Music Publishing & Songwriting

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

That’s the motto that’s inspired the current hot trend in music publishing (and in the record business as well). Since none of the experts in the industry can seem to figure out a way to actually sell music to the public, the savvy players are now looking for help, and the people they’re reaching out to are not music business experts, or even others in the entertainment world. Instead, they’re going to those who do know how to sell products effectively: the marketing and advertising whiz kids behind successful consumer brands and retail stores. Given our meager success recently in selling music as music, or even music as entertainment, it’s probably only natural that now we try to sell music as a brand.

Having been at Zomba Music Publishing and Jive Records during the reign of the teen pop trinity of Backstreet Boys, Britney, and *NSYNC, I had the opportunity to witness some of the early forays into cross-marketing efforts between music and consumer brands– in those glory days, we put music in cereal boxes, made special CD’s for McDonalds and Burger King, and partnered with everyone from Coca-Cola to Nickelodeon. I remember doing A&R for a teen girl group and receiving the news that we had just obtained a partnership with Ragu (the tomato sauce). Never did figure out how that tied together.

But today, publishers are pushing it even further. The latest move is a the idea of the branded CD, with publishing companies creating special collections of music in partnership with a variety of consumer brands, to be sold either along with the product itself, or in specific retail outlets. A recent Billboard article, “Publish or Perish” describes a wild array of ideas:

Cherry Lane is releasing a disc of music around “Hello Kitty”.
Primary Wave is partnering with Lancôme at cosmetic counters.
SonyATV France joined with Ben & Jerry’s (do you think the writers got paid in free ice cream?)

The motivating factor here is the desire to get music to the right target audience, by drawing on the expertise of companies that are experts in reaching that particular group of people. If your music appeals to trendy teenage females of a particular demographic, you could expend great effort and expense to get a song on the radio and a record in the stores, and then hope that your advertising campaign drives those coveted young girls toward your product. Or you could join with Hello Kitty, who clearly has a direct line to the trendy teen female market.

It’s all a pretty good theory, although to be fair, it’s not foolproof. I remember another young girl group, when I was with Sony Music that was placed into a partnership with the company that made Troll dolls– those weird little furry-haired plastic men. Not exactly a match made in heaven. The trick in making these branding efforts work is the same trick that usually makes an act or song successful at radio or anywhere else. In order to brand your music effectively, you have to accurately identify your target audience. For most songwriter/publishers, this is a challenge all by itself.

Here’s a quick exercise to jump-start your own songwriter/publisher branding campaign:

Do your own audience analysis. Start with some homework– read Radio & Records, Hits, or an advertising magazine like Adweek to get a clear idea of the demographics of the target audience your music will appeal to. Then take it a step further. What kinds of magazines does your target audience read? What TV shows do they watch? What clothing brands do they wear? Where do they eat? Who are the celebrity trendsetters that your audience tends to follow?

The reason that Lancôme, Hello Kitty and other brands can so successfully reach their consumer is largely because of endless, incessant research. I remember having a meeting with representatives of the Barbie brand (who strangely enough, all bore a remarkable and rather eerie resemblance to the doll itself) as they explained quite confidently that they knew and could predict changes in every aspect of the lifestyle of a girl between the ages of 5-10. How? By studying them with the same intensity that the guy in the white coat watches his lab rats.

It stands to reason that a songwriter/publisher should have that same knowledge. You are never writing songs for a general audience. Whether you’re writing for urban, AC, country, or smooth jazz, you need to understand specifically who the audience for that particular music is. If your songs aren’t relevant to that target market, they won’t stand a chance in the branding world.

Once you know exactly who your market is, it’s not that hard to begin to identify opportunities. Just look at who advertises in those magazines or on the TV shows that your audience favors. Look at what stores sell the clothes that your audience wears. What restaurants serve the food that your fans eat? These are your potential branding partners. It can be anyone from a top Vegas casino to Cracker Barrel restaurants, from a pricey perfume to a Troll doll. The key is in the fit.

Are you a purist? Does the very thought of connecting that closely to a major brand send shivers down your spine? I get it. To be honest, it’s not my favorite thing either– which probably says more about my age than my scruples. But let me put it in perspective. When Britney Spears did a special CD with McDonalds, the label (and the publishers involved) were guaranteed sales of 2 million units. How many other times in the music business can you count on selling 2 million units? A songwriter friend of mine, Steve Diamond recently placed a song on a Reba McEntire album done specifically for Hallmark– the guarantee was very similar, with all songs earning the full mechanical rate. That’s hard to beat in the current music market.

Most of us didn’t get into music because we were expert salesmen. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea to partner with the people who are. Business is business. If you can’t beat ‘em, join the brand.