05-06 Tools Hive 07-08 Campaigns Ed Sheeran, Above & Beyond, Chance The Rapper, Slipknot 09–13 Behind The Campaign- AVICII AUGUST 07 2019 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 234 COVERFEATURE M2V THE NEW ERA OF MUSIC VIDEOS It is a sign of the increasingly visual world in which we Net’ benefits: Thom Yorke – Anima / live that most artists wouldn’t consider releasing a song Kid Cudi – Entergalactic these days without some sort of visual accompaniment, 1)When Anima, Thom Yorke’s third solo at the start of 2019) and a certain prestige be it the humble pack shot video or a budget-stretching album, arrived out of the blue at the end of that you don’t get with slinging your video June 2019, accompanied by a 12-minute onto YouTube alongside hand-made ‘Baby VR effort. At the same time, there are now more places Netflix film, it inspired a fair amount of Shark’ clips. than ever to watch music videos, with the recent arrival jealousy in the music industry. Not only The following month it was announced of Thom Yorke’s Anima video on Netflix serving as a does Netflix typically offer cold, hard cash that Kid Cudi’s new album, Entergalactic, reminder that, even today, there are still new territories upfront for video content (we don’t know for would also have a Netflix presence. The for the music video to explore and conquer. With this sure that this was the case with Anima, as rapper has teamed up with Kenya Bariss, Yorke’s management would not comment the creator of TV show Black-ish, to create in mind, sandbox brings you its guide to M2V: The New on the deal terms – but it seems extremely an animated Netflix series, also called Era Of Music Videos. likely), it also has scale (139m subscribers Entergalactic, that will feature music from 1 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 COVERFEATURE the album, while Netflix will air Sound & Fury be seeing too many music videos taking the Veni, vidi, visual: this autumn, an anime film accompanying Netflix route, regardless of the success of Beyoncé – Lemonade / a new album from country artist Sturgill Anima et al. 3)Pixx – ‘Disgrace’ (lyric video) Simpson. Using the ‘rule of three’, we can say that Prime cuts: a trio of Netflix shows is definitely a trend. Various – Prime Day Concert And yet it is hard to see too many acts being 2)To mark Prime Day 2019, Amazon able to follow this route, given Netflix’s held a Prime Day Concert in New York, exclusivity. starring Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA and “Anima only works because of how it Becky G. Fans could watch the concert was produced, with [director] Paul Thomas live or later on-demand on Amazon Prime Anderson, and I don’t think many people Video, Amazon’s increasingly popular would be able to do that,” says Patrick Ross, VOD service, whose US audience alone is SVP of digital strategy at music:)ally. “It’s estimated at 26m. hard to get things onto Netflix.” What’s As with Anima, the interest here lay more, Ross says the arty Anima format lent not so much in what the video was but in the importance of YouTube for music itself towards Netflix’s big-screen viewing where it was available, the release marking Beyoncé’s acclaimed Lemonade remains the consumption. “YouTube is about discovery. experience in a way that, say, a cheap lyric Prime Video’s first notable excursion into gold standard for visual albums (alongside, I don’t think it competes with Spotify video wouldn’t. original music video content. maybe, Frank Ocean’s Endless). And yet on the same level. It is a very different At the same time, putting your video on Amazon certainly got behind the film, you don’t have to be a wealthy megastar listening experience,” he says. “You have to Netflix means sacrificing YouTube scale for plastering it on the Prime Video launch to release a visual album, whatever the have a visual for everything anyway. Some Netflix cash. “Netflix pays up front to have page for millions of users. Beyoncé hype might imply. In fact, artists people put together a concept to link all your content for a time and it can’t be on And yet working with Amazon in this of all sizes and shapes are releasing full the videos.” other streaming sites,” says Ross. “And way brings up certain problems, according video accompaniments to their albums, there are no analytics at all on Netflix.” to Isabelle Ljungqvist, digital marketing taking advantage of YouTube’s role as a M(eme)TV: Drake – ‘Hotline Bling’ / We’re probably not, in other words, going to coordinator, music:)ally. platform for music discovery. These can Lil Nas X – ‘Old Town Road’ be everything from lyric videos to arty 4)When the Grammy Awards inevitably visualiser clips, which US singer Banks rolls out its award for most meme-friendly recently released to accompany songs from her third album, III. In doing this, artists help to establish a connection with fans, as well as furthering their own visual identity. Pixx, who records for UK indie label 4AD, has created videos for every track on her second album, Small Mercies, despite not exactly enjoying Beyoncé-sized budgets. “I wanted there to be visual content for the whole album, like lyric videos because I love lyrics, it’s like my favourite part of music really,” she told Alt Citizen. music:)ally’s Ross says that these low-budget visual albums underline 2 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 COVERFEATURE they wanted to create viral content,” says if you had watched videos with similar music:)ally marketing executive Marlen music, so the YouTube algorithms were in Hüllbrock. “It didn’t feel genuine.” our favour for some reason,” Boy Pablo’s And, yes, you can call us cynical. But manager Fabio said in a 2017 interview with this certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Complex. “From there, we started getting music industry had taken advantage of 40-50,000 views per day, which has a direct wide-eyed fans. correlation with all the streaming services Pablo’s music is available through. So in a Algorithm nation: matter of just a few days, all of Pablo’s songs Boy Pablo – ‘Everytime’ are performing way better than normal.” 6)Boy Pablo’s 2017 video ‘Everytime’ music:)ally’s Ross says the video “hit the is also known as the clip that made every sweet spot of algorithms”. indie musician seethe with envy, thanks to “It was so organic,” he adds. “There is the way it seemed to magically dominate something about it: it captured people’s YouTube algorithms, popping up in the attentions across genre. It felt so natural; no “recommended videos” tab with startling one felt like it was being shoved down their regularity upon release. throats.” Even now, no one quite knows why. Even Boy Pablo’s manager proclaimed himself video, there will be a lifetime achievement have showcased the power of the meme, confused by the success in a 2017 interview for Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling,’ a 2016 clip that this remains a difficult path for marketers – although it is likely to have something – intentionally or not – rode the crest of to tread: a video that is too obviously to do with the fact that the song’s gentle the meme wave to sensational results, desperate for meme attention will put nature and kooky video made people watch dragging the song behind it. Whether Drake many viewers off. it to the end. Combine this with the organic and Director X, who helmed the video, boost from a popular Reddit thread and you intended this meme-ability or not – X has Virality vitality: Sigrid – have (potentially) an algorithmic monster. said he didn’t – it undoubtedly changed ‘Mine Right Now’ “The real boost hit […] was a result the video game, with directors outdoing 5)A close cousin of the meme-friendly of YouTube adding the video as a themselves to create memorable moments video is the promo created for viral effect. recommendation on people’s front page for their acts. While we can’t be entirely sure, many UK pop act Little Mix also seem to have people suspect that Sigrid’s ‘Mine Right Natural ingredients: hit a rich seam of virality in their videos, Now’ falls into this category. The story Anderson .Paak – ‘Tints’ particularly ‘Power’ with Stormzy. goes that a series of delayed flights led the 7)Anderson .Paak’s 2018 track ‘Tints’ One artist who definitely did shoot for Norwegian singer to miss the video shoot has no fewer than three official videos: the this effect was Lil Nas X, who purposefully for this song, with director Mac Siedentopf big-budget promo; the official lyric video; created a meme-friendly video for ‘Old appearing instead as her stand-in. Cue and a vertical video that was shot by the Town Road’ on TikTok in an ultimately very predictable laughs as he attempts to artist’s son Saul to widespread media successful bid to make his song into a hit. “I recreate Sigrid’s dance routines, a viral attention and a great deal of cooing. (The promoted the song as a meme for months sensation and 833k views in a month. video even opens with the message: “This until it caught on to TikTok and it became And yet many people weren’t convinced video may cause motion sickness, as it was way bigger,” he told Time. by the story, suspicious that this was a little filmed by a seven-year-old.”) While ‘Hotline Bling’ and ‘Old Town Road’ too perfect.