06-07 Campaigns Gaming, Jonas Brothers, Monstercat 08–12 Behind The Campaign- JVG JULY 10 2019 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 232 SURE SHOT music marketing in Trigger Cities COVERFEATURE “Platforms want content that draws and investigation, Jenkins concluded that Latin retains active users to their app and, ideally, American and Southeast Asian Trigger make subscribers out of them. Platform Cities – such as Mexico City, Santiago, São algorithms raise high-performing tracks to Paulo and Bangkok – tend to engage with the top of the pile and are all – to varying new or emerging artists more rapidly, no SURE SHOT degrees – global and location-agnostic,” he matter where that artist might actually argues. come from. This engagement would then “Silos of music consumption – formerly often be followed by rapid engagement in outlined by national economies, cultural/ other Trigger Cities, eventually including the regional tastes, language and old-school artist’s home market. media formats – are rapidly becoming a Jenkins tells sandbox that this shift has thing of the past. What an Indonesian come about because of the increasingly hipster finds for free on globalised music industry and the changing SoundCloud might soon be played nature of influence. “The global music by a Spotify Premium For Family industry, which is Western European and teenage user in Iowa next week. North American in its focus, has really only Maybe the same day.” been concerned with about 30 different markets. That’s because predominantly music marketing in Trigger Cities Firing up the Trigger Cities it was not profitable for large global corporations or smaller independent Trigger Cities are those metropolitan areas outside of the In its blog, Chartmetric introduces the companies to operate in smaller markets. top global markets where users can and do latch onto concept of Trigger Cities – cities that latch In the past you had to send in physical songs early and trigger algorithms on platforms like Spotify onto new songs early on and play them product as manufacturing locally in a small incessantly, thus triggering algorithms on market was rarely worthwhile,” he explains. and YouTube to give them global momentum. We look at streaming platforms that surface these “That began to change with Napster this new phenomenon, how it is changing the promotional songs to global users, thereby creating a [in 1999]. Two things happened: people centre of gravity for the music business, why everything play count snowball effect. This is a similar globally were able to get hold of any music has to be global and how the Western music industry can kind of argument to the one we have they wanted. And for the first time, people make the most of this new wave of early adopters who heard around YouTube and Latin music: who listened to music were connecting economic factors mean that Latin American with other people who listened to music were previously off their radar. music fans tend to over-index on YouTube anywhere in the world.” where streaming is free, with their support Today, he adds, this kind of connection triggering global momentum behind Latin has become the norm. “The nature of PART I: HOW TRIGGER CITIES WORK music on the platform. friendship and the nature of influence is In 2018, Chartmetric partner and very different,” Jenkins says. “[Before] I hen we think of global music cities, industry gatekeepers dictated which songs advisor Chaz Jenkins identified the top would influence my four friends and we our attention tends to go to New had a strong chance of becoming hits. five Spotify cities and top 10 YouTube would influence each other in terms of our WYork, London, Los Angeles, Stockholm In the globally connected and stylistically cities of 40 artists (largely from the US and Berlin – the kinds of places that are adventurous modern music industry, and UK) who broke through in Western home to strong A&R bases, traditional however, where all streams are created markets in 2017 and 2018. He found that media and big music companies. It is the equal, such thinking may be a little old few artists were exclusively popular in kind of thinking that made a lot of sense hat, as Chartmetric music data storyteller the US and/or UK, with most enjoying a in the analogue world, where traditional Jason Joven argued in a recent blog. wider international success. After more 1 | sandbox | ISSUE 232 | 10.07.2019 COVERFEATURE musical taste. Young people today, with within a week they will have engagement hundreds or thousands of friends who they in Jakarta, they will have engagement in are connected to on socials and possibly Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. All these who they have never met, means the level people follow very, very quickly. That seems of influence they have over each other is to be because of this very viral social much more limited because there are so behaviour.” many of them. But they have influence; and they have influence on a global level. That’s The per-stream the basis of the Trigger Cities.” payment puzzle Latin America and Southeast Of course, eagle-eyed readers may point Asia as the new centres of out that not all streams pay the same and gravity for social sharing therefore streams in Chicago or London are, technically, worth more than streams in This connectivity exists all over the world. Jakarta. But Jenkins says that the particular use of Jenkins doesn’t deny this, but he takes a social media in Latin America and Southeast longer-term view. Asia encourages sharing. “We use social “From a financial point of view you would networks in the West – or rather we think probably prefer 1m streams in London we use social networks in the West. I because the ARPU is higher and a much have accounts on all social networks and higher proportion of users are subscribers in occasionally I share something. But if I see London,” he says. “But you could take one of my friends post something about a the opposite point of view: when you new artist I will look at it and think, ‘Yeah, as a replacement for music retail. In Latin are an early-stage artist, you whatever.’ It might encourage me to listen America and Southeast Asia, where music need growth, not revenue. And 1m to that artist, but generally not,” he explains. retail was not so established, they are seen streams in Jakarta are more likely “The use of social networks in as social platforms. to be 1m streams by people who Latin America and Southeast Asia “In many parts of the world they didn’t are very, very, very socially active is fundamentally based around use to have record stores,” says Jenkins. and engaged. And so the result in friendship. Use of social networks “They have Spotify and YouTube today shares and growth that you would get from in the West is more hands-off and and they use them much more as social 1m people streaming your music in Jakarta it is more about status. Their use is networks rather than these modern is going to be worth a lot more than 1m generally about [being] social and sharing. replacements for record shops. This people in London.” To the point where you come across this combination leads to a virality.” That may be difficult for the music form of behaviour where, if you have a This virality, in turn, leads to music new artists can be very quick as well. But industry in traditional tastemaker markets friend who likes a new artists and they post spreading very quickly in Latin America you notice that they don’t spread. Just like the UK to accept. But Jenkins argues something on a social network, you as an and Southeast Asia. “On the Trigger Cities because a new artist gets engagement in this is simply the economic reality of the act of friendship also share that. Whether map, we have some Trigger Cities that New York, it doesn’t seem to follow that globalised music industry. you like that artist or not, that’s irrelevant.” are in Western markets: Chicago, New they will get engagement in Chicago any “If you wind back a few years, This behaviour crosses over into York, LA, Dallas and Houston in the US; time afterwards. Whereas if somebody gets ‘international repertoire’ basically meant platforms like YouTube and Spotify. In the and London and Paris in Europe,” says engagement in Quezon City in Metro Manila British and American artists, with maybe West, users tend to look to these platforms Jenkins. “Engagement in these cities for in the Philippines, it is quite likely that one artist a decade from Sweden, Australia 2 | sandbox | ISSUE 232 | 10.07.2019 COVERFEATURE and Canada,” he says. “The British industry that was really popular in one place you really capitalised on that, as did America. would think, ‘Wow that could be popular in PART II: HOW TO PULL THE TRIGGER The international exploitation of their lots of other places as well.’ But if you see music really made the industries in the an established artist who is only popular Capitalising on Trigger Cities there is this intrigue. [That’s] because of UK and US very profitable indeed and in one country, your reaction would be, the cultural benefits of understanding generated a lot of revenue.” ‘Well OK, that’s only popular in one place; hile this kind of thinking may prove globalisation.” Today, though, things have changed. there’s no point in pushing that out.’” slightly controversial among the In both Latin America and Southeast “Look at the economics of it,” Jenkins He believes this factor could be Wmusic industry, ignoring prospective Asia, social media is hugely important in explains.