Social Media in Action Series: Duck Sauce

I'm spending a few days highlighting my "best in class" picks for companies driven by social media. This series isn't about uncovering the latest viral phenomenon - it's about slowing your roll a little bit and observing the underlying principles of success in social media marketing. Day 4 in the series features Duck Sauce.

When an Internet phenomenon is reported by the New York Times it's usually regarded as having earned "viral" or "meme" status by the teeming hordes of social media experts. Watch the latest video to reach such status from the band Duck Sauce aptly named Barbara Streisand, then read my takeaways below.

One of the cornerstones to social media success (and some of this can be applied to the music industry as a whole) is producing something that many people will love. Not just "like" or tweet, but truly love. By combining a catchy beat with visuals and celebrity cameos that make most young New Yorkers swoon Duck Sauce created a juicy bit of video goodness that was championed by the largest city in America. The lesson here is simple: target your audience with remarkable content and they will... remark! Too many brands play it safe by generalizing content to apply to as many people as possible, not realizing in the process they are eroding viral potential.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how social technologies can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Universal Music Group Expects Millennials to Pay for Music, Wants Government Pressure on ISPs

Yesterday I received an open letter from Jim Urie, CEO of Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), the distribution arm of the world's largest music company. In his letter Jim reveals his plan to encourage ISPs to regulate illegal downloading of music and compensate the music industry with a viral campaign. Read his letter followed by a quick reality check from me.

Dear Nick,

I’ve received hundreds of e-mails enthusiastically reacting to my “call to action” at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers convention last month. The music business is facing huge challenges from piracy and theft. Never before in American history has an entire industry been so decimated by illegal behavior. Yet the government has not responded in a meaningful way to help us address this crisis. My call to action is for all of us to become more aggressive in lobbying our government, more outspoken in drawing attention to the problems caused by piracy and more actively engaged. We cannot win this fight alone.

Governments outside the U.S. are legislating, regulating and playing a prominent role in discussions with ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Sales have dramatically improved in these countries. How is it that the U.S. – with the most successful music community in the world – is not keeping up with places like South Korea, France, the UK and New Zealand?

As I said in my speech, I hope that the industry can negotiate a voluntary deal with the ISPs. We need our government representatives to encourage this. But whether or not we reach a deal with the ISPs, our government needs to know that we’ve got a piracy problem and we need real solutions. To accomplish this, our government needs to hear from all of us, so they know that their constituents are out here. Join me in calling on our elected officials to fight piracy. Please help by forwarding this email to your colleagues, friends– everyone who loves music. And consider enlisting your entire company to help in this fight. Then by clicking on the link below a message will be sent to your representatives in Washington. Help us launch a viral campaign to cut off access to the online sites that are used to steal our music, our property and our jobs. In only takes a second but it can make a tremendous impact.

Click HERE.

Please help us by forwarding this link.

Sincerely,
Jim Urie
Learn More at www.musicrightsnow.org

Let's get some facts straight.

The Millennial generation (born 1977-1994) doesn't like to pay for things that can be downloaded or streamed for free.

Music falls into that unfortunate category of products. Books and publications are meeting the same fate. This trend isn't changing at all - in fact it's accelerating as mobile and cloud computing becomes more prevalent.

You can't force Millennials to pay for music again.

It just won't work. The model is forever broken. Market and sales data supports this conclusion and most of the major music companies know it. Attacking ISPs and trying to force their hand won't work either. ISPs have a working revenue model and a product that still holds value to Millennial consumers.

There is a better way.

I encourage anyone who is struggling to come to grips with declining revenues from digital music downloads to rethink engagement with Millennials. It's time to work with them with the realization that you won't be able to pry open wallets with your existing business model. That's right; I'm telling you that you will never make money again by selling music under your current distribution model. A top down industry reinvention is required. So far I haven't seen a major label take a step in the right direction. The first music company to do it will win big.

I invite anyone from UMG to email me for a constructive conversation off the record about the future of the music industry.

What do you think? Can Universal Music Group kick off a revival of a dying business model through regulation? Will you participate in their viral campaign?

UPDATE 7/6/10: Prince decides "the Internet is over" and shares some cooky wisdom about why digital is "no good".

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Fixing the Music Industry, One Viral Video at a Time

If the late 90’s and early 2000’s were about scandalously clad underage girls becoming pop sensations, the second decade of the new millennium is most certainly starting with youthful boys belting out shrill tenor chords on YouTube.

It’s about to be common knowledge that Canadian born Justin Beiber has the top selling US record for the week of May 9th – the same week that other, and certainly more “adult” sounding artists pitched their wares through more traditional channels. Add to that the fact that the number of Beiber’s units sold is abysmally low. It’s just another nail in the coffin of an industry that is currently seeing the downside to rejecting progress.

Beiber’s meteoric rise to fame is another, and for marketers old, YouTube story. You know it just as well as I do – talented kid thinks it would be cool to put his videos up on YouTube, does so, and is plucked from a normal childhood by a bevy of talent scouts, agents, and record labels who come late to the game after seeing huge numbers of video views.

Greyson Michael Chance is the latest in a long line of child artists to be snapped up by Hollywood – moving from a YouTube viral phenom to guest of the Ellen show in three days. Wikipedia hasn’t even decided if he’s article worthy.

The impact of social technologies works both ways.

Consumer behaviors are changing by the hour. Music industry executives are left confused, disoriented, and unsure of the future. To the modern marketer for a large brand, it’s just another day at the office.

A source at Universal Music Group told me this today:

“If we don’t start selling more [physical] records soon, all the major retailers will pull out. If Best Buy pulls out, target will pull out, and Wal-mart would have already been out. There won’t be any more product on the shelf unless you are Lady Gaga. I don’t see that we are making up for it digitally. So Beiber is #1 with a tiny amount of records sold. Where are all the people buying digital albums? Where is the revenue? And what kind of message does this send to emerging artists trying to break into the business? If our industry as a whole won’t come off of our high horse of pricing [physical] albums at $13.99 to match or best digital prices, consumers won't see records on the shelves anymore.

If they aren’t buying it at Best Buy and they aren’t buying it at Target where are they buying it? The answer is they aren’t. They are streaming it on sites like YouTube and Facebook. Music has become so fluid you can literally listen to it anywhere you want. It’s not confined to a car or iPod. The music industry has to figure out a way for them to pay for it without paying for it. The artists have to be sold in a different way.”

The need for the music industry to reinvent itself has never been more pressing (assuming you care about music). I'll ask the question and let you tell the rest of the story:

If you could give one piece of marketing advice to a top music industry executive, what would it be?

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Auto-Tune My Voice and Put the Money Right in My Hand: Technorati

This article originally published in Technorati October 16, 2009.

In an industry with ever-dwindling sales and unmet consumer needs, major record labels still don’t get it.


It’s a sad state of affairs these days at the Big Four music groups (Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI, and Warner Music Group). The music industry as a whole has been hurt by the American recession, and there is little doubt consumers are spending less on everything from physical albums and their digital counterparts to merchandise and concert tickets.

But why does an industry suffering from year after year of shrinking sales refuse to innovate?

The answer: major record labels have failed to learn and practice modern marketing skills.

Example: Warner Music Group’s recent attempt to modernize their marketing efforts by selling advertising space before and after music videos.

Really, Warner? That’s the best you could come up with for your so-called "Web Strategy 2.0"?

In an era with social technologies, pull marketing, and word of mouth marketing taking center stage, revenue from physical album sales (the primary revenue stream of the major labels) is plummeting. The desperation amongst industry insiders is palpable as they realize a fundamental business model change is going to have to happen if the major labels are to survive another two to three years.

Labels need to focus on producing a product that their customers view as high quality at a price point that is fair, and then delivering that product to the channels consumers prefer (digital). That may seem like common sense, but it reflects the way the marketing and advertising industries have dramatically restructured to leverage emerging technology and trends in consumer behavior. Returning to the adage of building a high quality digital product with a good story backing it up is essential for anyone working the business to consumer angle in 2009.

As Nancy Jeffries, head of Creative Development and Licensing at MPL Music Publishing recently shared with me, "Great music, undiscovered, filtered and at great prices is what’s called for now."

Digital Rights Management issues aside, unless major labels get their acts together by hiring in fresh, talented marketers - and taking them seriously - we don’t have much to look forward to from Hollywood in the coming years, nor can we expect to have any kind of say in the low brow, Auto-Tuned, airy music dominating Billboard’s top lists.

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PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> As Facebook Grows, Privacy Issues Exposed: Technorati

> FTC Regulates Bloggers: How to Comply

> ADMAVEN's 5 Minute Music Survey: Consumption Habits and More

ADMAVEN's 5 Minute Music Survey: Consumption Habits and More

In light of recent articles covering changes in the music industry and integration of social technologies I have constructed a brief poll to ask you some simple questions about how you consume music.

I will publish the results of the poll at the end of the week - it only takes 5 minutes so please participate; the more responses we collect the more valuable insights we will have to share!

>> Click Here to take survey (opens in new window)


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PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> Innovation In Music: New Opportunities For Advertisers From MPL Music Publishing Part 3

> The Economist Brings You Another "Shift Happens"

> Innovation In Music: New Opportunities For Advertisers From MPL Music Publishing Part 2