1. marketing and the Music industry
A ted talk by Mircea raetchi
For my Ted Talk I have chosen to take a look at marketing in the music industry, in order to hopefully identify how different artists choose to present themselves, as well as their products, to an audience. I hope that doing this will teach me, as well as you, what makes a marketing campaign successful, what makes different artists appeal to different audience groups and what could potentially turn people away from your product.

2. The evolution of marketing in the music industry
Music has changed a lot throughout the years, and it keeps doing so at a dramatic rate. This means that along with artists and their music, marketing has also had to adapt in order to appeal to new generation after generation. From vinyl to Spotify, there has been a significant change in how listeners access music, which is why you’re more likely to see an advert for Spotify than any new album from your favourite artist nowadays. So it would only make sense that along with almost every artist marketing would also make a strategic move to social media over magazines or television, that isn’t to say those forms of advertising don’t exist or aren’t effective, they just pale in comparison to the power of social media.
2009:
2015:

3. So why is social media so convenient for advertisers?
Let me break it down for you:
All you really need to access it is a smart phone, computer or tablet, which almost anyone has access to nowadays, and an internet connection, which is not hard to come by at all anymore.
That’s it.
It’s a great way for artists to interact with their audience, hold Q&A events and promote their new products, from the comfort of their own home.
It’s even more convenient for a listener to keep up to date as all they have to do is press a “follow” button on their favourite artists page.
Artists can express themselves in almost any way they choose to on social media without the FCC breathing down their neck or the fear of censorship.
It’s all 100% FREE

4. SO, social media is pretty cool but what does that have to do with Spotify?
Well, I believe the reason Spotify gets away with eating up all the market share is because it is woven into social media so well, allowing users to share playlists, follow each other and see what others are listening to in real time. It even lets you sync up your Facebook profile, so that all your friends on there are automatically added on Spotify. It’s just so much more convenient than any other form of music distribution, It genuinely feels like an improvement on almost every basis. On top of all that it also just happens to be it’s a bargain for almost any user, as instead of spending £10 on a new, physical copy of an album, you can just spend that on a months membership and get access to thousands of albums from hundreds of artists available, with the option to listen to your favourite songs offline at any time. And you don’t even need to leave your house…

5. But I thought you said the internet was free?!?
So why should I pay for Spotify to get my music fix? The good news is you don’t even have to! Free Spotify users still get access to the entire music catalogue, however at a cost, as the free version of Spotify is littered with un-skippable advertisements. This is a great example of how marketing has had to adapt to the internet age, as it has comfortably integrated itself into the Spotify app.

6. Product placements in Spotify
Product placements in the free version of Spotify are loud, annoying, pop up randomly to interrupt your listening session with long, drawn out audio commercials about something you probably don’t really care about. Such is life unfortunately.
However Spotify does more than their fair share to let you know that should you want the ads removed, they would be more than happy to take your money for you.

7. Spotify isn’t the only app guilty however
Product placements are woven into pretty much every part of the internet nowadays, not just the music industry. And it makes sense really as the internet is the most popular social platform we have, so of course it would make sense to advertise there

8. But back to the music industry!?!
There are other forms of marketing in the music industry, other than advertising, such as promotion. Many artists have their own clothing brands, for example, and they take every opportunity to remind us of that:
Tyler (left image) owns his very own clothing brand which he promotes by releasing look books for all of his releases, as well as through social media, such as his Twitter, YouTube Account, as well as his very own website.
Kanye on the other hand (right side) has opted to collaborate with Adidas instead of going solo, which has worked out amazingly since so many people look up to him as a fashion icon, and with an already well established brand in charge of manufacturing the products, he likely won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

9. Brand Synergy!!!
While we’re on the topic of Kanye and Adidas, another reason they seem to make a great pair (of shoes) is that they have great brand synergy.
Kanye is looked up to by a lot of people as a trend setter, and quite an important person in todays fashion scene.
Adidas is already an extremely well known brand across the world, therefore Adidas manufacturing Kanyes designs reassures people that it will be a quality product worth the hefty prices
Meanwhile Kanye attracts a lot more consumers who may not have even considered Adidas before, but are now willing to try their products because they are dedicated fans.
On top of assurance of a quality product, Kanye also gets more publicity from Adidas, as people who buy the shoes and clothes he designs might also discover his music through Adidas.

10. Hypodermic needle theory
The hypodermic needle theory basically proposes that audiences passively absorb contents of media and therefore, there is a direct correlation between the content audiences consume and the behaviour and values of said audience.
There are also many people opposed to the power social media has over younger generations, fearing that it has the potential to expose young children to profanity, indecent images, potentially even gore, etc.
Call back to earlier tweet:
I personally think there are valid arguments for both sides, having been raised on the internet myself, I think that social media can be compared to a race. Everyone wants to be the most popular, appeal to the most people, get the most followers and so on, it’s in human nature to seek others approval. I also think that some people can go a bit overboard when trying to appeal to others, whether it’s by using shocking imagery to get reactions out of people, or by using profanity to promote an album or product, people on social media tend to cross a lot of lines, whether it goes well for them or doesn’t is a different story.
Hypodermic needle theory

11. Bibliography:
NME (2017) Eminems new album title revealed. Available at: (Accessed: 27th November 2017)
HipHopDX (2017) Twitter already has mixed reactions to eminems walk on water.. Available at: (Accessed: 27th November 2017)
Netshark (2017) There Are No ‘Happy Endings’ At An Illegal Asian Massage Parlor. Available at: (Accessed: 27th November 2017)
Golf Wang (2017) Golf Book. Available at: (Accessed: 27th November 2017)
Adidas (2017) Yeezy. Available at: (Accessed: 27th November 2017)
Touchpoint Digital (2017) Spotify Advertising. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
The Next Scoop (2017) How to Maximize Facebook Ad Productivity through Great Headlines. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
MTV (2017) Tyler the creator just dropped cherry bomb a day early. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Blogger (2012) T2-10 Music Video Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
DES Media Studies (2017) Audiences and institutions. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Avex (2017) The Science Of Social Media Product Placement. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Marketing Land (2017) Brand Alignment And Content Strategy: Synergies That Sell. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Chron (2017) Advertising Ideas for the Music Industry. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Chron (2017) How Much Does Television Advertising Really Cost?. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)
Acquisio (2017) What Spotify Ads Can Offer Display Marketers. Available at: (Accessed: November 27th 2017)