Does the Brand Belong?
Now we know that the banks have wanted to be down with the kids as long as there have been students. Many of us can remember the scrum at freshers week to sign us up for our first bank account. And over the years one of the most popular hooks they’ve used to reach students...
Lonely Hearts: UK guitar band seeks Brand partner for tour of Europe
This British act, released their multi-platinum debut album in 2006, spending almost half the year in the UK Top 20 album charts. They are an award-winning act, with a major European honour already under their belt’s. They have played a number of major festivals, and supported one of the biggest bands on the planet in...
Brands in Music 5: Levi Strauss and the MC5 got it right
Also on the Brands in Music Panel at In The City was Andrea Moore, Marketing Director of Levi’s UK. At a personal level, Andrea is passionate about music. At a business level, I believe that she has been involved in one of the most credible examples of Brands and Bands coming together over the last...
Brands in Music: / In The City: / Music Events: / Music Marketing: / The kind of stuff citizensound does:
Brands in Music 2: Who do they talk to…the Managers?
The answer to this was pretty clear from Jazz Summers. For him, brands waste their time with anyone other than the Band Manager. Everyone else is a messenger as far as he is concerned, often with little to add except their percentage. In the end, the brand would have to talk to the manager, so...
Brave Brands: / In The City: / Music Events: / Music Marketing: / The kind of stuff citizensound does:
Brands in Music: Selling Out or Buying In?
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...
A Win, Win, Lose situation?
I'm sure some of you would have seen the Nationwide Mercury Music Awards on BBC4 the other night. The awards were founded back in 1992 by then Virgin Records MD, Jon Webster, as a way to champion the best in British music. The awards still seem to generate plenty of column inches in the press,...
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Artists formally good or artists presently brave?
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...
Starbucks: A tip from me on artist management
Well, a recent visit to a London Starbucks (Hammersmith Tube) gave me a little surprise. We all now know of the tie-up with Paul McCartney and the fact that they have shifted a fair few of his recent release. Good news for all. In store now the price has dropped to £5.99 which suggests that...
Siouxsie Sioux gives a definition of Punk
Great little article on Siouxsie Sioux here. She isn't happy about people using phrases such as ‘This is the new punk rock.’ "They’re so obsessed with looking back" she is quoted as saying in the article. For her "People doing their own thing – that’s punk…" With established artists and new bands finding alternative ways...
Praxis please…
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...
Advertising: / Brave Brands: / Sonic Branding: / Sound & Vision: / Television: / The kind of stuff citizensound does:
The Use of Sound in Advertising. The Right Way
Too often the sound is a last minute scramble in the advertising process, as advertising agencies all too often pitch ideas visually rather than sonically. So it is no surprise that the mood set by the sound of the ad is poorly thought through in most advertising. When is is right, it is immensely powerful....
innocent’s new music experience
I like innocent and so does Paul (see his blog posts on citizenbay) Yes, their fruit smoothies are tasty treats but beyond that I like the brand and how they’ve positioned themselves in the music space: effortlessly, playfully, hip and down-to-earth. Take the now defunct Fruitstock music festival. With its eclectic talent line-up, central London...