Spotify Stays Creative with Statement after WWDC

On Monday, Apple announced at the Apple Worldwide Development Conference that it would be stepping back into the music scene. Not as far back as the days of Limewire, but not as recently as Touch Tunes, Apple did play a major role in the way that downloading music has developed. Apple Music is the company's new music service that ultimately serves the same needs as Spotify, iTunes, and Pandora. 

Innovations like these in the business world affect marketers because it immediately means competitors. Before announcing the big idea, Apple's communications team had to research and strategically plan how it would compare to the leading streaming services for music.

Spotify Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Ek, did not have much to say about the announcement initially, sharing only two words via Twitter:

Since then, Spotify posted a statement on their website sharing powerful statistics that they have reached 20 million paying subscribers. Not to mention, 75 million active streaming users. Basically - hey Apple, this is what we're working with - Spotify is getting personal with their audience and spreading the love to their fanbase in case they were thinking about turning.

In the statement, "The Spotify Team" include graphs to give users the inside scoop on how the numbers work behind the scenes. This type of reference makes the public think that Spotify thinks we are important even to know ourselves!

You haven't even heard the best part yet - as per any occasion, Spotify has come through and made us a playlist. "20 Million Thank Yous" is 17 popular, upbeat, happy-go-lucky songs, ranging from Zedd to Queen. It was a great idea for Spotify to take a creative approach when addressing the announcement of Apple Music. Spotify doesn't have to act or innovate now, but the PR team has to plan one way for the brand to publicly say something.

I decided to put "20 Million Thank Yous" on while I wrote this post. I couldn't be happier I did.

The End of New Music Promotion?

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, December 12th, Beyoncé dropped her fifth album, “Beyoncé,” completely unannounced. On iTunes, 14 songs and 17 videos suddenly appeared with no prior promotion. Earlier that same week, when asked about what’s to come in 2014, the Chairman of Columbia Records, Rob Stringer said, “Obviously, at some point, Beyoncé will put a record out.” Little did anyone know that “at some point” meant later that week.

As of Wednesday, December 18th, “Beyoncé” has reached #1 on the Billboard Charts, set a new iTunes record and sold 828,773 copies worldwide. In a press release published after the album went on sale, Beyoncé said, “I didn’t want to release my music the way I’ve done it. I’m bored with that.”

Six months ago on Friday, June 14th,“Yeezus,” Kanye West’s sixth solo album leaked to the public without any singles being released prior. This is highly unusual for a rap artist in today’s day and age. Most rap artists, such as Drake, 2 Chainz and even Jay Z, always release radio singles before releasing the album. In regards to releasing a single, Kanye said, “We ain’t got no single to radio. We ain’t got no big NBA campaign or nothing like that….When I listen to the radio, that ain’t where I want to be no more.” Now, Kanye’s album “Yeezus” is still being discussed, as well making its rounds on many of the “Best Albums of 2013” lists.

With world-renowned musicians such as Beyoncé and Kanye releasing their albums with little promotion or no singles, this begins to beg the question: Once one attains a certain level of celebrity, is marketing and promotion no longer needed? Typically, recording artists carefully craft promotion plans that begin advertising the release of a new album months in advance. These plans are meant to hone in on the image that the artist is looking to promote with their new album, release singles, give interviews and even perform parts of the album.

Many artists would be unable to get their new music off the ground without the help of marketing and public relations and it seems that only the elite few are able to successfully release their music without doing this. As this trend seems to be continuing, it’s up to public relations professionals to keep an eye on this, especially as some of us may be working for celebrities one day.

What do you think about Beyoncé dropping her new album unannounced – is this an effective approach that could be applied to other celebrities, or does it only work for artists such as herself and Kanye?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Rachel Draghi

What Electronic Dance Music Can Teach PR Pros

Over the past few months I have attended my fair share of concerts, most of them being categorized under the genre of EDM. It’s no secret that electronic dance music is on the rise in the United States With songs like Nero’s “Promises” being featured in a Hewlett Packard commercial and household names like Avicii and DJ Tiesto beginning partnerships with big name brands, the presence of EDM is spreading rapidly and will only grow larger in years to come. Shows put on by well known house music DJs like Swedish House Mafia and Kaskade are selling out in a matter of minutes with tickets priced close to $100 or above.

Looking at this from a public relations standpoint, I feel like there is a lot to learn from this recent phenomenon. The EDM audience consists of men and women ages 18-35, with a focus on college students, who are extremely tuned into social media and are willing to spend upwards to $300 dollars on festivals like Camp Bisco and Electric Zoo. Due to this audience, there are specific reasons as to why house music, dubstep, techno and trance artists have become so popular. After some research, here are some things I believe PR pros can take away from the explosion of EDM into America’s pop culture scene:

• It’s all about social media: Although this is an obvious observation in 2012, the key to making social media work is by integrating all social media channels. House music DJs utilize social media far better than any other type of artists/bands that I follow. They engage their audiences by syncing Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube to connect with fans, announce shows and line-ups, post photos in real time and to hold contests and giveaways. I have had DJs reply to a tweet and a something as simple as that allows the fan to feel a personal connection, something that brands may have a hard time doing.
• People like suspense: Welcome to the world of teasers. DJs have caught on to the fact that teasers work. The infamous trio known as Swedish House Mafia created a teaser website hinting at something epic before announced their 2011 Madison Square Garden show. Within minutes fans were sharing the link and counting down the days until the big announcement, which was their show at MSG that completely sold out in 40 minutes. Similar tactics are used to announce and promote EDM festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. When launching a new PR campaign, consider coming up with a teaser that will get your audience excited.
• Recycle: Well, not literally. Today’s DJs are known mostly for how they re-work other DJ’s music. They are performing at sold out shows playing recycled songs that they have made their own. Repeated ideas are often seen in the PR world. The key to making it thrive, however, is to take an idea that works and simply make it your own. New ideas are often more successful than the original (hence remixes).

Do you see other ways in which this music culture can be helpful to PR pros? Let us know!

Musicians and Social Media

Social media has forever revolutionized how we communicate with one another. Whether it is for personal reasons, business efforts, or promotion, social media has positioned itself as the dominant means of communication for a wide range of industries.

The music world has not been immune to this shift. The rapid growth of social media has allowed musicians, specifically those who are up-and-coming, to raise awareness of their existence in a way that was nonexistent merely 10 years ago. Musicians who have yet to make it are able to share their work beyond the scope of their own social circles and cities. Through the use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube, young artists are able to post their work and share it with the entire world in effort to achieve their ultimate goal, a deal. “Facebook is my resume,” said Aj Curry, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist from Rochester, NY. Not only can artists share their music, they are also able to market and create an image of themselves and the songs they represent. Considering that the current state of music is more fixated on production and marketing and less so on lyrics and quality of the composition, social media provides a necessary tool for the young musician to appeal to the capricious industry.

Prior to the explosion of social media, musicians were forced to do some serious legwork to achieve the results that YouTube or Facebook are capable of. Young musicians had to physically go to their potential audiences. Whether it was handing out CD's on a street corner, or incessant phone calls to bar managers in hopes of securing a venue, musicians had to put forth a great amount of time and effort to get their music out there, a strategy that is very time consuming and expensive. Social media has relieved artists of some of that burden. Artists are now able to reach a wide audience through more convenient methods. Evan Prewitt, a guitarist from Rochester, NY, said that his Facebook page has allowed him to easily promote upcoming shows. “I could not imagine trying to promote my shows without Facebook, I love it,” said Prewitt. “It’s the only way you can be in contact with everybody without being in contact with anybody,” said Curry. According to Curry, the use of social media has generated a faster growth of his fan base than when he originally began making music almost 10 years ago, a time when social media had not yet burst onto the scene.

But is this shift in the way we communicate truly beneficial to an artist who has yet to make it? The extreme popularity of these sites and the excessive amount of information posted everyday makes it easy to comprehend how a young musician may struggle to become noticed. How can an artist distinguish him or herself from the masses that constantly saturate social media sites with their work? It’s a daunting task to say the least, but one that is necessary in today’s world.

Curry noted that the accessibility of these sites has resulted in a large quantity of bad music being posted on the Internet. The voluminous amount of poor to mediocre music being pushed on social media websites has made it hard for good music to get noticed, a truth that has frustrated the young musician. But, according to Curry, persistence is the key. “Facebook really allowed me to prove my musical capabilities,” said Curry. Despite his frustrations with the continual exposure of subpar music, Curry credits much of his current success to his use of social media, attributing much of his recent fan growth and hype around the Rochester area to the quotidian postings of his songs and music videos on his Facebook page.

Prewitt expressed a similar sentiment. He too is frustrated with the mind-numbing music filling social media sites that make it difficult for quality, underground musicians to make a name for themselves. But ultimately, Prewitt feels that if you are good enough, you can separate yourself from the artists who prematurely release their work online. “I think what it boils down to is you can’t jump the gun until the product is right, especially if you’re just starting off,” said Prewitt. Much like Curry, Prewitt has increased his fan base and been offered to play gigs around Rochester because of his social media usage.

To learn more about Aj Curry’s or Evan Prewitt’s music, please visit their Facebook pages. You can also follow Aj on Twitter @AjCurry.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.