05 Tools WARM 06–07 Campaigns Vita Bergen, Courtney Barnett/ Kurt Vile, U2, Black Eyed Peas 08–11 Behind The Campaign- Cecilia Bartoli

DECEMBER 6 2017 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 193 PLAYLISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE

WHERE NEXT FOR PLAYLISTS? COVERFEATURE

Playlists are the new albums/new radio [delete as applicable] and will only grow in power next year. We spoke to those building playlists and those pitching to them about how they have shifted the promotional centre of gravity for the record business and where they will move next. Is it just an Apple/Spotify duopoly? What are the other services doing to close the gap? Is the label-led playlist brand an exercise in futility? As algorithms become more refined, what will that mean for editorial playlists? And is everything going to be blown apart when smart speakers really hit the mass market? 2018 will be a critical year for the playlists and those hoping to dominate on them.

f you want an indication of how labels contacted Music Ally to point out important playlists have become to the error. Imusic marketers, witness the almighty In 2018, a year in which paid streaming’s PLAYLISTEN kerfuffle at the start of November when “surge” phase of rapid growth in revenue a glitch in the Spotify system led to a and subscriber base looks set to continue, drop in follower counts for a number of the importance of playlist marketing is only the platform’s playlists. The technical going to increase, creating both dazzling WITHOUT gremlins were swiftly resolved, but not opportunities and nagging headaches for PREJUDICE before several rather nervous major marketers and DSPs alike. 1 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 COVERFEATURE

As 2017 draws to a close, sandbox spoke This has proven one of the more to label marketers, playlist experts and controversial questions around playlists in streaming platforms alike – some of whom 2017, with many labels claiming that the wished to remain anonymous – to get to big DSPs create an uneven playing field by grips with what the big playlist marketing heavily promoting their own playlists, while trends will be in 2018, from algorithmic label playlists are left to pick up the scraps. playlists to smart speaker controls. One of the things that marketers would most like to see from streaming services Will labels be pitching beyond Spotify and in 2018 is a spotlight on external playlists. Apple Music in 2018? Or will these two Whether or not that will happen is another remain the playlist kings? question. Even so, everyone we spoke The general feeling among most of the to agreed that labels should continue to people we spoke to is that the streaming service KKBOX; while René Andreasi-Bassi, Andreasi-Bassi explains. “Whereas with dedicate time to develop their playlists, albeit duopoly of Spotify and Apple Music, which head of digital marketing and promotion Spotify, Apple and Amazon, you need to send for rather different reasons. dominates in the Western world (albeit with at FUGA, says that Anghami is hugely in your pitches and they will decide. QQ and Justin Barker, director of streaming pockets of support for Deezer and Tidal), will important in the Middle East and Line Music many Chinese platforms are really open strategy at PIAS, says that label playlists are continue. is growing exponentially in Japan. The biggest to having direct pitches to a specific genre your direct route to market, a “Plan B in the “Spotify and Apple Music will continue global service, however, is China’s QQ Music, or playlist.” Andreasi-Bassi adds that the event that you don’t get editorial support to dominate but, as streaming continues whose numbers Andreasi-Bassi describes as superstar Western acts are already on from Spotify or, for emerging artists, possibly to grow, some of the smaller services will “ridiculous – they have 400m active users”. QQ , but he expects to see indie artists being before you even pitch for it”. undoubtedly grow their playlist repertoire, “They [QQ Music] have, like we have here pitched to and appearing on the service’s “There are a very limited number of too; so it makes sense to look at all DSPs in the West with the standard DSPs, a new playlists in 2018. slots on Spotify playlists and around 20,000 and all playlists, not just the big hitters,” says music space; they have genres spaces, they releases every week,” he adds. “In cold former Warner Music VP of global playlist are big on soundtracks and musicals, movie Should labels be putting more numbers that is the reality. You have to have strategy, Kieron Donoghue. music. Your pitch can be a bit more focused time and effort into their own another plan. It is dangerous just to rely on Our sources believe with those playlists and genres,” playlists in 2018? Or is it pointless? the support of DSPs.” that the service most Donoghue suggests that labels should try likely to challenge the a new tactic with their playlists. “ Instead Spotify/Apple Music of taking the blanket approach of stronghold in the West creating hundreds of playlists to is Amazon Prime Music. cover all genres/moods, I would Although most people rather laser focus on some niches think that this won’t that aren’t covered too much by happen in 2018. Spotify and fill the gaps. Spotify are On a more global scale, very much marketing their playlists as competition among streaming brands [e.g. RapCaviar], so labels should too.” services looks rather more Watson sees an opportunity for labels interesting. Lucie Watson, head to show off their tastemaker credentials of music at Platoon, mentions by using playlists. “I think smaller labels Saavn in India; X5 CEO Johan can build a genuine following from being Lagerlöf cites Claro Música in tastemakers – having a great reputation for South America and Taiwanese great music,” she says. “I personally follow

2 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 COVERFEATURE playlists from labels and brands I admire “Since it [Release Radar] launched, getting “Spotify employs X amount of people like XL, Future Classic and Juicebox, because people to follow you on Spotify once again to do playlist editorial and they have to they consistently have good playlists. I don’t has a direct benefit,” says Barker. “You get maintain a lot of playlists,” he says. “They think it’s pointless as subscriber growth will your music in front of actual fans in a format must be super stretched across these continue next year. Now that Apple Music that’s easy for them to listen to. You will playlists. If they don’t have the time to focus have opened up their platform to have a see greater attempts by people to begin on certain genres, or perhaps when there profile with followers, I think all labels should to migrate their existing fanbase(s) from isn’t sufficient demand for Spotify itself to be making the most of this new feature and existing social media platforms – Facebook cover them, then I would like to see them should be making playlists on Apple Music.” or whatever – to Spotify.” throw their editorial credibility behind other, Deezer sees similar tastemaker appeal And how can labels do that? Baker trustworthy playlist brands that do cover in label playlists, particularly in the dance suggests three ways: they can give fans a those areas well. I would love to see genre. “One of the key projects at Deezer is gated incentive; encourage them to follow them hero playlists by users that our focus on how we present label-curated them on Spotify using more traditional are doing that really well – be they playlists in the Dance & Electronic channels marketing channels; or use a softer labels or regular people who have in particular,” says Sulinna Ong, VP of artist approach, like incorporating Spotify/ cool concepts. That makes the platform marketing at Deezer . “We wanted to streaming more into conversations with more appealing to users too, in an age where replicate the experience of crate digging in fans. they are increasingly expected to be a part of a specialist record store where you’ll often the process and are used to having their say.” search by label and so the label-curated How would marketers like to see The technical detail of the pitching playlists – updated regularly to keep them streaming services evolve their process is another area where marketers fresh – feature prominently, front and centre pitching processes for playlists? would like to see change. Lagerlöf wants on Deezer’s Dance & Electronic channels.” As you might imagine, marketers were to see “more opportunities for targeted not short of friendly advice here. Barker pitching to digital services”. “At the moment, If algorithmic playlists like Spotify’s speaks for many people in the music most pitching is focused on new frontline Release Radar are generating big streams, industry when he says that he would like music, but that is only a fraction of what what does that mean for marketers? to see the platforms “be a bit more open to is available,” he adds. Andreasi-Bassi, August 2016 saw the debut of Release other voices”. meanwhile, calls for the introduction of a Radar, a new algorithmically powered “If you make music that is a form of EDM centralised system for pitching that would customised playlist for each Spotify or hip-hop or pop, then there is a really huge save considerable amount of time and effort. user, that updates every Friday with amount of playlists to pitch for. However, “It would be really nice if there was a central new releases from artists that they have if your music is in a more niche genre, then system that you could use to manage all listened to and follow on the streaming maybe there are only one or two playlists these pitches, instead of having to fill in service. For the music industry, algorithmic where it could fit or maybe even in certain multiple sheets and forms,” he says. “You playlists like Release Radar and Discover cases, none,” he says. could tick numerous boxes that would trigger Weekly have proved both hugely welcome, This, to be clear, is not a criticism: things; so if you want to pitch to South in that they drive significant listening, and marketers know that streaming platforms American countries, but only ones who something of a headache, in that they have limited resources in terms of speak Spanish, then you tick these boxes and cannot be pitched to. staffing/time and there is a vast amount the pitch will land on the dashboard of the So what does their success mean to of music that is clamouring for their editors in these countries.” marketers? The answer is fairly obvious: attention. But Barker believes that The same system would also allow DSPs they must do all they can to persuade fans opening up platforms to other playlist to give feedback to marketers and labels to follow their favourite artists on Spotify. voices could be mutually beneficial. about their tracks. “On the reporting side

3 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 COVERFEATURE of things, it would be really helpful if the know will suit Day and Today In system could jot out feedback messages. If their interests.” Music programme,” your track is fitting in or not – and if possible Other he adds. “These explain why,” Andreasi-Bassi says. “That is observers programmes will “FAKE” ARTISTS AND AI something labels are really missing.” believe become more One of the biggest news stories in streaming in 2017 Donoghue also picks up on the idea of that voice- popular next year. revolved around the controversial idea of “fake” artists, when feedback. “ The biggest frustration controlled People will request, it emerged that some of the most popular tracks on Spotify’s I hear from labels and marketers smart ‘Alexa, play me mood playlists had in fact been created by composers is the lack of feedback from DSPs speakers will the song of the working for Swedish production music firm Epidemic Sound when pitching songs for playlists, ” have a more day’ or play me and uploaded to the service under pseudonyms. he says. “However, being a curator myself, I fundamental ‘Today In Music’. As one might expect, this was on the mind of several also know how difficult it is when there are impact. Going forward all of the marketers we spoke to when talk turned to mood thousands of new releases each week and Andreasi- other streaming playlists. Barker raised the idea of how advances in AI and curators’ inboxes are at bursting point, so I Bassi says that smart speakers represent a platforms will have to come up with little music composition – whereby AI programmes can be taught see both sides of the challenge. I think more new way for people to interact with music. programmes like that which people to compose music in certain styles – might question the idea dialogue between the curators and the labels “They [listeners] are not going to read on the can request.” of what exactly an artist is. is the way forward so each can understand screen who the artist is. They will just hear it. Barker believes that creating identifiable “When you are talking about recent controversies over and appreciate the challenges of the other.” So they will have to constantly ask for it,” he names and brand recognition will be hugely ‘fake’ artists, then you are getting into murky waters,” he says. As a result, he believes that listeners important in this new world. “The idea of says. “On the sleep playlists or tasteful piano ones, you How will playlist marketing evolve in a world will increasingly favour channels/stations voice control is very similar for any kind have some of these people who have been identified in the of smart speakers and voice controls? over playlists. “Most music streaming of search optimisation. When you divorce media as ‘fake artists’ and some of the more ambient piano In 2017, the music industry was barely catalogues already have channels, often someone from visual stimulus and expect stuff that tends to live in those playlists; in theory, it feels like able to catch its breath without someone personal channels that are created by a them to search for something, it is a very the first thing that AI music systems are going to be able to making a point about smart speakers, seed song,” he says. “Playlists will really difficult process,” he says. “If you are just mimic most effectively.” voice control and the way they will suffer from that and they will really go down there, first thing in the morning, and you impact on our listening habits. This is set in listener frequency. Because of that, the are thinking about what to ask your device to continue into 2018 as products like whole pitching process will change as well.” for, you are probably going to become very Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod and Google Andreasi-Bassi cites Amazon’s success habitual. So how do you get your products says Donoghue. “So the brand recognition Home sell like AI-assisted hot cakes. with Song Of The Day as an in that habitual cycle? That’s a lot about is right up there and that will play a part in “Voice control is rapidly becoming example of the evolution of recognisable, memorable brand names and voice-activated music services. It’s also a a very popular way to listen to music, music listening through smart making sure that you do your brand work so unique name which will ensure Alexa doesn’t with 70% of smart speaker owners speakers. “If you think about that it is in the mindset of people.” accidentally play the wrong playlist.” using it to listen to music over four Amazon, currently they are Many platforms are already thinking of One major label marketer wonders if hours a week,” says Deezer’s Ong. quite far ahead with Echo; their pleading playlists as brands – consider this emphasis on name recognition might “Voice control makes it easy to simply they have a Song Of The Spotify’s RapCaviar Live concerts – which even swing music marketing back to more ask for the type of music or playlist should give them a head traditional ground. “Theoretically, it might you want; so, in that sense, it’s not too start in the world of voice swing back to print media and ‘traditional’ different to what we already have, it’s commands. “RapCaviar is internet advertising as you need to get just a more direct interface to it. We pretty much well known to people to think about artists that they expect that many users will simply ask be the biggest rap playlist in will then ask their speakers about,” he ‘Play my Deezer Flow’ to get an instant the world; it’s evolved into live concludes. “It would be interesting if a TV stream of background music that they concerts and much more,” ad said, ‘Alexa, play…’” :)

4 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 TOOLS WARM

As 2017 draws to a close, several marketing concepts transcend the tools we have covered. Spend, creative and targeting optimisation; storytelling; audience segmentation; retargeting; and data ownership are all among the more popular conversations and capabilities that have behind the platform. Paraphrased, WARM evolved across the year, and will continue is largely focused on gaining insight in the to improve as tech and skillsets advance field of radio. Instead of only knowing on across our industry. which major stations in major regions a song is being played, WARM provides the One major piece of the music promo puzzle, industry with the ability to see a bigger though, has often been difficult to crack picture. Instead of guessing which stations in terms of planning, measurement and – large or small – would be good to pitch attribution analysis—radio. There are over music to, or instead of hiring a general radio 9,000 radio stations in the US, alone, a figure works within the music environment. Since either search for songs they wish to track in plugger in a specific country, users now have which is nearly double the volume of Spotify’s launching the company in April 2017, WARM WARM’s substantial database, or to upload the option to focus specifically on which owned-and-operated human-curated is already tracking over 9,000 stations in the an mp3 of the track they want to follow. stations are best. The evolution of WARM playlists. For this, our final tools piece of 2017, United States, alone. WARM’s audio fingerprinting technology as a platform will also bring out further we examine Denmark-based WARM and its There are multiple pricing models available claims that the platform can match for an pitch recommendation features, such as pitch as the first large-scale radio monitoring for WARM’s offering, which makes it much mp3 file with 100% accuracy. automatically telling users which stations service that focuses on individuals in the more affordable to everyday music personnel. There are over 2,000 registered users of they should send a track to. This ultimately music industry. It costs €5 a month to track one song, and this WARM to-date, primarily representing staff may evolve to a new system for discovering WARM, which stands for World Airplay rate is discounted to €36 per year if bought up from labels and publishing companies, but and promoting independent music through Radio Monitor, provides a simple pitch: built front. Songs can also be swapped out across many artists and individual songwriters make an effective network of smaller stations. using Music DNA, with whom WARM has this timeframe, meaning a user is not locked use of the service as well. Songwriters and On a product level, Skibsby says WARM an exclusive partnership, the service allows into tracking only one track for the entire publishers tend to be interested in overall is flexible. The company can open up for users to track and monitor their songs on period of time. This means a marketer, an reports around songs, as these can be used all kinds of API solutions, and the team any radio channel in the world, in real-time. artist, or anyone else interested in watching a for auditing payments and as firepower is currently building an add-on platform The company is currently monitoring some priority song’s airplay can afford to see exactly for lobbying for fairer rights administration to determine and tag genre of music and 23,400 radio stations across 6,942 cities in 124 where and when around the world that music around exploited works; labels and performing stations. WARM has also begun taking countries. Compare this with Radiomonitor’s has aired on radio, and then can switch to artists tend to be more interested in real-time part in larger industry conversations 4,700 radio + TV stations tracked, a comparable tracking a different song that they care to data, in order to evaluate marketing activity around tracking exploited works, and may 4-5k stations tracked by BMAT, and a number analyse in the future. and track potential fanbase growth. well become a significant player alongside of stations tracked by Soundcharts measuring WARM runs effectively from both a music:)ally joined WARM on a panel at collective management organisations in the hundreds. WARM opens up an mobile app and a desktop interface. From a Slush Music, where the company’s founder (CMOs) and other entities involved in entirely new level of granularity to how radio song tracking perspective, users are able to and CEO, Jesper Skibsby, spoke on the vision international rights management. :)

5 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena

TRANS-MISSION: SWEDISH BAND USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE TO MAKE SONGS KURT AND COURTNEY LOVE... MIXTAPES

Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile collaborated The blog explained, “The program is Anyone who’s leaned on Google Translate on the recent Lotta Sea Lice album that designed to notice where the user is during an overseas trip will know how hit was recorded in grabbed moments when located when sending the mixtape, and to and miss it can be. Still, it’s miles better the latter was on tour in Australia. match them with someone in a different than just blindly stabbing at the words and part of the world.” The thinking was to not hoping for the best. (sandbox is still, 20 One track on the album, ‘Continental just randomly match people up but to find years later, living down the embarrassment Breakfast’, was about trying to hold richer connections between them. of trying to order “a beer with milk” in an together an intercontinental friendship/ The whole look of the site is intentionally Athenian bar.) relationship and proved the inspiration retro, harking back to the tape-trading behind one of the key culture of the 1980s Swedish act Vita Bergen have made a leap parts of the album and 1990s, thick with into the linguistic unknown by using Google – music marketing. inevitable proclamations Translate to rework their song ’Tänd Ljusen’ marketing The that “playlists are the (which Google Translate helpfully tells us campaign Intercontinental new mixtapes.” Users means ‘Light The Lights’/‘Light The Candles’) to explicitly Mixtape Exchange can either pick tracks into a multitude of languages – namely use it. “This Program was from their public playlists English, Spanish and French – and turning this sparked an developed between or build their own from into what they are calling a Translate Tour. idea,” runs Spotify and Matador, allowing users to scratch and drop in the URL, then they On 1st December, the band performed the the Google create mixtapes (well, Spotify playlists, if identify the region they are located in. From English version on the streets of London, the blog. “Might it be possible to use Google we’re being pedantic) and share them with that, a virtual postcard is generated along French version on the streets of Paris and the Translate with the sole purpose of breaking a other users on the other side of the world with a choice of images from your location, Spanish version on the streets of Madrid. All Swedish band internationally?” and they get one back in return. Spotify had having Kurt and Courtney poking out of the performances were live streamed on YouTube. Well, certainly having Google get behind already gone heavy on the mixtape angle corner. If you are happy with it, it’s sent off Google published a blog around the your track and help whip up media and social with its tie in for the Guardians Of The to someone around the world and, like the campaign which was there partly to promote media interest is never going to harm your Galaxy 2 soundtrack this summer, so this days of pen pals, you pray that a) someone the band but also to blow its own trumpet over chances. The problem, of course, is that the can be seen as a twist on that core idea. replies and b) they’re not a crashing bore. significant leaps forward in its Google Neural band risk just becoming known as “that band Spotify was also keen to trumpet its The Spotify blog notes that around 1,000 Machine Translation software. “[T]he tool now that did that thing with Google Translate” and involvement and ran a lengthy blog on playlists had been sent by 22nd November. translates whole sentences at a time, rather could forever live in the shadow of it. the Spotify For Artists site. Rian Fossett, That’s not massive given the size of both of than just piece by piece,” it says. “It uses this It remains to be seen if Google Translate director of marketing at Matador, explained the acts involved (Barnett has just under 1m broader context to figure out the most relevant will break the act. Or if Google Translate has that the idea partly sprang out of necessity monthly listeners on Spotify, while Vile has translation, which it then rearranges and reduced their career to that of a one-meme as Barnett and Vile were only doing a nearly 1.3m), but with this kind of initiative, adjusts to be more like a human speaking with wonder. And if it kills the band’s career, will handful of shows around the album. “We it’s more about quality rather than quantity. proper grammar.” the music industry’s new concern with Google had this tour, and the record, and that was As a campaign, it’s not going to change Amazingly, Google Translate is 11 years old properties now be around the Vowel-You Gap? kind of it,” she said. “So we just put our the world, but maybe some international and this is the first – that we know of, anyway (We are very, very sorry.) heads together over the summer.” friendships can spring out of this.

6 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena AUGOTTA FEELING: BLACK EYED PEAS GO AR BONO MEETS AMAZON-O

What could U2 and Amazon It’s not exactly news that will.i.am an ancient, alien God sent to earth to possibly have in common? Is it the from Black Eyed Peas is all over continue a Black Curse – which turns same thing the band thought they technological developments – some drug dealers and gangsters into had in common with Apple around great and some, well, less great. In zombies!” So now you know. the promotion of their last album? 2011, Intel appointed him as director At the end of November, however, It might just be. of creative innovation and the next they launched a tie-in app (iOS and year he became the first artist to Android) for the graphic novel. The Yes, we are heavy lifting by issuing the “Alexa, play have a song streamed on the surface graphic novel itself costs £20.99 and talking about The U2 Experience” voice command. of Mars (!). the app will set you back a further scale and So if you don’t just want to drive £1.99, so you will really have to be global ubiquity unwelcome guests out of your house He has also created i.am+ which is a into comic book and Black Eyed Peas here. No one by blasting U2 at them (we are joking, “camera enhancer” for the iPhone. to part with that sort of money. mentioned of course), what can you expect from On top of buying IoT companies That said, it does do quite a lot in a flexible this? There are tracks from the new like Wink, he received an Honorary terms of bringing the 2D illustrations approach to pay taxes. Not us. We. Did. Not. album, of course. There are also tracks from Fellowship from the Institution Of to life. R&B/hip-hop superstars Mention. Taxes. Just wanted to make that their catalogue, including a playlist of their 100 Engineering & Technology last year Rakim, Queen Latifah, KRS One and crystal clear. We didn’t mention taxes. Got it? greatest songs, along with historic interviews. for his “outstanding contribution to Mary J Blige all pitch up to provide OK. Good. Additionally, there is a nice chat with the the engineering profession.” voiceovers, the whole thing is The band are keen fans of Big Tech – well, in band and Amazon Music’s global head of The rest of the Peas have been narrated by Marvel lynchpin Stan Lee terms of investing in it via Elevation Partners programming Alex Luke. “This all goes back less concerned with being on the and there’s a score by Hans Zimmer. (as they have done with BlackBerry and to voice innovation, and what we’ve built is an cutting-edge of technology and So you can accuse them of cutting Facebook in the past) rather than necessarily immersive, ephemeral listening experience for have either got on with their solo corners here. using it (as the disastrous iTunes giveaway of our customers,” says Luke. careers (Fergie) or done whatever “You do not put out the same ‘ol Songs Of Innocence in 2014 proves). The U2 Experience was available up until the it is the non-famous members do shit if you’ve been gone for six years,” To promote Songs Of Experience, the release of the album last Friday (1st December) in their down time (the other two). will.i.am told TechCrunch on the companion album to Songs Of Innocence, the and was an interesting partnership between So their latest venture seems app’s release. “You better push the band have learned from past mistakes and are the band and an unapologetically mainstream driven more by will.i.am than the boundaries or do not come out at all.” treating The U2 Experience (a radio-like show retailer. It is also a retailer keen to push its rest of them. There is also a suggestion of an Oculus that will broadcast on a loop through Amazon streaming service in front of a mass audience A brief bit of background. In July VR partnership next year. It might Music in the US, UK, Germany and Austria) as by linking with an unapologetically mainstream this year, they issued a graphic novel be pricey, but they’ve pulled out the an opt-in rather than foisting it on users as band. That said, right at the bottom of the web for Marvel. Masters Of The Sun: The big guns for this one. It’s unlikely to they did on iTunes last time around. page are links to buy the vinyl edition of the Zombie Chronicles, according to the convert anyone to the music of Black Users in those German-speaking markets album as well as a deluxe CD and vinyl box set. blurb on its release, “mixes L.A. Gang Eyed Peas, but as an act prepared to can access the show on their computers or The band might have given their last album culture, B-Boy-ism and Egyptology experiment with technology while not phones whereas those in the UK and US away for free, but they most assuredly would to tell the heroic tale of a Hip-Hop being scared of looking ridiculous, you can get their Echo speakers to do the like you to pay for this one. group from East L.A. who must battle have to salute them.

7 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN CECILIA BARTOLI BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNCECILIA BARTOLI

Gearing up for a more light-hearted album Dolce Duello is the new album from Cecilia Bartoli, Cecilia Bartoli will have been on Decca 30 the Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer years next year. She is a proper heritage and recitalist. This album features cellist Sol artist and one of the world’s greatest opera Gabetta and was positioned as a slightly more stars. She has a huge online following crossover album from a core classical artist. already and has really good digital ESHA GLEN, digital marketing at Decca Classics statistics – nearly 200,000 followers on in the UK, explains why streaming was a bigger Facebook – and we have a really good priority this time, how a virtual ice cream parlour database for her with 16,000 people on it. took on a real-world incarnation in London and She releases an album every three or where a Facebook bot proved more powerful and four years. Normally she does very grand effective than they had anticipated. opera albums – they are full operas, core classical, really serious albums. This album is more of a fun one; so there are tracks from various operas and she’s done a developed a Best Of Cecilia Bartoli playlist collaboration with Sol Gabetta, the famous early last year to try and build up the cellist. It’s more light hearted, but it’s still followers on that to make sure that it on the classical baroque side. was ready in time for the new single and It might be core classical repertoire, but the new album – so that it had a lot of it is probably more accessible compared to followers and would get good traction. some of the big operas that can be several hours long. Each track is around five-to- The first classical bot on Decca seven minutes long. We were posting on her Facebook a lot and She was touring in November with sending out hints to her database. Sol Gabetta so the idea behind it was to We created a bot on Facebook release an album to coincide with the tour. Messenger before the album release. We believe this is a first for a core classical A long run-up to the album allowed time to artist. We have an in-house team who build the streaming numbers built it. I worked closely with getting it set We knew the album was coming in up and getting the subscriber numbers up February and we announced it in before release. September, so we had quite a long lead It is a myth that the classical audience time. In classical, a long lead isn’t online – it massively is. Streaming has time is quite normal. The changed that completely. recordings can take a long time It went really well and we had a very because there are orchestras good pick-up immediately. It was also great involved, and there is lots of platform to promote her Best Of playlist. production involved. We posted about it on her Facebook page Decca has quite a strong presence a few times and put it in her newsletter. We online and on streaming [services]. With also promoted it on Decca Classics. There streaming and classical, we tried to do was relatively little spend involved. quite a lot brand-wise ourselves. We Classic FM picked up on it and wrote an

9 | sandbox | ISSUE 193 | 06.12.2017 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNCECILIA BARTOLI

article about it online. That really helped our numbers. We have a simple welcome message for the bot. When you sign up, it will interact with you and ask you if you want to listen to music or watch a video. It gives you various options, but it is a relatively straightforward message. We tend to broadcast out about once a month – sending a message direct to that fanbase. That is something we’ve had to play with a bit because it is new and we were not sure how the audience was going to react. We found that the more we broadcast, the less the engagement was. But generally the engagement is around 90%. promotion for the album that is only It has huge potential. If that is going to available to people who sign up to the Dolce Duello translates as “sweet continue going forward, it is going to be bot. We’re doing a few things like that but duel”, so we have been playing on that. It’s more beneficial than most of our mailing we are very cautious not to over-spam quite bright album – very pink, blue and lists. We are trying to give fans an incentive people. bubblegummy, so we thought we would that, if they sign up to it, they will get to It is working really well for us. It’s had lend itself very well to that. It was a good know about things first there. For example, a good impact on pre-orders and a good opportunity to play off that because her we launched the dedicated dolceduello. impact on engagement. Facebook is her previous albums have been quite serious. com site through the bot first. main platform, but she recently launched It has been a great platform and so The bot went live on 14th August – so a Twitter account. She started that over A few weeks before the first track was far we’ve had over 3,000 users on it and just before we announced the campaign. the summer. Twitter is the main platform announced, we launched the inside of the an average dwell time of 3 minutes 36 We have over 500 signs ups, which is where everything is from her. shop. It has exclusive content from the seconds, which is really high for a website. incredible. Soon after we built her bot, we did one album, videos and playlists. There are a few People really are engaging with the content The main audience does skew older, for Pavarotti: we will see how that goes. features that we keep adding to – such as on there. but we do have a younger audience as a handwritten note from Cecilia. It is like a The content is all bespoke to the well. Generally, it’s 50+ who are the main The Dolce Duello site and hub for the project. website so you can’t find it anywhere else. Facebook audience. But we do have a good virtual ice cream parlour It is not a D2C play. It was just a place to There are behind-the-scenes clips from a base of students. A lot of universities teach The first big digital initiative was the aggregate content. There is also a game in photoshoot that you might not have seen about her and quite a lot of her super fans dolceduello.com website. the middle where you can make your own before. We are hoping to add more video are in the 18-24 bracket. But mainly it is the That is an online ice cream shop and Dolce Duello ice cream and share that on content as the campaign goes on. older audience using the bot at the moment. that was launched a few days before the your social networks. To link into the tour side, we have a They really enjoy interacting with it. album was announced. We began by just The idea is that if you make an ice Stackla feed go through to one of the We had a pre-order link and whenever showing the outside of the shop and telling cream, you can unlock even more content pictures on the wall of the shop, so for there was an instant grat released, we fans they could see inside the shop first if from the album – like an audio clip from a anyone who has used the #dolceduello would post about it there first. Over they signed up to the database. We drove track that has not been released yet or an hashtag, their images will come up on the Christmas, we’re going to do a 10% off database sign ups that way. exclusive video clip. website. It is a nice hub for everything

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We sent some journalists down to We got a lot of entries through the your email address and we will put make a bit of a PR moment out of it. We bot. People really started to engage with that into our database. They tend to are sharing it online and the ice cream it. We got video messages from the US, perform very well, so we will be doing shop itself has been sharing things on its France and Germany. It did really well. that going forward. socials. It’s around the corner from the We have a competition running Royal Opera House so it is definitely our Physical is still preeminent, through each of the different shows on target audience who will be going there. but streaming is growing the tour venues in Europe. There will be Cecilia still has a very strong physical a competition with them for each of the Letting the super fans hear the album first market. We are doing a special edition nights. Whoever takes the best picture We are running a competition for the fans CD, a normal CD, vinyl and pink vinyl. with the #dolceduello hashtag before or as Cecilia has a lot of die-hard fans. For the There are quite a lot of physical after the concert could win a copy of the previous album, we contacted some of the products there. album. The venues are promoting it on super fans and they wrote nice messages A lot of her fans will buy one of their socials as well. We have created a about the album. Taking that idea but everything as they are such die-hard bespoke tour poster for them to use. changing it for this campaign, we put a fans. It is an interesting experiment We have had about 900 push out on the socials for fans to put to see how it performs. We are doing applications for the quiz so far. their own messages about why they bundles and there are some signed copies as All the applicants have the choice love her and her music. If well on the e-commerce store to sign up to the mailing list in they did that with the we have. order to submit their score, with around Dolce Duello – so not just the #dolceduello hashtag In terms of streaming, she the best score being in with the album but also the tour. they got to listen to the does quite well and digital chance of winning a copy of the full album before it was made up 10% of first-week CD. Of those entries, about half Bringing the ice cream parlour released. We sent them a sales in the UK. She performs signed up to her mailing list. It has into the real world secure streaming link to really well on Spotify and on been a great way to get new people signed The ice cream shop actually launched on hear it. This has worked Apple Music . up. She has a really healthy mailing list 27th November and ran all that week. We really well internationally. On playlists, instrumental anyway, but it is still useful to do things took over Gelatorino in Covent Garden Her main markets are music tends to work better like this. ahead of her concert in London that Friday. Germany and France as well than vocals. But even so We have already announced one of the They made bespoke Dolce Duello as quite a lot of Europe. As it her streaming stats are way winners, but we’re going to keep it running ice cream and we put vouchers on the is a European tour, we have bigger than any other artist over Christmas when people have a bit website, so once fans made their own got quite a lot of the local we have. But she is mainly on more time. We will do a second batch of [virtual ice cream] they could claim a free markets on board and they the core classical and opera winners next year. :) one in Covent Garden. are writing local language posts for her playlists; she is still firmly in that world. We took over one of their ice cream Facebook to promote the competition. flavours and all of the cups came with the We were struggling a bit to get people Using a quiz mechanic to engage the fans WANT TO FEATURE IN #dolceduello hashtag. The ideas that fans to enter and that was by communicating to We have a quiz that we are going to BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? can take pictures with them and show them people on the socials. But the week before release. It’s quite an old-school idea, Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working on the socials. Using the Stackla feed, anyone the album was released, I tried messaging but it works quite well for our audience. on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Campaign sandbox who shares the pictures through their it out on our Facebook bot just to see what Because Cecilia will have been on the in a future edition of ? If so, send a brief synopsis of socials will be featured online as well. That the reaction would be. That end up being label 30 years next year, we thought it it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your work (and your is a theme within her website which traces the saviour for us and we had a great would be a good idea to do a quiz about words) could appear here. hashtags and pulls the information through. reaction globally. her. To enter the quiz, you have to give Email: [email protected]

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