EVP of artists; blue-chip sponsors. With headsets from all through different rooms to see performances it seems interesting, I’ll try it because it gets me global partnerships and content distribution at Live the leading brands expected to soon drop below created by fans where they can record and loop out of my comfort zone. It’s a way for me to try Nation, steadfastly refusing to hide his light under the $200 mark (and with companies like Melody 16-second clips of themselves dancing via a VR new things otherwise I’m literally just reading the a bushel. “We not only give fans the best in-seat VR and others raising serious VC funding), we are motion-capture recording, becoming represented newspaper and listening to records.” Astonishing. experience, but we’re also committed to working on the cusp of something big here. The content, as a cone and two cylinders. Next, Coldplay. with the best technologies to provide every music for now, has been bankrolled by sponsors or run at The video can be watched normally with a Their shows are probably more known for the fan an extraordinary concert experience, regardless a loss. Who will be the first act to prove that pay- default view if you don’t have a VR headset, flashing wristbands they hand out to everyone of where they are.” per-view (pay-per-VR?) will work here?

7 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena NEIL: YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY TAYLOR SWIFT: FULL STACK IT OFF

Wiping her social media, must “buy” their way up the posting three short snake queue for tickets. No, it’s bootleggers in order to try and get that little videos and then announcing not about VIP tickets and bit closer to the artist. a new single and new album experiences; rather it’s about The archive will continually evolve, with was only the warm up for maximising revenue across Young phrasing it “The NYA is a living Taylor Swift. everything she does. document” on the opening note, which is There is an explainer video made to look like typewritten and aged sheets The bigger play appears featuring a cat (of course it’s of paper for extra verisimilitude. “To avoid to be using her upcoming a cat) trying to buy tickets the lack of high audio quality presented by tour as a way to drive but being usurped by an evil today’s streaming technology, NYA is using sales of other products bot. But it explains how to Xstream Music high resolution streaming by and push streams. In a play those dastardly bots at OraStream,” it adds. way, this is her version of their own game. Stream her There is a limited audio player on the site the full stack. videos! Buy her album! Shop for now with a note saying that it is “opening She has partnered for merchandise! Go on social soon.” Young, in his intro note, says “I built with for the media and hashtag the living this for myself as much as for everyone else,” inelegantly named Taylor hell out of #TaylorSwift! If Back in 2014, noted audiophile Neil Young but it reveals a strong grasp of what his fans Swift Tix Powered By you do that, you can see your raised over $6m on Kickstarter for his want. He has been an obsessive self-archivist Ticketmaster Verified Fan progress going from being Pono device and subsequent high-audio for years and while acts like , David initiative. But what does on the “waitlist” to elbowing download store. Bowie and have chosen to it actually mean and what your way to “priority” and go the full touring exhibition route where they does it involve? therefore guarantee tickets. It, if we are being polite, underwhelmed and he flaunt a somewhat polished version of their Fans first have to There is an argument is now reconfiguring it as a top-end streaming past, Young is putting everything up (with register on her site for that this is magnanimously offering. In the meantime, he has thrown his minimal filtering) online. the Taylor Swift Tix portal tied to her US blocking out opportunistic touts (and bots) efforts into building an online archive that Young might sometimes come across tour. “Taylor Swift is committed to getting who will pounce on the tickets on the day covers, well, pretty much his entire career. as stuck in the past with his endless talk tickets into the hands of fans...NOT of sale and immediately flood secondary The cryptically named Neil Young Archives about vinyl and why it’s infinitely superior to scalpers or bots,” runs the blurb on the site. sites with tickets coming with vertiginous says it will reach all the way back to 1963 digital, but he has an acute understanding of “So she’s collaborating with Ticketmaster mark ups. There is a counter-argument when he made his first single in and how digital can be used in terms of logging #VerifiedFan to create an exclusive program that it’s an avaricious play by a major pop will run up to the present day, offering insight a rolling history and offering a place for fans to help YOU get the best access to tickets in star to strong arm her fans into spending, into how every track in his huge discography to congregate around genuinely illuminating North America, in a really fun way.” spending, spending on everything she puts was recorded. The timeline is exhaustive archive material. That stands in sharp You are encouraged to “improve your out there. and also covers off music that has still to be contrast to the going-through-the-motions place in line by participating in boost The end result is still the same: the fans officially released. This is basically the kind content that can get punted out by acts that activities until initial registration closes on are ruthlessly squeezed until their pips of access that superfans of and, until don’t understand or care what their fans Nov 28”. Boost activities? Basically, fans squeak. now, have handed over small fortunes to actually want.

8 | sandbox | ISSUE 186 | 30.08.2017 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN GORILLAZ BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNGORILLAZ

Humanz is the fifth studio album from multi-media Gorillaz (created by and artist ) and their first major release in seven years. Brand partnerships were a huge part of the campaign this time round – to both give it a huge reach and also help underwrite the high production costs in a project of this nature. JASON LAMONT, VP of marketing at , and MIKE HANSON, head of digital at Parlophone, explain: where technology has finally caught up with the vision of the band; why this was liberating in terms of bringing a huge range of ideas to life and pushing technological firsts; where an inclusive approach was taken and so why hundreds of unique assets had to be created; how the old album cycle could be scrapped; and why Parlophone is “in a different business with Gorillaz”

Build up to the new album weeks, and all the artwork. after a seven-year gap But the band didn’t have a JL: It was around March last year big social media presence that we started conversations – and certainly were not with Eleven Mgmt [the band’s on Instagram. So a lot of management]. As the schedule thought had to go into how for the recording and finishing we launched that and what of the album became apparent, we did, the format of that we sat down and had very early and what was required from discussions about all the work Jamie [Hewlett]. that needed to be done, not only We broke it all down into phases to reignite and re-enthuse people and what we felt we needed to do about Gorillaz and warm the fanbase was to have a warm-up phase. During up, but also to see what sort of tools that phase we were telling the back story were available to us. That was looking at of Gorillaz – either for those who were how things had progressed in the digital new to the band on Instagram or even space and all of our understandings of new to the band in general because it the market today compared to, say, seven had been seven years between . years ago. We threw them all into the mix. There was a concerted effort to write We talked a lot about the various up these stories, employ scriptwriters things that we felt needed to happen and to get Jamie to complement those and the things we wanted to do. Eleven with drawings and . During Mgmt have a very good understanding of that warm up phase, it was more all things around technology and digital about throwbacks, then it was slowly and they are very passionate about introducing the characters’ back stories that stuff. It was a very fluid and easy and then it was explaining where they had discussion about what could be done, been for seven years. what we could achieve and what we had We were very conscious that as soon done in the past. as we switched that on, people would There was a thorough understanding start to speculate that there was a new of what we know takes time – which are Gorillaz album coming. We started in things like videos, which take 12 to 16 October and we couldn’t switch it off then.

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The machine had to be fed from that point early vision realised with a brand partner. on. But that just came down to planning That took many conversations and many and putting together a very thorough false starts until we arrived where we did. content plan. The brand we worked with for this was Deutsche Telekom. Filling in the backstory We had absolute clarity on what the MH: We created some nice assets that app should be and what we wanted it to could be reproduced across all the be. We worked through that for months channels. So where Facebook or YouTube with an agency called B-Reel and we had been dormant, we could reactivate playlist or music. That was helping to tell knew exactly what that was, what we felt that with some nice narrative and the story for retail partners as well. would excite people and how we could use engaging content. that app. Brand partners #1 & #2: Once we introduced that to Deutsche JL: The first phase was really the back Jaguar and Deutsche Telekom Telekom, who were just as keen to craft a campaign that would give everyone story of the characters. JL: The first official thing in the campaign creatively partner with Gorillaz, they value. It obviously included sponsorship was the and Jaguar Formula were more than willing to take on that of the stage at Margate and some MH: It was a really worthwhile warm-up partnership. That went out as a little clip. responsibility of part funding it because content leading up to it as well as the live exercise for lapsed fans and for bringing From March last year, we spent they wanted to be the enabler of this stream on Red Bull TV. There are now the on new fans. a good six months doing the great creativity. cans [ branded with bespoke Gorillaz rounds and talking to many, many Deutsche Telekom’s view was artwork], one for each character. Red Bull JL: There was a general feeling on the partners. We broke it down into that Gorillaz are this enormous is extremely happy with it. It has been a campaign [in 2010] that the tools that we felt we needed creative force and if they, as a brilliant partnership for them. there wasn’t enough narrative and that to fuel the campaign. Management partner, could allow and facilitate there wasn’t enough of the storytelling. and myself were very passionate about that, then they would be a Brand partner #4: E.ON ad We had a lot of time to think about what having a Kong Studios Mark 2 [based on great partner. JL: The E.ON ad came out of a sync exactly that was going to do. their original interactive website]. We That campaign partnership started request for ‘We Got The Power’ and that All the time we were doing this, we agreed fairly early on that that should with a conversation around the app and evolved into a bigger conversation. Their were mindful of the fact that there was take the form of an app and that it was built from that into shows and AR agency came back with a proposal that probably an audience out there who shouldn’t be a traditional website. experiences. Essentially what you had was very cool – and Damon and Jamie liked weren’t streaming Gorillaz. We were Once we got into that we started to there was that perfect solution where you the creative. That evolved into an animated exploring the level of engagement on talk to potential developers and also had a brand who understood creatively advert around solar power that ran across streaming for each post and linking to old potential brands about how that might what was the dear to the key creators Europe with the track sync. The challenge Gorillaz tracks. work in terms of a partnership because and was willing to facilitate some of those was to build a solar recording studio and While we were doing that, we were we knew that it would cost a lot of money campaign ambitions to get what they tour that around – which they did. able to go back into streaming and retail and that it would require some sort of wanted out of the overall campaign. partners and show them that with these partnership funding. post we sent people to playlists and there We went through many iterations of Brand partner #3: was an increase of streams of, say, 1m in that and we went around and spoke to a Red Bull at Margate Festival the past month. That helped to fuel the lot of people about a lot of our crazy ideas JL: That was live streamed on YouTube in enthusiasm for, and confidence in, the and their crazy ideas. There were a lot association with Red Bull [in June]. Our record. What we were doing on Instagram of content ideas in the works, but I think brand partnership team had worked with and other social channels was driving to a the app that you see is pretty much the Red Bull for many months to develop and

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one had quite arrived at what that could or should be. We got a bit further down the line in terms of what we thought the video was going to be and set out storyboarding a four-track video. We went back to YouTube and told them what we were making and said there was a possibility to partner on it to do a VR and a 360 version. They thought that was a very exciting fit for them.

MH: It was an incredibly creative Brand partner #5: Land Rover possibly can and help the band realise Apart from singular events, like the experience. We partnered with Passion JL: That evolved from the Jaguar their vision without compromising. I think massive AR listening parties, you can Pictures, who have worked with the band discussion. Very early on there was they feel pleased they have been able see how it has been reiterated to include from the early days, and it was three a desire to make Noodle a more to achieve that. We are all feeling quite the Jaguar recruitment drive; plus, it was months of them working day in and day proactive female voice in the band. excited about that. designed to be modular so that we can out to get it delivered. When the opportunity came for her to add rooms and experiences to it as we be the ambassador for Formula E, the Creating a dedicated app go along. JL: For YouTube it was a fantastic result management jumped on it and thought it JL: That was a consideration to start with, With the Jaguar initiative, there is as they helped us deliver that. They were was a brilliant thing as well as potentially but the key with Gorillaz was that we brand partnership money attached to a great partner. a very exciting first-look piece of content. had got to a point where technology had that. So we monetised it not through We did a lot of development in They were right. That was really well caught up with the ambition of the band. paid downloads or consumption in a November and December on this live managed and they are very happy with That was no doubting that Pokémon Go traditional way; we got it through brand technique that you saw in how things have worked out. was an inspiration [and helped push AR in partnerships. We can use that as a test the MistaJam interview [see below]. We That evolved into a discussion about front of a mainstream audience]. case for how we can continue to build and compartmentalised the whole campaign the app and they said they wanted to be Kong Studios was arguably the first of evolve the app out. into things that we really, really wanted a part of it. That then became the second its kind because when you went in there It is quite a fluid thing. It works really to do. Then we set out to find a partner to phase, if you like. as a traditional website 15 years ago well for the fans and it also works really help us achieve each different component. You go into the garage within the app, you were led into different rooms with well for the people who have come to While the video was off and under where there is a Range Rover car. You nuggets, prizes and icons that took you it for the first time. Plus, we can add to way, in the background there was a have to unlock the code to be eligible to off to different spaces. So for Gorillaz fans, it that we have already premiered new whole lot of R&D going into this live apply for one of 5,000 jobs [in electronics that idea wasn’t foreign to them. It was music through it since the album came animation technique, which allows us to and software]. It’s a recruitment drive and just this perfect storm where AR and VR out. We will just continue to experiment put the characters into a live interview as a PR story it seems to have captured could augment what Gorillaz had always with it. environment. It was a bit like running people’s imaginations. potentially been able to do. away with our ambitions but with It has been a very brand partnership- Our feeling was that was ‘’ VR video everybody working together to pull the heavy campaign. More so than most possible with it now because of the JL: The conversation was ongoing with creative and the financing in to make it campaigns. It has all been about being technology we had to hand. So all we Deutsche Telekom about potentially all work. able to realise the level of creativity and needed was someone to work with to doing something with VR. We have been ideas. It has been about trying to do the realise the most seamless experience for talking to YouTube loosely about doing MistaJam live animation interview best and most exciting work that we fans. I think it has worked really well. something together with Gorillaz – but no MH: The actors were on a green screen and

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it used motion-capture technology. The actors were in the [special] suits and then it Streaming a key focus in a way was overlaid onto the live visuals that you it wasn’t for the last album saw. It’s a first in terms of the technology JL: There were various channels and were. This is something they do on a being utilised in that environment. The various places that we had to serve. We regular basis. Printworks wasn’t a gig interview looked great. It was another worked with traditional retail to deliver exclusively for [but we partnered exciting point in the roll out to get people them bespoke pieces of content. So the with them on it]. talking and to get the band trending. people who sold most of our physical product still got served with bespoke Assets for all JL: I’m not sure that many people content to make sure they got a share of MH: We did the tickets through Songkick watching actually realised it what was going on online. A lot of what who were a great partner. It was a pre- was live animation. They maybe was going on was happening digitally. order initiative so you could get first thought it was a pre- animation. We worked very hard with them and access to gigs if you pre-ordered the I don’t think people maybe realised quite we worked really hard with Spotify and album. This was part of that. We gave what they were seeing; but the savvier Apple to secure them bespoke content. HMV exclusive content through an app fans were commenting that they you unlocked in store. It does that thought it was motion capture. The MH: That include things like bespoke through a secondary app called The whole thing was a whirlwind and looked idents. With Spotify we did a superfan Lenz App that only works on the colour like it wasn’t going to work right up until initiative around the launch gig [at magenta. So working with HMV , we the point it went live as there were lots Printworks in East London]. Spotify created a bespoke mini mix of the album of technical issues. identified Gorillaz’s superfans in London and fans could go into HMV stores in the As a partner, YouTube provided the and offered them the chance to be there. week prior to release, open the app and studio and the facilities there. It was a There was a really quick turnaround of a that would then unlock the visuals and real collaborative effort in terms of pulling day. Because we have done this warm up the audio. That was a way of using digital it off and getting it to work. There were of driving people to playlists, they could mechanics to drive footfall into physical many parties involved. tell who the biggest listeners in London stores – which HMV liked. So all of the

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and after the album. For us it was really to evolve the app into more entertaining important to ensure that all partners felt and massively consumed technology, then that they were a part of that. great. It is about these multiple touch It worked for them because Spotify points in all different areas that will allow committed above-the-line marketing and us to do that. That will keep us confident so did YouTube . We got a good deal of as well as the artist motivated and outdoor and above-the-line spend from continuing to evolve creatively. them. That’s because they wanted to It’s the first time for Gorillaz that we be associated with such an exciting and can throw away the album cycle because innovative campaign. all the technology is here to hand and we have made use of it. It shouldn’t be about Going beyond the album concept now the the album cycle – finally. It was about technology has caught up with the band the album cycle traditionally with Gorillaz JL: We’re only halfway through the campaign because the technology just couldn’t keep we have already set out a great MO of what up with the vision for it. we can do going forward. We have great It seems like it is this constantly evolving, case studies in terms of how we will and can multiple-platform and multiple-touch-points retail partners got something a little their listeners. It was the same with work with brands. That will serve us well beast now. That is what is different. . going forward because there’s a whole heap exciting about it. There is no end to it. It was around playlists and also, from more ambition for the campaign. It has pushed us as a company to JL: We created a hell of a lot of content. November, driving people to their services On this Gorillaz campaign, we think about how we add value and what They were at least 200 different pieces of to prove there was an appetite for the have completely moved beyond it means to be in partnership with such a content distributed ahead of release. band on their service. It was also working the idea of traditional album creative force. It has kept us all on our toes. to ensure that they got some relevant sales. We are moving into very MH: Given the seven-year break and the and bespoke stuff for their socials so that different measurements of MH: People talk about “always-on” and they history of the band, there was a reason they felt part of the conversation. For the success as we are having really use that phrase in a throwaway manner. why we needed that volume of content. Gorillaz launch, it felt like it was a cultural meaningful partnerships with But, believe me, this has been a completely It was to keep that engagement up. If event. We might not have had an A-list on brands that don’t compromise always-on campaign. There has been something was trending, that said to us Radio 1, but we were certainly the biggest the artist. That’s a big tick for us as constant content and there has been a there was an appetite for the band, so cultural event for that period leading into a company. We are doing really great purpose for everything that we have created. therefore we need to make creative work, which is really It’s liberating to work at that scale and with more. We definitely weren’t shy important to all of us. We are that technology. It’s so exciting. :) of meeting that ambition of generating a huge amount of delivering great and interesting engagement online. How that content and mechanics. pays back down the line has yet WANT TO FEATURE IN to be seen. BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? JL: We catered for traditional We are in a different Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working retail through a few different business with Gorillaz. Our on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Campaign initiatives and a bit of co-op business with Gorillaz has in a future edition of sandbox? If so, send a brief synopsis of marketing. We worked very always been a proper 360. If it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your work (and your closely with Spotify for quite we can evolve the content into words) could appear here. some time to excite and engage a TV series, if we can continue Email: [email protected]

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