07-08 Tools AudioMob 09-10 Campaigns Lil Nas X, Daði Freyr, Hans Zimmer, AJ Tracey 11–16 Behind The Campaign- Bring Me The Horizon
APRIL 21 2021 sandbox ISSUE 274 | Music marketing for the digital era
Music Ally’s guide to making and selling an NFT (And should you even do it?) OMGNFTsWTF? Sandbox Summit Global is aimed at anyone in the music industry who is interested in keeping up to speed with the latest developments on how to build and engage audiences digitally. Event includes:
• Keynote interview with Seven League’s Richard Ayers, digital • Panels on How to market a live stream and Tipping Economy adviser to the world’s leading sports bodies including FIFA, and Memberships UEFA, Premier League, NHL, NFL, NBA and football clubs including FC Barcelona, Juventus and Leicester City • Music Ally Learn Live sessions where you can learn who are the most important companies for opportunities in the • Presentations of inspirational campaigns from other sectors gaming world and how to make the most out of Short-Form Videos – including the amazing haptics-based interactive LEGO UK campaign • Presentations from Warner Music Group & Global Records on marketing in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe • Keynote interview on NFTs with Crypto.com’s Joe Conyers III • Panel discussions on Classical Music and Posthumous marketing • Premieres and Listening Parties with YouTube’s Kathy Baker and Lee Martin founder of Listening Party • Your chance to vote on the Music Ally Campaign of the Year Award • Songfluencer on the Global Impact of Influencer Marketing
Book now for your early bird tickets at just £69 + booking fees See more details at https://sandboxsummitglobal.com/
Sandbox Summit Global 2021 - A Music Ally Event in association with Linkfire, Vevo and Songfluencer and supported by Colabox 25-27 May 2021 | From 3pm BST/4pm CEST/10am EDT CONTENTS
In This Issue: After two excitable months, the wild, get-in-on-the-ground-floor hype around NFTs is starting sandbox to abate somewhat, and while interest - and cynicism - remains high, now is a good time to find out what we have learned so far. So here’s Music Ally’s analysis and guide to making and selling NFTs. What did people who made them find out? Why should (or shouldn’t) you sell them - and how do you do it? Meanwhile, in Campaigns, Lil Nas X becomes a twerking class hero; Daði Freyr gets holographic; Hans Zimmer makes a ringtone; and AJ Tracey makes an infectious game. In Behind the Campaign, RCA’s Edd Blower and Will Stevens explain how they worked with Bring Me The Horizon to create a release campaign that allowed fans behind the scenes, and applied a pop-style, always-on release strategy to the metal world. Finally, in Tools, we talk to AudioMob, which inserts audio ads – with accompanying clickable banner ads – into mobile games, and find out how it has worked for artists who have used it so far.
➜ LEAD FEATURE ➜ CAMPAIGNS 2 NFTs: The rise of NFTs has been a confusing two-month 9 Lil Nas X becomes a twerking class hero; Daði Freyr gets sensation. So what have we learned so far? Plus: holographic; Hans Zimmer makes a ringtone; and AJ Tracey Music Ally’s handy guide to making and selling NFTs makes an infectious game. for musicians. What are NFTs anyway? Why should (or shouldn’t) you sell them - and how do you do it?
➜ TOOLS ➜ BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN We talk to AudioMob, which inserts audio ads – 11 RCA’s Edd Blower and Will Stevens explain their work 7 with accompanying clickable banner ads – into mobile with Bring Me The Horizon in creating a release campaign games, and find out how it has worked for artists who have that allowed fans behind the scenes, and applied a pop- used it so far. style, always-on release strategy to the metal world.
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Music Ally’s guide to making and selling an NFT ➜ Actionable takeaways • NFTs could – potentially – be an (And should you even do it?) important source of income for musicians, allowing them to monetise storytelling. • For all the hype, NFTs should have solid thinking behind them: don’t just sell an NFT because they are new. • It is best to look at NFTs as an exclusive offer - don’t replicate with NFTs actions or offers that already work on other platforms. • Think hard about whether you want to offer “just” an NFT or bundle your NFT with something extra. Collectors probably prefer the former.
NFTs for sale, with more items being offered by the day. Perhaps wary of the new technology, several of these NFT sales have included other, more traditional goods: Jacques Greene’s NFT Promise included the song’s publishing, while Kings of Leon offered various incentives, including “Golden Tickets” for their live shows. On the whole, they have been a success too: 3lau made $11.6m in NFT sales, while Aphex Twin’s NFT sold for $128,000. In promotional terms, too, NFTs have provided an interesting story for media OMGNFTsWTF? who are lapping up anything NFT based. he speed with which NFTs – non- hottest thing under the artfully rendered quick to embrace the new technology. In (Music Ally included, of course.) But they fungible tokens, but then you digital sun. February 2021, Grimes sold $6m worth are by no means a blanket success: the Talready knew that – have made For artists, NFTs represent a potentially of NFTs via online marketplace Nifty auction for the Kings of Leon’s NFTs, their way into music industry thinking enduring new stream of income, with Gateway and the floodgates opened: for example, was extended beyond its has been nothing short of sensational. most sales platforms offering secondary since then Aphex Twin, Jacques Greene, initial deadline, which suggests potential Two months ago, most had probably sales fees for the re-sale of their art. It Georgia Anne Muldrow, Deadmau5, teething problems. never heard of them; now, they are the is no surprise, then, that musicians were 3lau and Kings of Leon have all offered All the same, interest for NFTs - and
2 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 COVERFEATURE cynicism about NFTs - remains extremely high within the music industry. So here’s Music Ally’s handy guide to making and selling NFTs for musicians. What have we learned so far? What are NFTs anyway? Why should (or shouldn’t) you sell them - and how do you do it? But first, a little context...
What is an NFT, and why has the music industry lost its collective mind over them? One reason for the frenzy around NFTs is that they represent something that the music industry has been looking for - perhaps subconsciously - for years: digital limited-edition digital file. The NFT itself scarcity. In many ways, the rise of digital is a “digital token” that refers to the digital music has been positive for the music artwork: typically digital imagery, audio, or industry, opening whole new markets for video, or some combination of the three. artists and labels and giving consumers Thus, the owner of the NFT is considered access to a dizzying variety of music. the owner of the “original” digital file. But at the same time it has created a problem: if my MP3 (or Wav or Flac or NFTs could be an opportunity what have you) can be copied, at the click to “monetise storytelling” “You don’t see that that often [now] my album with a human who can cherish of a mouse, to create another, identical file Joe Conyers III , EVP, global head of because it is not very profitable to invest the meaning with proof of payment than - then what value does it have? My copy of NFT at Crypto.com, who is running its that much money into a complicated with a tech giant corporation that pays your MP3 is just as good as your original recently launched NFT platform, says that marketing campaign like that. 0.004 cents a stream and couldn’t give file - so why on earth would I bother NFTs allow musicians to build worlds, to “Only the biggest bands can really pull a fuck about the message and music, spending any money on it? Streaming, collaborate, to appeal to the collectors’ something like that off… You can have beyond cold machines sending them down meanwhile, has seen the music industry go market in the digital age and - perhaps a much smaller artist who can actually a mindless feeding tube and stripping its beyond the ownership model, where users crucially - to “monetise storytelling”. monetise their story through these personality and rarity through the process”. pay for access rather than ownership. “I think about some of the greatest collectibles in a way that we have never Underground music culture has, he said, NFTs presents a solution to this records that really had a story-telling really seen before.” been hurting for a past several years, with problem. Without getting too technical, attribute over the last two decades, I think In the era of streaming, particularly, COVID only exacerbating the situation. NFTs are unique, non-divisible and non- about things like Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts, when many artists see music as being “The streaming monetisation model interchangeable, with their ownership and I think about how they built all these undervalued by DSPs, it is easy to has devalued music sales to such an written into the Blockchain. videos, this alternate reality game around understand the appeal of selling an NFT. extreme degree that it is mainly the small What this means, essentially, is that it,” he says. “There was a whole lot of Clarian, an independent artist who recently commercialised few who take in large once an NFT is created it can’t be copied things that fans could sink their teeth into. sold his album Whale Shark as an NFT – profits,” he says, “while smaller artists and, as each sale (and re-sale) of the NFT And it wasn’t just beyond the music, there including publishing rights to the album are pressured harder onto the content is recorded on the Blockchain, everyone was a whole ephemera around it, a whole in perpetuity – says that he would rather creation circle of social media, Patreon knows who owns it. Voilà: a genuinely feel and look, almost a taste to it. “share one copy of the digital certificate of newsletters and authenticity and quality
3 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 COVERFEATURE is being replaced with instantaneous quantified culture.”
NFTs could be an opportunity to change the system Jay Devonish runs boutique record label and publishing company FORESEEN Entertainment. On May 21, it will release the new album from Georgia Anne Muldrow, ‘VWETO III’ and the label has partnered with Muldrow and South Africa artist Breeze Yoko to sell an NFT of the album’s cover art. 50% of the proceeds are being donated to Critical Resistance, which seeks to build “an international movement to end the Prison Industrial “My bet is that these whales’ out Complex.” there buying millions of dollars worth of commercial art heart is in the right place with the NFT is that we have some more getting into NFTs, in a world teetering on but the conduit just doesn’t exist yet to prominent or wealthy people who believe the edge of environmental collapse. This bring them to see a deep cultural scene in in what we are trying to do, which is unite can be offset - Aphex Twin said he was need of preservation and people to step Black creatives and give back to an amazing donating a portion of the money from his up and help artists where it counts.” charity and show that we can do this NFT to “planting trees and either donating Other artists - like Grimes and Aphex independently,” he explains. “People who to permaculture projects or setting them Twin - create new work to offer as NFTs. believe in the concept of these two Black up ourselves” - but this is a rather inexact Sim Hutchins, an electronic artist from the creatives coming together, putting out an science. Jacob Collier, for example, UK, is selling two NFTs around the release NFT, giving back to charity: my hope is that shelved his own NFT auction because of of his new single ‘I Am Cringe, But I Am we will have some people in the crypto environmental concerns. Free’ in what he says is “an experiment world who will bid or buy this thing because Should you decide to go ahead, then to see if I can marry music, video and they are sympathetic to seeing this.” creating an NFT is relatively simple. The digital art via a polyamorous non-fungible first step is to decide what to make. For ceremony, and make parts of it free for any Before you start: decide Georgia Anne Muldrow, this was the wedding crashers at the reception”. Devonish says that he and his partners what your NFT should be official album artwork for ‘Vweto III’. “I’ve noticed that straight away “wanted to paint the [NFT] space a little First, a word of warning: the process Clarian, meanwhile, sold his actual album artists are either creating new works Black and inspire other Black creatives to of minting an NFT - that is, creating a plus publishing rights, offering what he for the medium, or flogging their old jump into this space”. “I think it’s educating cryptographic signature for it on the claims is the first album to be sold as an wares,” Hutchins says. “I wanted people to jump into this,” he adds. “For Blockchain - uses a lot of energy. That NFT. “Instead of cutting up my album into to take this opportunity to create me, I think crypto is going to become a will cost you money - it’s called a “gas fractionised pieces so that a corporation something specifically for a release; as a normality.” fee”. But more importantly, it’s more can profit from it, I decided to try and put multidisciplinary artist I’ve always brought The challenge, for Devonish, is getting environmentally unfriendly than you might it up as a one of one NFT and make my sound and video together, and this seemed FORESEEN and Georgia Anne Muldrow’s think. And that is something that every Wall Street bet against the music industry,” like the perfect way to marry those two, audience into the NFT space. “My hope artist should seriously consider before he explains. and to fire a money gun off at the church.”
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The result was two 3D video animation / to sell, the next stage of the process is original sound compositions, currently for to create a crypto wallet, where your sale on crypto art platform Foundation, cryptocurrency will be stored. Many NFTs with Hutchins also supplying “additional are part of the Ethereum blockchain and PNG and hi-res video bonus materials” off are bought and sold with the associated platform to the winning bidder. Ether (ETH) currency – so you will need to acquire some Ether to pay the “gas Should artists bundle the NFT fees” that are needed to offer an NFT for with other, “real”, things? sale. (These fees tend to cost somewhere Artists will also need to decide whether between $50 and $100 in ETH.) they want to sell just the NFT - which is In his guide to selling NFTs (via Mixmag) what Georgia Anne Muldrow is doing - Clarian advises; “Once you have your or if they want to add something extra wallet set up you can make an account to the deal, like Kings Of Leon’s NFT at any open exchange that offers their Yourself Collection, which packed up service to your region for free, such as digital downloads of the band’s new album Binance, Gemini or Kraken, and buy some When You See Yourself, vinyl editions and ether there.” One Ether, at time of writing, “Golden Ticket” experiences with digital is worth around US $1,837. (Many NFT album artwork. platforms - including Crypto.com’s offering Conyers says that dedicated NFT - will walk you through this process.) collectors will tend to go more for the The next stage is to work out what pure NFTs, which come without extras, as but an unused one could, potentially, Conyers says. “Don’t push something you platform to use to sell the NFT. Conyers these extras could have an unpredictable even increase it, which makes it a rather can do already offline, something you can says Crypto.com’s NFT platform is safe effect on the resale price. A used Kings volatile bet. do with another service, something where and easy to use; Muldrow is using Rarible of Leon Golden ticket, for example, might “Right now it is so early, I think you you already have a fan base especially…. and OpenSea; Grimes used Nifty Gateway; reduce the value of the band’s NFT, should experiment with not having to don’t just run at this because it is new.” Mike Shinoda used Zora; and Clarian depending on the conditions of sale; put anything else on there [your NFT],” He explains that taking a label product also opted for OpenSea. “Since I’m not mindset might not work as well as a big name artist, and I have real world people think. “Just putting the same thing problems, the mainstream rarely puts the and putting the tech-y badge on it is not light on my work so to get my album and necessarily going to be the way you make message out I figured using OpenSea this space. People get fatigued about it would slightly open my chances of getting if you try it a couple of times,” Conyers some visibility, since it’s a more popular says. “You want to create really rare and platform,” he says. unique things or limited moments. Taking Hutchins, meanwhile, received an what is offline and taking it online is invite to Foundation, potentially the not necessarily going to translate to the most prestigious market for NFTs, which collectors.” has offered works by the likes of Pussy Riot, Aphex Twin and 3Lau. “I think OK, I’m ready (I think...): their platform is one of the biggest ‘arty’ so how do I make an NFT? emerging markets, and it’s mostly centred One you have decided what you want around video,” he explains. “But I’ve also
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underlying philosophies and principles flash in the pan. But with cryptocurrency of decentralised blockchain are actually itself already a well established concept very relevant and powerful for the and digital art a part of our every-day lives, consideration of underground music this seems unlikely. (However, there are, culture is a big win,” he says. as Music Ally found out, plenty of experts “[It] helps us to start talking at least who are highly sceptical about the current about the current problems and stop NFT boom.) feeling stuck. I think these things always “In two years, it will be the default for start with asking questions and being people to at least consider doing one [an excited about something. Making music NFT],” Conyers concludes. “And I think that that you’re excited about and doing a lot of people will have had some really something fresh and feeling that you good success; and I think some people will can break through and be yourself is the struggle with putting out things that just message here. We used to have more aren’t very good. Not all art is good. of that and I wanted to make that my “Right now there is a lot of demand message here with my album, the music for just about anything. I think we will and the way I’ve put it out.” see the folks that are really good become collectible and interesting and in demand… What is the future for NFTs? There will be a lot of collectors who just This is the billion-dollar (or billion-Ether?) want to focus on the hits. And there will question, and of course press attention be a sea of folks trying their best and around NFTs will soon die down, when I don’t think the demand for that will listed PNG files on Mintable which is for free, so I’m looking forward to see the novelty wears off. It may well be that continue. In two years’ time, people will be an open and fee-free NFT store that I’d how the fans react to that when it NFTs themselves will also prove to be a more picky.” :) definitely recommend people getting drops.” involved with.” Clarian, meanwhile, says that his fans are “rooting for the weirdo synth pop NFTs are also a (perhaps) record to sell and shake up the status quo”, unintended marketing tool adding, “It’s also the first solo album NFT Hutchins says that the reaction among of an artist ever ahead of Kings Of Leon fans to his NFT release has “ranged and they think that’s pretty cool.” from the positive to the baffled”. “I’ve a Both Clarian and Devonish say that reputation of jumping on new hype in an selling NFTs has also helped to attract unnecessarily cringe-but-free manner, so media attention around their new releases. it’s not off brand,” he explains. “There’s Bidding on Georgia Anne Muldrow’s actually a dope NFT artist community NFT ends on May 21, when her album is emerging and I’ve linked up with a few released, which is a neat way of keeping creators in the DMs since. I’ve also the release in the headlines too. taken the time with this release to make Clarian says that getting any kind everything available with the Bandcamp of exposure of his message out there download, so people can purchase the is a success for him. “Showing friends track and receive the ~fungible~ items and artists who I admire that the
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Gaming audiences belong to the most how high the volume is, and before the engaged group of music fans - a recent platform serves an audio ad, it makes sure report by MIDiA research and Twitch the volume is above 30% and pauses any revealed that gamers engage with all background audio content. Crucially, it forms of music activities – like music doesn’t pause the game itself, preserving subscriptions or merchandise – at around the gaming experience. double the rate of overall consumers. According to the AudioMob team, this Startup AudioMob wants to help more has been “warmly and positively received” artists reach these music fans in a way that by the mobile gaming users. A recent is more appealing to the gamer too. study commissioned by the company and executed by YouGov found that 75% of AudioMob was co-founded by Christian mobile gamers prefer audio ads over video Facey (CEO) and Wilfrid Obeng (CTO) – ads (the rest are indifferent.) and quickly raised $1.5m seed funding for their startup. Both have backgrounds Audio banner ads at Google, and Facey also worked at Interestingly, AudioMob’s solution Facebook measuring the value of ads, addresses another common pain point for as well as at the Interactive Advertising music marketers. While using the medium Bureau advising audio companies on their of audio ads to market music makes advertising strategies. The team clearly has complete sense, the solution is often not deep experience within tech, advertising ideal to drive click throughs. The reason and audio advertising – and Facey is also for that is two-fold: The vast majority of a musician and an avid gamer, working on times a user is exposed to an audio ad his own mobile games. is, naturally enough, on audio platforms This led him to ponder how music could – while they’re listening to music or better fit into the gaming experience. podcasts, for instance. What Facey found was that the previous However, this means that eyes are solutions for advertising in mobile games not on a screen, making it harder to get were too intrusive – typically a video people to click somewhere: and audio ads ad interrupted the game, frustrating don’t tend to be delivered with a clickable the player. Not an ideal scenario for the banner anyway. An AudioMob ad can advertiser. have audio up to 30 seconds long, with an Facey and Obeng came up with the accompanying banner size of 320x50. idea of audio ads that play while the The AudioMob team claims that serving game session continues. AudioMob’s an audio and visual unit together – their tech detects “audibility states” – whether “audio enhanced banners” – has never there is background music playing and been done before. Thus, while the audio
7 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 TOOLS part creates a connection and awareness for the song, the accompanying banner can drive users to DSPs, websites, merch etc. Luke Taplin-McCallum, Account Strategist at AudioMob, says the feedback they’ve received shows that “the traffic generated from our ads vs. Instagram Swipe Ups is much more engaged and much more likely to convert into a follower or a fan.” He also cites the example of Kylie Minogue and Jessie Ware, who repurposed podcast content for ads, as a suggestion of how The team’s recommendations tech optimises towards engagement: they different artist activations can around optimising audio ads find the most engaged apps and audiences, be promoted. for the mobile gaming space and optimise for delivery. The idea is place utmost importance on the that the platform does the thinking and An active, engaged audience creative. optimisation without marketers needing The AudioMob team suggests likely listening to music in the background They cite an example by KSI, to do all the legwork. A case study of a that mobile gaming has a much lower – and are not necessarily as receptive to where he directly addresses the audience campaign run for Joel Corry’s single “Head barrier to entry compared to other forms what’s being advertised to them. And on with the words, “Yo I see you! I see you & Heart” suggested that campaigns can of gaming, as users can pick up their phone social media, scrolling past ads or clicking playing your game!” This kind of knowing also provide additional insights about everywhere to start playing, similar to how away is well-known user behaviour. nod, AudiMob says, makes the creative where potential audiences lie, by looking they would access Instagram or TikTok. The team says it works at a variety of relevant to the gaming environment and into which games delivered the best The mobile gaming space encompasses a budgets: they have worked with smaller can create an instant connection between results. large variety of apps, reaching 2.5bn global budgets of a few hundred dollars as well as user and artist. Though AudioMob is still in Beta, it is gamers. Taplin-McCallum says that “an much larger ones. They generally recommend AudioMob was only founded in early already working with all majors and some average phone has 8 of these apps. When running campaigns for one to two weeks, 2020, but the company can already deliver independents – with campaigns for Justin a user plays a game, this usually means and suggest one week minimum. impressions across the US, Canada, Brazil, Bieber, Joel Corry, Tate McRae and others between 1-25 minutes of down time, a Europe, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Russia, – and it will eventually be available for all prime space to speak to someone about A surprisingly diverse demographic India, Australia and Japan. Ads can be types of artist and music companies. Once music.” The assumption that gaming audiences targeted by country, region, city, postal AudioMob launches its self-serve platform, This exemplifies another key advantage skew towards male and favours certain code, age and gender, device and more. it will work in a similar way to Facebook’s of AudioMob’s offering: a mobile gaming genres over others is quite an outdated Users of ad platforms like Facebook or ad platform, allowing teams to be fully audience is one that actively pays attention view. The versatility of mobile games Google will be familiar with its interest flexible with their budgets. If you’re to their screen and actively consumes your attracts a diverse user base: 58% of mobile targeting: you can currently choose from interested in running a campaign with content. Compare this to something like gamers are female, 74% are 18-24 years around ten different genre types. AudioMob, you can join the waitlist here: Spotify’s audio ads, where many users are old, and 57% of parents are players. Taplin-McCallum says that Audiomob’s https://audiomob.io/join :)
8 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 The latest projects from the digital marketing arena CAMPAIGNS TWERKING CLASS HERO: LIL NAS X CREATES TWERK HERO GAME DAÐI COOL: EUROVISION HOPEFUL GETS HOLOGRAPHIC
Netherlands from the start of April. You can follow his progress on the Road 2 Rotterdam website, scanning a QR code, setting your location and then entering your email address to be given an alert when he is in your country. You also have to sign into the experience with Spotify, Google or (Call Me By Your Name)’ single. Facebook, ramping up the Incredibly the remix of ‘Old Town Road’ has Created by Roni Games, Daði Freyr was supposed to data collection. now done over 1.1bn streams on Spotify (the the browser-based game involves a digital be the Icelandic choice to Across the “tour”, his original has done a “mere” 713m) while the version of Lil Nas X with his back to you, perform at the Eurovision digital incarnation will visit official video with Billy Ray Cyrus has had wearing only CK boxers and thigh-length Song Contest in Rotterdam 50 destinations over 60 over 580m views on YouTube, but that all boots. “Grab the booty,” say the on- in May 2020 but the whole days, going far beyond the seems a lifetime ago. The campaign for the screen instructions, “and hit the incoming event was cancelled due to heartland countries for latest Lil Nas X single, ‘Montero (Call Me By temptations!!!” the global pandemic. It is, Eurovision to take in Asia, Your Name)’ is, it is fair to say, not hiding its So, yes, you use the mouse to wiggle and however, back for 2021 and North America and South light under a bushel. twerk his digital backside as very pointy will take place between 18th America. When we tested objects fly in from different corners of the and 22nd May with assorted it, we got a mini Daði in There was the controversy around the screen. All the while the track plays and you safety and social distancing the lotus position on our trainers he designed that came to be have to score as highly as you can in the measures in place. Which computer keyboard talking known as “Satan Shoes” as only 666 pairs allotted time. (The top score possible is 50.) means that Freyr and all the about his road to Eurovision. were made (selling for $1,018 a set). They We managed to get through to the second other acts can represent “I’m coming to your house allegedly contained a drop of human blood level where the background changed and Lil their respective countries. but like a vampire, you have in the sole (soul?) and featured the words Nas X was sporting a rather fetching Marge to invite me in,” he said in a (somewhat “Luke 10:18” (a Bible reference to Satan’s fall Simpson-style blue wig. In the build up to the competition, AWAL sinister) press statement. “Please have me from Heaven). They were, however, quickly The game is there to be shared but, really, is pushing his song ‘10 Years’ in a number in your personal space playing music. I recalled due to a copyright and trademark it will not have achieved its ambition until a of interesting ways. Central to this is a think you will like it, I know I will like it.” dispute with Nike as the trainers included an conservative journalist or news broadcaster partnership with Landmrk (and its Virtual Fans who watch his digital inversion of its “swoosh” logo. sees one of their children playing it and Tours platform) which will allow fans doppelgänger can create their own unique Arriving – almost with intentionally then, while clutching their pearls, makes a to place a holographic version of Daði piece of merchandise that draws on their impeccable timing – at the same time as the very public call for it to be banned. Only anywhere around their homes. custom avatar, their location and the date legal tussles over footwear was the launch of then – when that happens – can it truly be The twist is that he will “visit” a they saw the virtual performance. It all the Twerk Hero game to push the ‘Montero considered a success. different location each day as part of a makes for a nice crossing over from the virtual tour as he wends his way to the virtual world into the real world.
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The latest projects from the digital marketing arena CAMPAIGNS SPOTI-FLU: AJ TRACEY IS COCK-A-HOOP HANS FREE: COMPOSER MOVES INTO RINGTONES
Perhaps – just perhaps – building a game that is named after an easily transmissible infection might not be the wisest decision anyone could make in 2021… yet here we are. There was a period – a very brief, but Alongside the two ringtones are a gentle intense, period – in the early 2000s when alarm and a phone activation sound, as To be fair to both ringtones were The Future Of The Music well as “a range of energising text and Spotify and British each of the 16 levels, Industry. Akin to the HD audio wars of today, notifications alerts”. rapper AJ Tracey, Flu your position on the court there were monophonics, polyphonics and “I want the ringtone to open a door that Game – the online changes so that you have realtones to choose from that would sort out says there’s the possibility to feel something,” basketball game to constantly recalibrate the committed audiophiles from the sonic says Zimmer in a video outlining the project they have created your shooting technique daytrippers. There were even ringtone charts. and how conceptually it was designed as together – is named for each one. As you Ringtone. Charts. Imagine! a reaction to the isolation caused by the after Tracey’s second progress, different objects pandemic. “I felt somehow it was my duty as album which, in turn, (people, road signs, giant In Japan, master ringtones and ringback tones a musician to figure out how to replace a little is named after a pizzas) appear and try to are still doing brisk business and this has a bit of that spirit that comes from one heart legendary 1997 NBA block your shots. If you lot to do with the cultural role that mobile over to the other heart. The only way you can game where Michael Jordan had flulike mess up one level, you are thrown back to personalisation still plays there. But elsewhere do music is by connecting notes, and those symptoms but still helped the Chicago the start. ringtones are now filed away with cargo pants notes connect to musicians, and musicians Bulls to victory over Utah Jazz. (Historic Tapping on the tape icon in the top left and Bebo as relics of the near past. connect to an audience, and suddenly you side note: there were suggestions it should of the screen opens a mini Spotify player But leave something long enough and a have a form of communication that you’ve have been called the Hangover Game as which plays short clips of every track on revival is sure to roll around. never had before. That’s exactly what these that was what some claim Jordan was the album and you can click through to the Rather than recreate the spirit of phones are doing these days. They connect really suffering from at the time.) Spotify app to hear the album in full. Crazy Frog (goodness, they really were us.” It is a POV game where you are in a Often tie-in games that are made different times…), composer Hans Zimmer The whole thing – quaintly retro as basketball court in what looks like West available for free to push a single or an has partnered with Chinese smartphone it might be – is there to push the audio London (where Tracey is from) and the album tend to be quite simplistic – often manufacturer Oppo for its Find X3 Pro capabilities of Oppo’s hardware, a huge object is to try, by angling the trajectory of prouder of the fact they exist rather than smartphone to offer two bespoke ringtones selling point for the company as it recently the shot correctly on your phone screen, the quality of the actual gaming. This one and what they are terming “an orchestra of overtook rival Huawei as the leading score a series of baskets. has a lot more thought and detail put into system sounds”. smartphone manufacturer in China. It is a lot harder than that sounds. One it, making it as tricky as it is addictive.
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The band deciding to break that. It was completely against how from the traditional album they’d always written music. release model We documented, from start WS: We started working with the to finish, the whole release. It band on the Sempiternal album really inspired them as a new way [in 2013], although that wasn’t of releasing music, a new way of fully a Sony record as it was also working and one that opened up on Epitaph in the US. Sempiternal the kind of creative process behind was Sony UK and Europe, but making Bring Me The Horizon the first major [album on Sony music. globally] was That’s The Spirit [in They also produced ‘Experiment 2015]. On Me’ – a Halsey record – The main starting point was the that was on the Birds Of Prey Amo album [in 2019], which was a major soundtrack. It was completely off the cuff commercial breakthrough for them. It and was just Jordan [Fish, keyboardist] was their first number one in the UK and and Oli [Sykes, lead singer] from the band it achieved multiple top fives globally. It writing and producing it. They wanted to was nominated for two Grammys and they change how they released music. were nominated for a Brit Award. There was the slight potential of there A rolling series of EPs takes the being a burnout for the band from the place of a traditional album writing process [after Amo]. Normally WS: The whole backstory for this how they work – and how a lot of rock campaign was that they wanted to move bands work – is they write for six months, away from albums. They didn’t want to release the record, have maybe two or go off for six months and write a record. three singles into an album and then tour They wanted to be a bit more off the cuff extensively for about two years. and write as they went along. That’s what formed the structure of [the EP] Post After the breakthrough success of their Amo album in 2019, British metalcore How the Death Stranding Human: Survival Horror, with Survival band Bring Me The Horizon wanted to dramatically shake up how they game offered a new creative wrote, recorded and released new music. Instead of putting out a standard approach to releasing music album, they are releasing a series of EPs under the umbrella title of Survival WS: They wanted to frame how they released music and how they performed Horror, with the Post Human EP being the first staging post in this project. creatively a bit differently. That was EDD BLOWER (head of marketing at RCA) and WILL STEVENS (senior developed quite quickly when they marketing manager at RCA) explain how they documented every step of released the song ‘Ludens’ in late 2019 each release by allowing fans behind the scenes while tracks were being which was used in the soundtrack for the written and recorded, why YouTube was a key platform for the project, game Death Stranding . The game was where Sony’s frontline and catalogue arms synchronised, how collaborations produced by Hideo Kojima, who was a were announced, why TikTok proved to be a surprising new platform for the big idol for them. They wrote, recorded band and how an always-on release strategy, more typical of a pop act, was and released the record in about 10 days. applied to the metal world. It was the first time they had ever done
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they really wanted to do. We’d already The first series covered them writing brought in a videographer to be with the ‘Parasite Eve’, but then we had to pause it band and travel with them. because everything went into lockdown. Series 1 and series 2 led into the release EB: These were put into Instagram Stories. of ‘Parasite Eve’ and we had a YouTube We had noticed in the past that fans custom trailer created for it. They were would rip [the audio] and then try and put one of the first frontline artists to do that it along with another clip that they had outside of The Rolling Stones. found somewhere else and then they’d The majority of it is showing the create their own loops and say, “Maybe songwriting process, but we also followed this is the structure of the song?” it through to the mixing process and when It is interesting to watch the community they worked with Mick Gordon, who did data [around this]. We worked with a the soundtrack for the computer games videographer to use instrumentals of the Doom and Doom Eternal . There is some songs that they were working on already footage with him and then there’s the and we wove that in with the content mastering process. that went out on their YouTube channel. Horror working as the umbrella name for positions. They had achieved [high chart YouTube was our main focus. the whole campaign. They want to release positions] with Amo and it was time for Each video was about three minutes four EPs over a period of time, ideally two a new challenge and a new test for the long and they were going out on Instagram years, and put lots of music out regularly. band. That was all already in place prior to as well. We also put it on Twitter because It would be four EPs of varying lengths lockdown. that was important for their Asian fanbase. and varying sonics designed to produce We knew we would be releasing EPs the ultimate playlist – the Post Human and we knew it would be a digital-only Setting up a YouTube series to playlist. release initially and then a physical release show the work in progress One EP has been released so far [they later. That had already been implemented. EB: There are three YouTube series – were speaking in early April 2020]. The 00BMTH8, 00BMTHS2 and 00BMTHS3. first record from that was a track called Showing fans the creative There were 12 episodes in the first series, ‘Parasite Eve’ which was released in June process throughout – and 12 in the second and 11 in the third. [2020]. Then we rolled up two singles into making them part of it an EP [Survival Horror] in October. That WS: The band were super keen to take You tend to see a pattern [with was a digital-only release in October with fans on a journey through the writing releases]: there is the music video and the physical release following in January. process so that when songs came out they then the behind-the-scenes video. would be familiar with riffs, bits of lyrics Showing the process and then the song Planning for this or melodies that had been floating around really established the storytelling and the new release strategy the internet. creative process for the fanbase. WS: We had a conversation with the band The band’s fanbase is incredibly in January 2020, just before Covid hit. engaged and this covers multiple Starting to release the new music They told us that this was how they wanted platforms. We knew if we seeded out and working with Sony’s catalogue to move [forward] and that they were more sounds [as clips from tracks] that they’d be arm to segment fans interested in things like consumption and able to piecemeal the record together prior EB: ‘Ludens’ was released in November monthly listenership rather than chart to it being released. That was something 2019 and then ‘Parasite Eve’ was June
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2020 – so that’s a massive chunk of time singles charting for the first time in a while Working with Yungblud [between releases]. – they ended up very much embracing it. and revealing he was the We worked with our catalogue team, The band just completely ran with it featured act on ‘Obey’ Sony CG [Commercial Group], on a split- and took it to another level that we didn’t EB: We wanted to make sure that each spend strategy to warm up audiences. know was going to happen. announcement felt like a big conversation We did that based on genre. For a rock act, if you’re not touring, it’s online. With Yungblud, we worked with hard to be present in your own campaign. him and the band over several days of This was the big shift. cross-promotion posting. We had all the press shots and there Giving each single were images of the band covered in blood. its own aesthetic There were hidden messages written in WS: Every single had a unique creative the blood where, if you went to a website, and Oli started directing the music videos. which looked like the control panel from Each track has a creative pool and each the robots that are in the music video, WS: On the Amo campaign, we partnered single has its own look. you could get some behind-the-scenes with Spotify to create unique merchandise The video for ‘Parasite Eve’ was done in content. depending on your listening habits. We Oli’s warehouse in Sheffield. The ‘Obey’ When you got to that content, it created a tool where, if you logged in via video with Yungblud is very specific to revealed that Yungblud was the featured your Spotify account, there were four that track and all the creative that came act because there’s a clip of him and Oli different designs that correlated to your from that was very ‘Obey’’ but didn’t really together. That sparked an extra layer of Because Amo was quite a departure, listening habits and your favourite songs tie with ‘Teardrops’; yet as a whole, it all conversation. It was always ramping up and sonically it reached a younger fanbase, from the record. There was always a story works within that Survival Horror theme. to the single release moment. We also we leant into that and [mixed in] some of developing of how we communicate with aligned our videos with the single. Within the less heavy tracks from That’s The Spirit the audience and what they’re interested in. EB: It is a nine-track EP, so when it came an hour of the track being played on radio and ran one creative. Then we split it and ‘Parasite Eve’ was a heavy record so it to the second track, ‘Obey’ featuring the video premiere went out as well. did a heavy creative for the metalheads to really appealed to that heavy audience. By Yungblud, we had had Annie Mac’s Hottest warm them back up as we went back into then the work had been done and it was Record In The World [on BBC Radio 1] for WS: For the ‘Obey’ campaign there were this new campaign for Post Human. their biggest week-one streaming record each single. [‘Obey’ was also named her multiple interviews and moments with That was one way of getting the ever. It was also the highest-charting Hottest Record Of The Year in 2020.] Yungblud and Oli and there were multiple fanbase re-engaged with the music and single they had had since 2014. videos with the band and with Yungblud. creating an uplift on streaming before we There was a 30% uplift in all catalogue The singles were driving the pre-order then went back to DSPs and said that new as a result of that. The streaming strategy sales every time. music was coming. was that we were communicating in a We have done this before on other very broad manner to as many Bring Me A new way of pushing campaigns like P!nk, Kasabian and Little The Horizon fans as possible prior to the singles for a rock band Mix. It works because the catalogue team release of ‘Parasite Eve’. WS: We hadn’t even announced the EP at are benefiting from their side too. You are We were able to run with this concept this point, or announced the release date reminding the fans why they fell in love and take it further than we thought it of it as it was very much single-by-single with this artist in the first place – not just potentially could have gone [as they were at that stage. We were able to build it like this [new] song or this bit of a [new] song. It not touring]. Because the band were you would with more pop-style campaigns warms all the fans up and the act are top of seeing the results – seeing the uplift, rather than rock ones. mind when you drop the new single in. seeing the fan growth and seeing the Because of the way the whole structure
14 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNBRING ME THE HORIZON rolled out, each record was hitting bigger and we were posting some content on targets and the growth was really taking off there. Yungblud had appeared on Oli’s – so it was very easy to communicate that account doing a bit of cross-promo. When and the streaming results were increasing we returned in January and were leading track-on-track. We were able to run single up into the physical release of the EP, campaigns for a rock band which we hadn’t the track ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ [from previously been able to do. 2013’s Sempiternal album] was absolutely flying on TikTok. Making gaming a central The band got involved and started part of the campaign doing duets, recognising that the fans WS: After the physical release in January, were using the song there. We created we started moving into new spaces with an Instagram effect for them to recreate them, but gaming has always been a big another effect that was appearing as part of them. The audience crossovers a trend on TikTok. We leant into that in gaming and Bring Me The Horizon is platform a lot. We added about 400,000 high. They are one of the key acts on RCA followers in the space of about two that would tie in with gaming initiatives – months on TikTok . hence the Death Stranding [tie-in]. We’ve At the beginning of 2019, I don’t think I’d historically done Twitch livestreams with have seen a band like Bring Me The Horizon them too. on something like TikTok; but it’s about them The band game quite a lot so it’s finding their comfort zone, which they did. naturally a fit for them; it’s not a forced We’ve even had the band do some situation. The track ‘Mantra’ was used as production breakdowns on there. Oli did a a soundtrack for the game Outriders: video explaining how we managed to get Mantras Of Survival. We are doing a lot the sound of an elephant into one song, more Twitch initiatives and partnerships which was a great little back and forth with gaming platforms. This is how we’re between him and Jordan. going to continue the campaign. It’s Season three of the YouTube content is It’s another layer and another side to become a useful tool for a lot of artists’ also broken down song-by-song and we the band that we wouldn’t have seen a voices in lieu of no gigs. It’s a platform that created bespoke assets for the featured year ago – but it’s an extension of what is opening up for them. acts to share. people were seeing in the YouTube videos. The ‘Mantra’ sync was in December Leading into the EP when they launched the trailer for the Plugging the gap left EB: The Survival Horror EP was released Outriders game. We also had the release by live with TikTok in October 2020. We had a pre-sale of a fan favourite album that’s been WS: In the absence of the two-year initiative ready for the UK arena tour around for a while on YouTube rips – the touring plot that normally happens where which is happening in September this year. Live At The Royal Albert Hall show from they will tour the world and everyone The tracks have lots of features. There’s 2016. We finally had the rights in place to will hear the record that way, what is Amy Lee from Evanescence, Nova Twins, put it out in December last year. the alternative? It’s a combination of Babymetal and Yungblud. We worked availability and sudden interest in [TikTok]. with all of them in the lead up to the EP Surfing the TikTok wave With Bring Me The Horizon, it’s dropping. EB: At this point the band were on TikTok basically timing. They are a super-busy
15 | sandbox ISSUE 274 21.04.2021 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNBRING ME THE HORIZON global band so to pin them down to start the new fanbase. Even without music, thinking about TikTok strategy hadn’t there’s still lots of opportunity with them. been on top of the agenda, but in the That’s the shift from what historically rock absence of touring the world, it’s suddenly acts have released: it has been very much something that we can talk about. [based around] a schedule. When you look Also the record was flying. It was doing at other genres, it is a much more always- 600,000 daily streams which, for a Bring on approach – and that’s helped their Me The Horizon record, is phenomenal. growth. They are really on board to move With ‘Teardrops’, the third single on the out of that traditional rock space and start EP, the peak was 450,000. It was in 40 being more present, just as pop music is. viral charts globally. They all took note of Their audience is getting younger that and could see that that work was only in a way. They don’t view it as heavy going to help in future releases. metal anymore. Maybe the older and What has come out of this campaign is more traditional fans view Bring Me The the band are now on multiple platforms. As long as we have this information music, they bring on so many new fans Horizon as a heavy metal band and wait With new releases we can really start teasing to keep giving back to them and showing with each release; so it’s constantly looking for albums, but the younger fanbase do content on different platforms and serving why it’s worth everyone’s time [we will for new avenues to continue growing the not consume the music like that. The band different audiences. We know the TikTok keep doing that]. Then it’s just about audience. are aware of that and that’s why they’re audience is very different from the gaming working out what content it is that We, as the team around them, are shifting the way they release music to fit audience and that the Instagram audience everyone’s comfortable with and we’ll do a very fortunate that they have a massive in with how new fans are listening and is very different from the Twitter audience. good job on each platform. audience who function on so many absorbing new music. That’s on a global level as well. We now have platforms. When we try things, we see They are on their seventh album a much clearer perspective on what that is Moving into the next EP and incredible uplift in other areas. It’s not campaign so to see all this is quite and how we communicate that. building their streaming numbers just saying that we want to get them in phenomenal. They’re the driving force WS: They have their tour in September the gaming space – they already exist behind it; they’re interested in it. That EB: There is definitely a more considered so the idea is to have the next EP out there – it’s just about optimising those stems a lot from Oli and Jordan. Oli’s approach to each platform, but less in time for those shows. They are doing opportunities that do exist there. got his own fashion brand [Drop Dead content because we can’t maintain [that multiple dates in the UK, including the What we found over this course of this Clothing] which he’s doing all sorts of level of output]. We were putting out a O2 in London. The whole release strategy last year is that we have to be always- things with consistently. He’s constantly two- or three-minute video on YouTube is that the music is going to keep coming on with them because there is so much dipping his toe into the digital space and a week. We can’t continue doing that as over the next year or two – in between opportunity for growth for the band. Part reacting to it as a result. :) well as putting out four TikToks a week. touring, rather than touring after the of that is we’re seeing bigger day-one They are writing again so we’ve got to record release. streaming than ever before. keep an eye on their diary as well. Our targets are to continue to grow We’ve grown the fanbase by about WANT TO FEATURE IN Over the period that ‘Can You Feel their monthly listeners. For the album we’ll 2 million since the EP release – that is 2 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? My Heart’ was blowing up on TikTok, make sure we’re tying the physical and the million new people on board. We’ve got Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working we looked at what the Bring Me The digital release into the same time slot so just under 500,000 followers on TikTok on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Horizon listeners looked like and how it will hopefully be another number one, now and we’ve got another 400,000 Campaign in a future edition of sandbox? If so, send a brief they changed over that period. It really which would be the band’s third. followers on YouTube as a result of all synopsis of it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your introduced a young 18-24 audience and It will also be about developing the this content we’re putting out. work (and your words) could appear here. we could see a direct uplift. We shared band within the gaming space and within That consistency and being present in Email: [email protected] that with the band. TikTok. Because of the way they write everything that they’re doing is driving
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