So have Starbucks given up on music or are they just refocusing their attention?

When it was announced this week that they were to pull out of their record label Hear Music and hand over this business to their partners the Concord Music Group, an obvious reaction was ‘So what went wrong?’

This news was further compounded when it was announced that the entertainment division was to be put under control of the Chief Technology Officer Chris Bruzzo…geeks in charge of creative development? Surely this means that the whole Hear Music exercise has been a failure?

Well, it hasn’t been a failure in my view. For many of the classic artists, it has worked. First Ray Charles sells over 5million units. Paul McCartney sold more than he could have imagined. Meanwhile, Hear Music tempted Joni Mitchell to record again - which in my book is worth the whole exercise in itself. It also started to offer an alternative distribution and marketing solution for many other artists like the immensely talented and underrated Sia.

Has it been a success for Starbucks customers? Well, from a sonic retail perspective, Starbucks can teach many other retailers how to think about the effect of sound on a consumer’s experience in-store (See posts passim).

Starbucks have a head start on other brands in terms of understanding the power of music in the consumer’s connection with their business. Yet, the news clearly suggests that all is not well at Starbucks. So what can we make of the changes?

Shifting away from CD to digital is good business sense, though making the assumption that the CD is completely dead for the Starbucks consumer is a huge one. There are over 6000 options of coffee in Starbucks, so having a choice of formats for the music - “CD or download madam?” - is not a bad idea.

The bigger challenge for the new head of the entertainment division is how to ensure that the experience in-store is not undermined by this move. The danger is that a shift to digital entertainment will leave the coffee-house experience somewhat muted.

One hopes that Starbucks does not retreat, turn it’s music commitment into yet another music download site and forget that sonic branding is felt most of all by their customers in-store. They may be right to consider promoting books in-store (in fact this makes immense sense), yet the power of music could be better harnessed by brands, Starbucks included.

A thought for Starbucks:
Ever thought about getting local artists to play in-store, so supporting local art, giving something fresh to the customers and positioning yourself as the ‘local coffee house’ at the same time? It means acting small, not acting big.

The rise of DIY culture is not restricted to the music industry. Brands know that they have to earn their place in the consumer’s life. Improved insight on how to gain and build trust is ever more important. A full page advert that states how wonderful the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy is, will not suffice. The truth is in the detail. We adapt to the new realities or we carry on as before, pumping out the same messages through digital or vintage channels.

We Do…or We Die.

The fact that the Venice Festival of Media exists is confirmation that the advertising agencies are no longer automatic first choice for brands who seek assistance in engaging with consumers on their terms.

What exactly do clients need as support to help solve their business and marketing challenges?

Is it a big network with lots of dots on the map, or is it more about the people they get round the table?

Are there moves back to a fuller service agency model or towards a loose collective of people whose office is their laptop?

You can find out more about this very subject at our DIY: Do… Or Die session at the Venice Festival of Media 2008 from 1:45 to 2:45 on Tuesday 15th of April at 1.45pm

In the citizensound sonicRetail survey, we found a few stores decided on a policy of a music-free zone in–store.

Shops such as Church’s shoes had the sound of people talking and shoes being squeezed on to feet, nothing more. And this worked for the environment and the clientele. A sense of calm away from the storm of the street.

The Apple Store on Regent Street London is also music free, which given the connection between Apple and music, this seems shocking. However, Apple might rationalise this decision by seeing each person as controllers of their own music destiny (via their iPod of course). So a store that tries to dictate and decide what the customer should hear is not a store that respects that customer. However, my issue with the Apple Store is that in this music-free zone, music is generally heard…not through the store PA system, but through far-off speakers linked to Apple products. People test out iPod speakers or listen to songs on laptops. So the sound throughout the store is of far off tinny music.

Meanwhile the O2 in-store had the music so low that you could hardly hear it. Given the immense commitment to music by O2, this again seems like a contradiction. I would expect the in-store sonic experience to be stunning in any O2 store. Sadly, this is far from the truth.   Which leads to another issue…

citizensound says:

If you think music has a role in store then for goodness sake have it loud enough to do its' work and invest in a decent soundsystem. 

Mango stores are the sonic version of vanilla ice cream. After a while you are yearning for mint choc chip, raspberry, peach or mango even…anything but  vanilla…I have to ask the question – what is the point of having music in store if the music is so bland? It got me thinking…

If Mango was a band, who would it be? And then it dawned on me…Mango is the fashion version of Westlife.

Westlife have sold loads of albums, have a huge following, but are not known for innovation and creativity. They get on their stools, then get off them and sing covers, get back on their stools, then sell lots of CDs. A brilliant and successful model that works. So, Mango as Westlife is not a bad thing, IF Mango wanted that image. But this is NOT Mango. When I lived in Barcelona in the 90s, Mango was not a covers band. It was not white suits and the boy your mother would like. Mango had credibility. It had edge. Yet it also had accessibility. Right now in their stores, it just feels much like a lot of other stores…

Una nota para MANGO:Por favor Senores y Senoras de Mango, es possible a cambiar vuestra estrategia de musica en las tiendas – estoy seguro que hay musica que puede connectar mejor con los consumadores. No estais Westlife, eres mas cool que ellos.

The magazine Media & Marketing ran a few features on Brands and Music in their February issue that are worth a read, including some thoughts from citizensound. Also published within the magazine was an article I wrote on the sound of retail environments.

citizensound carried out an extensive survey at the end of 2007 early 2008 in London and Paris on the sound of (physical) retail. We checked out nearly 100 stores in the two cities to see (or rather hear) whether brands have fully leveraged the power of sound at retail.

Unfortunately, the results were not positive. A few companies had developed an outstanding approach to creating soundscapes that added to the shopping experience. Paul Smith had brilliantly fused music selection with each collection throughout the store, thus combining the senses as people explored the shop. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Music is often dictated by store staff for their own enjoyment, rather than what will connect with consumers. I walked into four different mobile phone stores and the music was interchangeable RnB. The staff were happy but the consumers were not all RnB fans.

If you are going to be in the store all day helping customers, then great music can help the day go by. Let’s be honest, time can drag if you are faced with either few customers or ones that don’t want to talk to you. So the sound of the store needs to also be motivational for the staff as much as for the customers. Which leads me to Top Shop / Top Man.

Here is a store that smartly fuses fashion with music through the layout of the store and the collections themselves. Bands could/do walk in, pick the look as laid out in the store,

So you would think that the store would be bang on the money when it comes to the music played in store. Wrong!

The music sounded fresh, very ‘indie/new wave’. However, when we asked two staff members about the music, we were met with strong responses. Both staff said the music is organised by main office (one thought that Q magazine was also involved) and that the same music had been playing in store for four months straight, same tape, same loop for four months! Also the same music is chosen for Top Shop and Top Man, so little by way of any gender segmentation analysis going on here. For the sanity of the staff, you have to hope this has been changed and that a more rapid changeover of music is happening in store. Just as the Top Shop collections are inspired by designer labels, so can they also gain from bespoke approach to sonic retail by Paul Smith.

citizensound says:

The balance between music for staff and music for consumers is a tricky one. However, getting it right can lead to an environment where the staff and consumer both enjoy their surroundings. This has to be the goal. It is a shame that so many stores fail to recognise this.So many reasons why, but one is money.

More on this subject in Rant 2 on Sonic Retail.

citizensound organised and moderated a panel that goes to the heart of what we do. Bringing brands and artists together with one thing in mind: ensuring that Brand, artist and fan all benefit from any deal constructed. We convinced the In The City organisers that the growing links between the Brand music worlds needed to be investigated with a panel that would share tips on how to make a Brand/Band relationship work. So we constructed a cracking panel with the following: Ian Grenfell, founder Silentway and manager Simply Red Jazz Summers, founder of Big Life Management, manager Richard Ashcroft, and until recently Snow Patrol Marcel Engh of SonyBMG Europe, responsible for constructing brand deals for their artists Carl Sharples, Head of Customer Propositions, The Co-Op Bank Andrea Moore, Marketing Director, Levi Strauss Ed Averdieck, Managing Director, Nokia Music Service So a wonderful panel, but would they conjure up a lively debate, and help the audience with tips for the future? Too right they did. More on this in the next few posts.

Saint Jazzie of B was a highlight at In The City. He was interviewed by Lloyd Bradley (more in him later!) and talked about how Soul2Soul started out.

Two things struck me whilst he was talking. Firstly, that Soul2Soul was very much music of the community - created, produced, refined and promoted by the community. It was rooted in the live experience, not the product form of vinyl or CD. Very similar to folk music where musicians would test their songs in bars and social gatherings in the community. Music as social commentary, not music as product.

In itself, the roots of Soul2Soul came out of the sound systems where musician/music/listener were joined. The sound systems created their ’specials’ - a tune that for all connected to the sound system would define that sound system against others. In effect is was their sonic branding. Everyone would know that tune belonged to that sound system.

Yet Soul2Soul understood the power of branding in more ways than the power of the sonic logo. Their visual emblem is still one of the most recognised logos in music, whilst the collective delivered not just the music but also their merchandise (with their own retail outlet too).

Very much a music collective ahead of their times, balancing smart branding techniques with the need to keeping close to their community roots…and making great music too.

In these times of 360 business models, Soul2Soul is a model that others can learn from.

We are witnessing so many young people finding their own path in creating, distributing and marketing their own music. The Punk ethic gone global so to speak. Meanwhile established artists are also finding their own way, be it Simply Red, Paul McCartney or Prince. Some are of the opinion that such artists are past their prime, so have no choice but to find alternatives to the record label support. As Naresh Ramchandani suggested:

Prince is doing what every artist formerly known as good has had to do. He's selling out, and it's never pretty.

However, I think he misses the point. Prince is not formally good. Joni Mitchell is not formally good. Music is about sharing with a community, about story-telling, about sharing life experiences, about representing the community. That is what these artists still do in their own way. These artists are exploring new directions of communicating with their community. They are glorious in their bravery, and should be heralded for trying. Anyone in the music world, be they label, manager or artist, should be cheered for trying new things. If no-one takes risks, the music industry will continue to struggle. Critical to risk-taking is understanding your audience. John Sinclair might not have had all the answers in the 60s, but his view that music binds communities together was bang on. By better understanding the community that the artist connects with will help the artist and their representatives. Some artists take risks and benefit, others are less brave. Part of the bravery of trying something different and exploring their relationship with their community is understanding HOW the artist connects. Over the last few decades, this connection has been driven by the recorded song. As my friend (and honorary citizen) Gauti Sigthorssen pointed out, are we not merely reverting back to a time when the live experience was more important, before vinyl transferred the communal experience of music into a commodity? Many people are looking for a greater emotional connection with artists, not just a throwaway flirtation. The sense of community is stronger than ever. Artists (and brands) that understand their community are the brave ones.

Now that this one has had time to settle, has it actually worked for all?

Well, Starbucks seem to be on a roll with their label, signing James Taylor and Joni Mitchell.

Not hearing much about the financial success of this, but given they are full steam ahead on the artist sign-up front Starbucks clearly mean business. Plus, anyone who gets Joni Mitchell to record new music will always have my thumbs up.

Talking of raised thumbs, I just couldn't get why Paul McCartney signed up with Starbucks.  The kind of people who pass through a Starbuck’s might well be the impulse purchaser of music, but not the core fanbase for McCartney’s NEW music. Surely only his core fanbase would spend money on what is packed with niceness. At the citizensound session in Venice earlier this year, Peter Jenner suggested Saga Holidays would have been a better bet for McCartney.

Yet with reputed global sales of more than a million (half of which from the US), things seem to have turned out well for Macca.

In early August I found myself in a Starbucks in Le Marais Paris. After a few songs from his new album, out came some classic Wings and solo songs from an earlier time. A lot of people, young and old, were singing along, tapping feet, nodding heads to the older songs. So there is a potential added bonus for Mr McCartney here, with an opportunity for a  ‘Best of Macca’ follow up next year perhaps?

Here I have to own up to an interest in the subject matter. He was my mum’s favourite in the Fab Four, hence my first name (me along with few 100,000 others no doubt).

And the music fans?

Well, clearly the impulse purchasers of Starbucks must be happy enough to have paid top $/£/€ for the CD. This is no cut price CD on offer here.

So far so good for everyone…

Tony Wilson made things happen. He tried things out. He believed in things/attitudes/ideas, but crucially followed through and brought those beliefs and passions to life.

Having only met him twice, I can only comment from afar. Yet from this perspective, I see someone who just went out and did things, rather than just theorise…

A Master of Praxis one could say…

Be it the music industry or the marketing community in other sectors, there is a lot of navel gazing and contemplating the meaning of the new consumer/fan realities…

It is as if we are all standing by the edge of the pool at a pool party…looking to each other to see who will jump in…not wanting to make the first move…meanwhile the fans and some smart purveyors of Praxis are splashing about in the water…

People like Tony Wilson do not come along very often. However, we can all learn from those who both dream and do.