So a while back I wrote a chapter in MTV’s “Collections Of Cool” about why brands should look to bands interms of how to market themselves and build real consumer loyalty.
While I truly believed what I said … I purposely wrote it in a rather tongue-in-cheek style [starting off with why Chris Martin from Coldplay hates me] to ensure the message came across without sounding preachy or arrogant.
Anyway its seemingly had quite an impact because not only are MTV using it as part of their B2B marketing campaign [see pic above] but the global head of EPIC Records decided what I was saying was an affront to the music industry and used it as the basis of his speech [read: rant] at the recent music industry conference.
Problem is, his argument was rather flawed.
You see he said bands were nothing like brands … because they were not formulated with the single goal to ‘sell shitloads of stuff’.
Now while I sort-of agree with his point [which was one of the things I said brands should learn to do rather than just focus on the lowest-common-denominator for sales] there are 3 fatal flaws to this argument …
1. While most bands start with a view to play and create the music they love … they still dream of going on to sell tons of stuff – be it tickets / cds / songs / t-shirts.
2. The modern record company is obsessed with developing and packaging mainstream artists [often more driven by looks than talent … Pussycat Dolls for example] that can make lots of impact and money as quickly as possible.
3. It doesn’t matter if you are a one-hit-wonder or – as rare as they are now becoming – a career band/singer … you still develop into a brand, even if you are not purposefully doing anything to encourage it.
Don’t get me wrong … I am sure the majority of artists don’t start out with the intention of losing their individual identity and metamorphosing into a brand [though I think acts like U2, Madonna and The Stones may be different] but in the minds of the consumer – the people who have the power to make or break them – they associate with bands for more reasons than just a love of their music … it’s also about how they act … what they represent … what they believe in … what they value … inessence they become a ‘badge of allegiance’ rather than just a creator of popular music.
I really should find a way to put this article up as I’ve banged on about it long enough … so if anyone knows of a site I can link to where you can download/read a .pdf file, can you let me know.
Anyway it’s nice to cause abit of shit on a wider scale – it’s just sad that the recording industry [whose members I was celebrating] are more upset about what I’ve written than the brands owners, who are most in need of a slap.
Oooooh it’s a strange world!