'Boxing Clever

NOVEMBER 05 2018 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 215 ’BOXING CLEVER SANDBOX SUMMIT SPECIAL ISSUE Event photography: Vitalij Sidorovic Music Ally would like to thank all of the Sandbox Summit sponsors in association with Official lanyard sponsor Support sponsor Networking/drinks provided by #MarketMusicBetter ast Wednesday (31st October), Music Ally held our latest Sandbox Summit conference in London. While we were Ltweeting from the event, you may have wondered why we hadn’t published any reports from the sessions on our site and ’BOXING CLEVER in our bulletin. Why not? Because we were trying something different: Music Ally’s Sandbox Summit conference in London, IN preparing our writeups for this special-edition sandbox report. From the YouTube Music keynote to panels about manager/ ASSOCIATION WITH LINKFIRE, explored music marketing label relations, new technology and in-house ad-buying, taking in Fortnite and esports, Ed Sheeran, Snapchat campaigns and topics, as well as some related areas, with a lineup marketing to older fans along the way, we’ve broken down the key views, stats and debates from our one-day event. We hope drawn from the sharp end of these trends. you enjoy the results. :) 6 | sandbox | ISSUE 215 | 05.11.2018 TALES OF THE ’TUBE Community tabs, premieres and curation channels cited as key tools for artists on YouTube in 2018 ensions between YouTube and the music industry remain at raised Tlevels following the recent European Parliament vote to approve Article 13 of the proposed new Copyright Directive, with YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki and (the day after Sandbox Summit) music chief Lyor Cohen both publicly criticising the legislation. Article 13, safe harbour and the “value gap” remain important talking points for the industry, but it’s also true that in 2018, making this enormous.” the features that make YouTube a partner Lewit showed some images of an for artists and rightsholders have stepped upcoming YouTube Music marketing up several notches: from the launch of campaign in the UK featuring artist The the YouTube Music subscription service to 1975, with Anne-Marie, Stormzy, George various tools for artist marketing. “You’re the marketing experts. Ezra and The Beatles also due to feature: It was the latter that was the focus for “The single biggest marketing investment YouTube’s global head of artist services We’d love to work together in music that YouTube has made in the UK” Vivien Lewit’s keynote at the conference, in with you specifically to help as she put it. what she described as “the year of music” narrative, and discovery of new talent drive subscribers” Much of her keynote focused on the tools for YouTube. on a daily basis,” she said. “The organic launched by YouTube in 2018 for artists, Lewit made a pitch for the promotion of YouTube, which is fueled by Music subscriptions. including official artist channels, which “complementary system of two different algorithmic recommendations is super- “You’re the marketing experts,” she brought together the subscribers and platforms” – the main, free YouTube service powerful – and that aids in discovery.” said. “We’d love to work together with content from artists’ personal channels, on one hand, and the new subscription tier Lewit also noted that YouTube you specifically to help drive subscribers. their Vevo-branded channels and fan- on the other. That included a defence of Music has launched in 22 countries so Please make YouTube Music part of uploaded content, with ‘shelves’ that they the free version. far, with “more to come in 2019”, while your social campaigns […] And talk to could curate themselves. “You’ve got unlimited discovery, a admitting that it’s still early days and that the team here about how we can come Lewit also highlighted the ‘music in this driving force of connectivity between YouTube is seeking the help of the music together on co-marketing partnerships. video’ feature, which provides artist and artists and their fans […] The ability industry to help it drive trials, app installs If we do this together, we think there’s songwriter credits for music used in other to engage directly and build your own and, ultimately, conversions to YouTube infinite possibility; and we’re committed to videos on YouTube. “Over half a billion 7 | sandbox | ISSUE 215 | 05.11.2018 TALES OF THE ‘TUBE videos on YouTube have music in this video the rate they’re getting on Facebook. to just 88k first-day views for her ‘5 In The links associated with them,” she said. (The fact that YouTube is pushing that Morning’ release earlier in the year. While She also encouraged labels to make comparison with Facebook is certainly the addition of a popular collaborator will use of YouTube’s newly-launched charts. interesting, even if it’s a low bar to vault, have also given some uplift for the newer “It gives you a sense of how your artist given the ongoing decline in organic reach song, Lewit’s point was that the premiere is doing […] Use it to help open up doors on that social network.) got ‘1999’ off to a fast start. for other opportunities with your talent. Lewit’s point, though, was that artists Curatorial channels – the ones that Use it in brand meetings, use it in radio should get involved. “Activity on the film original content around music and meetings,” she said. platform begets more activity on the musicians – were also warmly praised in That’s something that labels and platform. The more actions that you take Lewit’s keynote. “Perhaps to use YouTube managers have been doing for some time on a YouTube channel, whether it’s uploads, to its fullest extent means tapping into with data from Spotify, as well as more playlisting, posting to community? The the community of other creators, music recently with Apple Music. YouTube is keen more that fires up the recommendation curators and, of course, the fans of the for its numbers to be wielded alongside system to drive discoverability.” music themselves,” she said. those other services, clearly. Lewit also praised Charli XCX’s use of Lewit picked out two channels in track by fans, as well as getting some of Lewit cited some artists who’ve been YouTube’s new premiere feature, which particular: GRM Daily and Colors, who have his fans to contribute to a ‘reaction video’ finding success with other new features on enables channels to cue up the launch of 1.5m and 2m subscribers respectively, to the track’s official video. “He’s gained YouTube. Its community tab, for example, a new video as an event to be watched while also recognising British channel SBTV 2.3m subscribers since he launched that where artists can publish the kind of and chatted about by fans on a certain as a pioneer in this field. “These types of campaign,” noted Lewit. “The power of posts familiar from other social networks. day and time. platforms, these promotional vehicles, doing things like this: of engaging the fan Gorillaz have made 10 community posts in Charli XCX’s video for her duet with Troye could only appear on a platform like community, is enormous.” the last month on YouTube, for example, Sivan, ‘1999’, was watched more than 860k YouTube,” she said. She also pointed to Dua Lipa’s launch with ‘total engagement’ that’s four times times in the day after its premiere, compared “These channels were once primarily of an official reaction video – again with thought of as curiosities, but are now “Colors have fans – to her track ‘IDGAF’, which has been defining the zeitgeist, and are a crucial part been watched 553k times so far. “It celebrates of breaking your artists and new music the fan more than anything else. There is […] They have wide reach, deep breadth of driving no stronger evidence of fandom than the audience, and global potential.” a ton of person of whatever age who is going to make As one example, Lewit pointed to artist viewership a video using works of their favourite artist. Mahalia’s single ‘Sober’, whose official and really So to celebrate that is really special and gives video has 1.5m views on YouTube, while a breaking something back to the fans,” she said. version shot by Colors has 19m views. Here, there was a sense of a political “Colors have been driving a ton of new message, given that this kind of fan- viewership and really breaking new boundaries created content is what YouTube maintains boundaries around artist performances around may be threatened if Article 13 in its […] The videos of these artists are up in artist current form becomes law. Rightsholders double-digit millions. In many instances perform- argue that it should not be affected. That they’re more than, or at least close to, what argument continues, but we suspect both the official videos do,” said Lewit. ances” sides agree that fan content – especially She also praised artists who are leaning when embraced by artists – can be into fan-created content. Alan Walker a powerful thing on video and social compiled cover versions of his ‘Darkside’ platforms of all kinds. :) 8 | sandbox | ISSUE 215 | 05.11.2018 CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR Asylum / Atlantic prevail in audience vote for the best marketing of 2018 usic Ally shortlisted five marketing campaigns that really stood out for us this year. During SandboxSummit, we gave short presentations on each of them, outlining their And the other nominees were... Mstructure while explaining what we were impressed by and where we thought they were breaking new ground. Attendees at the event then voted for the winner, which was revealed at the end of the event.

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