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Home , Long Ambients 2, Music video, Vertical video

05-06 Tools Hive 07-08 Campaigns , Above & Beyond, Chance The Rapper, Slipknot 09–13 Behind The Campaign- AVICII

AUGUST 07 2019 sandboxMUSIC FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 234 COVERFEATURE

M2V

THE NEW ERA OF

It is a sign of the increasingly visual world in which we Net’ benefits: Thom Yorke – Anima / that most artists wouldn’t consider releasing a 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 or a budget-stretching , 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 film, it inspired a fair amount of Shark’ clips. than ever to watch music videos, with the recent arrival jealousy in the . 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 And yet it is hard to see too many acts being 2)To mark Prime Day 2019, 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, don’t 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 for visual (alongside, I don’t think it competes with video wouldn’t. original music video content. maybe, ’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 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

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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,” ’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 – ‘’ 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. “It felt like it was set up – like Obviously, having a video shot by your

3 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 COVERFEATURE son offers both a great deal of cuteness and behind-the-scenes access. But a video like this also offers a very natural, phone- friendly edge, giving viewers something that feels natural. On , this approach gives the sense that the artist has taken a video and then sent it straight to the fans’ phone.” Ross adds, “It is about where you view things. If it is on Netflix, you are talking about watching on TV. YouTube, maybe it is on your laptop. But if you are watching something on your phone, you want it to look like a photo or a video made on your phone. You want that organic feeling. That is music industry’s limited sorties into most interesting thing about the video why the content works: it feels VR. And ‘Stonemilker’, whose video is who made it, namely YouTube as its natural to your device.” takes the viewer onto the beach inaugural Artist Spotlight video, and what See also: the video for ’s ‘Wait’, songs and just shut it off at 60 seconds.” where the song first came to Björk, seems this potentially means for labels. which was shot entirely in . It was a hugely clever move, one that like the best example from the album. Björk “A few years ago, it felt like every tied into the popularity of Instagram, video even managed to parlay the interest in her track and every video had to have its Wait a minute: in general and the viral appeal of such an VR work into a globe-trotting exhibition own behind-the-scenes clip and Tierra Whack – Whack World unusual move. Sure enough, it helped to that ran for more than two years to paying record companies were paying for it. It 8) Tierra Whack’s 2018 debut album launch Tierra’s career and, if few people audiences. was a big cost for labels,” says Ross. “If Whack World is a 15-track visual album have copied the move, you can there are And yet it still seems far from clear as YouTube are paying, that is a huge relief released (primarily) as Instagram videos, hundreds of marketing executives trying to to whether or not VR will actually make an for labels.” :) with each track just one minute long, in think of a Whack World-type play for their impact on the music industry, despite initial keeping with Instagram’s time restrictions. new act. enthusiasm. “A lot of the problem with VR “I was driving myself crazy and then my See also: Jaden Smith, who released is that it is an isolated experience,” says engineer – who’s working closely with me – Syre: The Electric Album, a five-track EP of Ross. “It’s not something you share.” was like, ‘We got to find a way, ‘cause you’re new versions of tracks from his 2017 Syre so fucking moody and doing something album, initially on Instagram TV, before a What’s up, doc?: different every ten fucking seconds, or wider release. – Made in Miami changing your mind up, or whatever,’” 10)Made in Miami is not a Tierra Whack explained to Billboard. “So we MT-VR: Björk – ‘Stonemilker’ traditional song promo. Instead, this looked at Instagram and Instagram is 60 It seems wrong to compile a list of 17-minute video tracks Cabello’s life seconds. We were like, ‘, let’s do a song 9)notable music videos of the last few story, from Cuba to Miami and on to that’s a collection of 60 seconds and just years and not include from Björk’s pop success. The documentary itself is rock out.’ So I started to record 60-second Vulnicura, by far the most successful of the interesting enough. And yet perhaps the

4 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 TOOLS HIVE

Hive began in the influencer marketing when your subscribers complete actions or space but now its focus is email match certain conditions. Triggers include marketing with social media add-ons. fans engaging with contests, downloads, What stands out about Hive is an intuitive signup forms, making a purchase, interface that takes a lot of the pain out abandoning carts or browsing products. of D2F messaging. After that, you can add global rules – .g. if the trigger refers to a purchase, the When using it, there are three main rule could be based on the order value or components – contacts, send emails and only the inclusion of specific items. These collect emails. email journeys will help you to manage conversations with your fans based 1. Contacts on their engagements so that you can continue to nurture these relationships. Contact lists come pre-populated with the A very useful tool that Hive provides following segments: active subscribers; is its deliverability rating, evaluating the at-risk subscribers; inactive subscribers; likelihood of the emails landing in your invalid subscribers; and new subscribers. subscribers’ inboxes. With 10/10 being The platform also allows you to create the best score, Hive then gives you tips on static segments that can be controlled One of Hive’s newest features is how to improve your deliverability to make manually as well as live segments that that the platform will show you your sure your email arrives in each subscriber’s automatically update based on rules subscribers’ engagement levels and total inbox. This could be things like keeping the you set. Arguably the most interesting spent after navigating to your contact list. amount of links within the email body low, part of the segmentation feature is the This makes it very similar to Klaviyo, pulling only sending emails to active subscribers or ability to create a segment based on your in complete profiles for your contacts, personalising emails based on segments. audience’s influence level – e.g. “users who including publicly available data such as are in the top X% of influential fans”. This first and last names, location, age, gender 3. Collect emails means that you can specifically target your and social handles as well as an overview most influential fans with personalised of your generated revenues. This allows for Hive has a few solutions to help you emails, therefore establishing fruitful better segmentation, filling in existing data capture additional emails. There are relationships with them that could be a gaps and providing you with a more holistic A/B test campaigns allowing users to signup forms that you can either powerful force for your release campaigns. view of your individual fans. test multiple variants of an email to help embed on your website or create splash It has to be noted, though, that this you optimise your open rates and clicks. pages for. You can also easily create integration only covers , Twitter 2. Send emails Elements you can play around with include contests and integrate them within and SoundCloud because Instagram has your subject line, the preview text, the your email marketing campaigns, based revoked access to its API, something Your email campaigns can be targeted “from” name and the overall template. on a template the platform provides, which arguably lessens the power of this towards different segments, with the By creating email journeys for your controlling the formatting with markdown segmentation feature. company recently having implemented subscribers, you can send emails based on syntax.

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10k subscribers, so you will need to pay this amount even if you only have a couple of hundred subscribers. This starter tier also

comes with Hive’s branding, so if you’re keen on a solution without the platform’s branding, you will need to upgrade to at least its ‘growth’ tier which costs $289 a month for If you’re not familiar with how to use to provide fans with gated content that can to make it as easy as possible for potential 10k-30k subscribers. markdown syntax, Hive links out to a concise be accessed by signing up to your database new users to migrate from another email On Mailchimp, for instance, you can get blog post to help you get started. On the or alternatively using this content as bait, marketing platform to Hive through custom branding capabilities within its most basic tier of Hive, you can add a title, adding fans to your remarketing pool after onboarding and custom implementation ‘essentials’ plan that is available for $74.99 description, banner, change the ‘Enter they’ve clicked on the link. plans, as well as making sure that users for up to 10k subscribers. Its ‘growth’ Contest’ button colour and choose between Considering the fact that Hive already understand how to use the platform with and ‘business’ tiers are priced lower having a dark background with light text or boasts this integrated link shortener training services. than Mailchimp’s with advanced CRM light background with dark text. and works with clients like Universal and capabilities that resemble more expensive You will also be able to add a custom Warner, one wonders how this could be Pricing services like Klaviyo. opt-in and choose which contact used to offer a fully fledged smart link and So if you’re looking for an easy-to-use segments the users will be added to. pre-save service built into the platform. When you compare Hive to Mailchimp, (yet advanced) email marketing service There are advanced options available, but Beyond these three key components, Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign, it becomes clear without the need for a highly sophisticated these will require you to upgrade your it is also important to look at services that these other platforms are much more marketing automation service then Hive account. This includes removing Hive’s and pricing. accessible or dynamic regarding their pricing. could be a good solution for you. logo from the contest, letting fans sign Both Mailchimp and Klaviyo offer a However, bear in mind that the entry- in via Facebook and the integration of Services free tier, with Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign level tier is quite costly unless you already remarketing pixels. basing their pricing dynamically on your have close to 10k subscribers. If you are There are two additional email capture Hive offers a few services to entice new subscriber count. Hive is more limited in that interested in Hive, you can activate a free methods – namely polls and a link customers to test drive it. At the heart of respect. Hive’s most basic offering starts seven-day trial on their website. shortener. The link shortener could be used these services is the idea that they want with a price point of $79 a month for up to www.hive.co. :)

6 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing ED SHARING: SINGER GOES HEAVY ON EXCHANGING CONTENT CALMING INFLUENCE: ABOVE & BEYOND RELEASE ALBUM THROUGH MEDITATION APP Ed Sheeran famously Oddly, it does disappeared completely not recommend a Electronic act Above & to use the app as part of their from social media specific hashtag when Beyond are putting out their music marketing. beat between the end of sharing clips (sandbox new album, Flow State, via them to it back in March when his Multiply album hereby grants meditation app Calm. The he made his Long Ambients 2 campaign and the WMG permission album is also available as a album available exclusively on start of his Divide to use #EdSharing continuous mix on YouTube. Calm for the first 30 days of its album campaign. But retrospectively if it release. The company said at the transition from wishes). But another They are no strangers to the time that its Calm Music Divide into his No.6 Sheeran sharing this world and had already section, launched 18 months Collaborations Project initiative does put soundtracked a yoga previously, had generated album in July was hashtags at the centre session at Burning Man over 150m streams from a swift and he has been of what it is doing. back in 2014. They have also 200-track catalogue of music going heavy on the social media To promote ‘Beautiful People’, partnered with Daybreaker for sleeping, focusing, relaxing marketing for it, with sharing of his collaboration with Khalid, he to run a series of listening and listening to “nature music clips being central. has set up a TikTok challenge parties and festival sessions melodies”. (something that has fast become where Flow State will be Then last month, Sigur The first thing of note is the the marketing essential of 2019). the to yoga Rós launched a ‘Liminal launch of the Ed No. 6 app for Using the #BeautifulPeople sessions hosted by Sleep’ playlist within iOS and Android (initially only hashtag, fans are invited to local yogis in a range the Calm app as an available in Australia). Warner upload videos that celebrate the of cities including exclusive. Music Australia has worked with “beautiful people” in their lives. , Miami, London, Calm had also local B2B firm Tuned Global to Mawkishness aside, it’s a smart Mexico City, raised $88m in a new build the app and it allows fans use of the video app and allows and Amsterdam. funding round in to record videos, add the music for use of the track in the clips “With the Flow February and Moby from any of the 15 songs from his latest themselves. State project, we was merely the first album and then share the results on their It is there to draw attention to the fact want to help bring act to benefit from its social media platforms. that Sheeran himself has only just set up people’s attention and focus towards heavy push into music. That has now carried “You can create epic selfies, sing along an official TikTok account and he’ll pick his helping themselves find better mental over to the Above & Beyond partnership, by with his collaborators, create your own favourite submissions from the challenge fitness and overall happiness in life,” said way of Sigur Rós. It is good to see companies dances and share all of this with your (and he even joined in himself). What is most Paavo Siljamaki from Above & Beyond. putting a long-term commitment into friends,” is how the app’s official page on surprising here is less that it has clearance “Through raised awareness, being more things here rather than – as is too often the WMG Australia’s website puts it. Should any for the use of audio and more that it’s present, one can reach a state of flow: a way in the quick-fire world of gimmick-led of his fans be copyright lawyers, the site is taken this long for Sheeran to get on TikTok creative and free state of mind where time, marketing – do something clever and new also at pains to point out that the clips are all given how skilled he’s been at social media fear and stress dissipate.” for the headlines but then never going near cleared for use this way (“100% legally”). throughout his career. They are not, however, the first musicians it again.

7 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena

HEAVY LYFT-ING: CHANCE THE RAPPER OFFERS IF YOU DON’T MASK, YOU DON’T GET: SLIPKNOT OFFER VIRTUAL FACADES ALBUM THROUGH RIDE-SHARING APP Like Kiss, and the Covered shot of it and share it to your news feed downloading the album was encouraged Man (spoiler: it was David Soul) before or your Stories on Facebook. Videos get to make a donation to his non-profit them, Slipknot built their image on no ‘Unsainted’ as the soundtrack before organisation, New Chance: Arts & one being able to see their faces. While being shared. Literature Fund. “I want as many people as Kiss were glorified pantomime dames, It was created by Firepit (with Warner possible to have access to my music,” said The Residents were committed avant- Music UK) for WMG and Roadrunner US, Chance on a blog on the Lyft website. gardists and the Covered Man was plain with the band’s management also being “After working with Chance the Rapper daft, Slipknot’s use of masks was, frankly, involved in its development. to create an episode of Undercover Lyft disquieting in the extreme. “The band’s visual call-out is their in support of Chicago Public Schools, we masks; they change them on every album were excited to continue our collaboration To push their new single, ‘Unsainted’, and are very discrete on their reveals,” by partnering on his first official album they have decided to let fans join in with Francesca Gaymor from Firepit Technology with riders and drivers at the center of the face-covering hi-jinks by plonking a told Music Ally. “It’s more than just the the experience,” says Austin Schumacher, virtual mask on themselves through the music these days. Fans are wanting more the head of culture and entertainment at Facebook Camera on their phones. from the artist and are looking for a more Lyft in the same blog post. “From cassette There are 10 different masks to immersive listening experience. With AR tapes to passing the aux cord, music and choose from – one each for nine different technology, it does just that, it allows the driving have always gone hand in hand, members of the band plus an extra one. artist to reach out and interact with you on and we wanted to create a new in-car Once you are happy with the way the a much deeper level.” This really does appear to be the time for experience. We’re thrilled to partner with mask sits on your face, you can take a This is not a new idea, with face filters musicians to put music out through non- Chance again, and to continue supporting providing much of music apps. artists who share our values to highlight their the appeal on an app work and the causes they believe in.” like Snapchat. And Chance The Rapper has partnered with Lyft, It is part of a blossoming relationship yet, when considering the ride-sharing app, to make his The Big between Chance and Lyft. Last year, he just how much the Day album available through it. What was took part in Undercover Lyft in support of band and their image different about this was that Lyft users and Chicago Public Schools where he worked as connect with their fans, Lyft drivers in the US and had a limited a Lyft driver to surprise fans in his home this is one of the better window in which to download the album for town of Chicago. uses of this technology. free via the Lyft app. As the album None of this is played was a giveaway, it would not count for laughs or for “the towards the US charts. cute factor” and it’s Not that Chance The Rapper the – let’s be honest cares as it was not merely a – terrifying results that smart – it also had a makes this all work as philanthropic side to it. Anyone well as it does.

8 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN AVICII Photo: Sean Eriksson BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNAVICII

Tim Bergling, better known as electronic artist Avicii, tragically passed away in April 2018. He was working on music before his death and his family took the decision that it should be released. The album TIM came out on 6th June this year and its promotion had to be handled with sensitivity and respect. EDDIE PERSSON (head of Creative Labs, Universal Music Sweden), JOSEFIN LUNDGREN (project manager, Creative Labs, Universal Music Sweden) and TED CRIBORN, (creative lead, Creative Labs, Universal Music Sweden) talk about working with Avicii’s family to get the tone right and how the idea of a physical cube in six major cities came about to show how he connected people through his music.

The difficult decision to release the album posthumously EP: Everything started with the Bergling family’s wish to release the music Tim was working on at the time of his passing. Creative Labs, Universal Music Sweden executives and the family sat down together to talk about how we could make sure that the release would honour Tim in the best way possible and pay tribute to his fans for their enormous love and support during this difficult time. The family has been highly involved in everything. It has been important for

Photos: Sean Eriksson

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us to get their blessing on all aspects of time. A lot of effort went into a system that the project and to get their feedback. We would see the other person’s hand have been aligned in our vision from start next to yours while the music played inside to finish. the cube. We assembled a team of people who had worked with Avicii and his music TC: The cube idea felt very natural to us for many years with the brief of creating because it was a way for us to bring fans something for the community based on closer together. This simple expression of transparency and honesty as well as placing your hand on someone else’s hand creating a way to experience the new music is really powerful – especially when you are beyond just sound. feeling sad or have lost something. The strategy for the whole release and memory board on avicii.com. He said, For us to enable that in a way where our campaign work started in November “Tim’s music connected people.” These people in different parts of the world could had our first meetings. By stories made it clear that Avicii had played share a moment together [was important]. February, we had entered a proper an important role in people’s lives all over They may never have met, but they share production phase. the world. a taste in music and they share their love This was something our creatives really for Avicii. This was about being able to give Announcing that a new album was coming wanted to build upon – which developed into them a moment together as well as giving EP: The information about new music the cube concept. For us, the campaign was them the chance to hear the music. That felt came from the family. It was important a celebration of the power to connect people like the perfect way for us to use our skills that they were the first to communicate through music: six physical installations and our time to help them be part of this. this since it was their decision. They placed around the world that chose not to communicate through would only play music if two Having something exist in the physical Avicii’s social channels on this project, so people in different parts of the world was at the heart of the idea the news was sent out as a press release world stepped inside a cube TC: We wanted this to be something really – which, of course, quickly got picked up in the mourning phase. We all felt really and placed their hands on special. We also wanted people who weren’t by fans and media. sad. the Avicii symbol at the same necessarily Avicii fans to at least see that Instagram was his biggest platform something had happened and to be able to and he used that as his personal account. EP: When we started to think about this it have a conversation around it. That is really Everyone felt that we should leave that was a big challenge, of course. We didn’t hard if it is only digital – because then it is alone and not communicate via those have many other ideas that we thought just something for the core fans. [personal] channels when it came to this. could work for this project. Avicii for Sweden, and for music in general, is just so big. He is known by Developing the idea for the TC: If we could do something for every generation. He is probably as big as cube in six cities to create a sense the fans and do something that ABBA. That is why we went for physical of connection between fans helped the family in any way, that installations. We felt this was bigger TC: We thought a lot at the beginning is what we should aim towards. than his younger fans and his core about how we should approach it fans. We wanted this to be felt because it was all so close to many of us EP: Tim’s father, Klas, told us in our initial throughout the world and for older who had been working for many years meeting that he and the family had been generations to be able to witness with Avicii. Our reaction initially was: how very touched by all the stories people had what is the end of an era, really. can we even do marketing? We were still emailed him and submitted through the

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EP: We wanted people to know JL: The development time that with the sadness they had wasn’t actually that long. We in their hearts from Tim’s passing started it in February and we and the joy from hearing his had to make sure all the cubes new music echoed all over the reached their final destinations world, that they were not alone well in time before the actual and that the best way to heal is activation. We sent them all off often together as a community. in early May. Of course by then The cubes enabled that human the app and all the lighting connection between fans no design had to be completely matter the distance between finished. It was built in three them. We hope it helped people in months – including all the a small but meaningful way. testing. [The cubes around the world were open The technology behind the cubes to anyone but in Tokyo had to be EP: It was key to us that the experience was Measuring the success of the cubes run on a lottery system to help control the same in all the cubes, so we built the EP: Approximately 2m people passed by numbers.] cubes as modules in Stockholm where the cubes during the weekend they were everything was tested before it was shipped active and 16,000 people were able to get JL: That is because it was in the shopping off to each destination and assembled there. inside and experience the cube first hand. mall in Shibuya in Tokyo. There were four This made the project more expensive, but it We were very honoured to see Aloe Blacc, entrances to four different subway lines, so was necessary to ensure the quality. Spotify the vocalist on ‘SOS’ and ‘Wake Me Up’, it was the authorities in Tokyo who felt that Sweden came on board and opened up visit the Tokyo cube and connect with fans there would be too many people in the spot to enable this to happen. around the world. At least 40m people saw and they didn’t want it to be too crowded. In The core of the experience was a clips and content from the cube on social order to not have complete chaos, they had custom-built mobile app [running on media and YouTube. to select people to access the cube. Android]. Swedish agency Causality developed the actual app for us and they TC: When we got the video footage from Picking the six cities that worked very closely with us on it. Creative the different cities and when we saw would host the cubes Labs did all of the UX and design, overseeing the actual people there – we had asked JL: Of course there are key markets for how it should look and feel to use it. the different territories to document Avicii; but this was also about real-time When the visitor placed their hand on the weekend – we were blown away by connections. We needed at least two the big touchscreen, the app connected to a people’s reactions. Their expression when cubes in each time zone – otherwise you server, which sent out signals to all the other they connected with someone was, for me, would have no one to connect with for screens around the world. When two nodes the only thing we needed. large parts of the day during the opening were connected through the hands of the hours. So Tokyo and Sydney connected; visitors, the server picked a track to play in JL: I was standing outside the Stockholm and London connected; and real time. cube in Stockholm that weekend São Paulo and New York connected. The The experience was enhanced further watching people exiting from it and cubes were open for 10 hours each day so with the app playing sound effects, everyone was smiling. They had that meant you were able to connect to controlled lighting design and visualisation these almost magical expressions New York and São Paulo from Stockholm on a world map where the person you on their faces. That was truly as well during certain hours. connected to was located. remarkable and very, very touching.

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EP: We definitely felt that connecting with someone and hearing the music for the first THE ROLE OF CREATIVE LABS time was going to be powerful; but I don’t think we anticipated that it would be as big WITHIN UMG SWEDEN as it was. TC: Creative Labs started When we talked about the idea at the five years ago. It is a beginning, we definitely felt there was creative agency that sits something there. We thought it could within Universal Music become powerful – but you never know Sweden. We have three until you see it up and running. It was functions: creative; overwhelming for all of us. design; and content Ted provided really good copy around it. Every single word has been thought through production. Everyone at for a long time. We were very happy with the Creative Labs has been hired from outside of the music results. industry. Most people had previously been working at design agencies or creative agencies. We built this Creating mini documentaries department in Sweden for us to be able to provide that on the making of the album service to artists signed to Universal Music Sweden in EP: In the first meeting, Tim’s family order to create better ways to expose their music. We only told us that they wanted to release the work on Universal Music artists [not external ones]. music. A few days after that meeting, Stepping back to let fans we presented the strategy that, if we live with the album EP: Nowadays we work with all artists signed to Universal were going to do it, we were going to do EP: We needed to create this [the cube and Music Sweden – but on different levels. For artists signed it for the fans. We had to be 100% open the documentaries] at the beginning of the to us who have global potential, we work very closely about which songs had been completely phase. But I think it is important now to get finished, which songs needed to be the fans to live with the music for a while with them from the beginning of the project. We are finished or mixed and so on. We had to and to experience it. Our biggest focus was a part of setting the design strategy and the overall put all our cards on the table for everyone on the introduction part of the new music. It strategy around the communication of the project. We to see. is all very sensitive and we wanted to make are also part of creating the concepts and executing Each song we released came with a sure people had all the pieces to understand on the ideas and the vision that we set together with mini documentary . Sometimes it is how the album was created. the artist. with the vocalist, but often it is with the Everything we have done so far has been producers. They talk about how long they around transparency. We wanted to be as had worked with Tim and the memories open as possible with all the decisions that WANT TO FEATURE IN they cherished of that time. They talk were made, how the music was finalised BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? about the specifics of the songs and what and how you could experience the music Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working Tim was aiming for. together with other fans. on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Campaign They also talk about the process Everyone who has worked on this project in a future edition of sandbox? If so, send a brief synopsis of of finishing the songs. This was an are people who were very close to Avicii and it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your work (and your important part of the project as it the vision he had from the beginning. I think words) could appear here. answered a lot of questions we knew that is one of the reasons why it became Email: [email protected] people would have. what it is. :)

Photos: Sean Eriksson 13 | sandbox | ISSUE 234 | 07.08.2019 ABOUTSANDBOX

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