We finally got hold of the recording of our DIY: Do or Die session at this year’s Venice Festival Of Media. You can listen to it here or by downloading it to listen to on your computer, iPod or MP3 player. Again a big thanks to Maarten Steinkamp, Jon Webster, Martin Stiksel and John Ingham for making it a fascinating session…

To listen now:

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For those of you who are PC users, or are not iTunes users, the MP3 version can be downloaded by right clicking your mouse, here

During our DIY panel at the Venice Festival of Media, the panellists were inevitably asked about what we thought about the recent deal between Proctor & Gamble TAG deodorant spray and Def Jam records.

In case you haven’t heard, TAG records has been set up by both parties to find new hip hop talent and promote them through integrated marketing approaches that P&G have immense experience in.

The rumours state-side is that the marketing budget will be a ‘multi-million dollar’ effort

Given that exposure is what so many artists require, connecting with a brand to secure increased exposure seems good business sense. For the brand, they have a chance to appeal to the urban demographic in the U.S. and are seen to be giving something back to the community. This fits with the P&G ethos shared by Bernhard Glock, their head of global media and communications, at Venice, which separates this deal with the rather ridiculous offer by McDonald’s to pay Hip Hop artists to mention their brand name in lyrics!

So on the face of it, it seems like a great move.

However, our panel at Venice were not 100% convinced. And I also have a couple of reservations.

First, the marketing budget will promote the artist first or the brand first? If it is the brand first, that is still a good opportunity, much like a sync deal can help get an artist exposure. However, I would encourage the artists to manage their expectations of what the marketing budget will achieve for them.

Second, my concern rests with Def Jam. This name is more than a label. This is one of the few labels that stood for something more than just music. My concern is whether the legitimacy of the Def Jam name might get eroded due to this deal, no matter how well intentioned all parties are.

This is the difficult path that all artists, managers and labels face as they look for alternative revenue streams.

citizensound says:

Deals with brands will become less of an issue though as more artists and fans find brands that get involved with the right spirit. It feels that the spirit is there in the P&G/Def Jam deal. However, the proof in the pudding will come on three fronts:

First, the brand shifts more units

Second, the artists are credible and get the break they deserve

Third, the music fan loves the music

When I stood up to start the panel at Venice, I was looking for a way to immediately frame the topic so that the audience understood what they were about to sit through.

So I mentioned a journey I took on the 137 bus in south London one day…

There were five kids on the back of the bus. One had recorded some beats on his laptop the night before. He had uploaded them to his phone to play them to his friends on the bus on the way to school. The friends told him which beats they liked and which ones they didn’t. The kid then deleted the ones from his phone that his friends didn’t like. The ones they liked, he bluetoothed the tunes to them all.

Now for me this summed up what is DIY culture, and why for me the rise of DIY music culture is so much more than a mere fad. Right on the back of the bus, I witnessed the CREATION, DISTRIBUTION, MARKETING and CONSUMPTION of music amongst those five kids.

And it happened without the help of anyone from the ‘music industry’. The help of handset and laptop manufacturers maybe, but no-one from the ‘music industry’. This is as pure a version of DIY music as one could imagine.

This is the challenge for the music industry to work through. How are they relevant to the kids on the back of that bus?

It is also for brands to work out if they wish to get involved in music in ways other than writing a massive cheque to a major artist and hoping that the celebrity factor rubs off on the brand. (Don’t get me wrong, such deals can be highly successful, benefiting fan, artist and the brand, but involvement within the DIY culture can provide different benefits for the brand, artist and fan).

Seeing this DIY music culture in action really excited me. This gave me the inspiration to dig deeper into DIY music culture. First, I carried out some research in 2007 with Dr. Gauti Sigthorsson, lecturer at Greenwich University, and now an honorary citizen of citizensound. Anyone interested in finding out more on this, I will post up some interesting snippets we found out in later posts.

Nick and I also ran a panel at In The City in 2007 on this very topic, exploring what artists need as support functions in order to survive as a DIY artist. As an example of DIY music culture, we invited Rob McCulloch to join us on stage, a guy who invited his fans to pay what they want for his CD…18 months before Radiohead. Average price for his CD was £11/€15/$22! Admittedly smaller audience, but impressive nevertheless.

This and more inspired citizensound to choose this topic for the panel. But it all started with those 5 kids on the 137 bus in London…

Come back to the blog as we will be sharing more on this.

Well, our panel at the venice Festival of Media 2008 went really well.

The topic was a great one (if we say so ourselves), but what made the session were the great panellists and the audience.

There is nothing worse for me than a panel that answers with Yes, No or Maybe. We all want a panel that is inspired to really let loose. We were blessed with four people who didn’t hold back at all.

So a huge thank you to:
John Ingham, CEO of ESP and MOG blogger extraordinaire;
Maarten Steinkamp, SonyBMG CEO Continental Europe and a man who speaks his mind;
Martin Stiksel, Last FM CEO and someone who forgets more about how people relate to music than I know;
Jon Webster, Chairman of the Music Managers Forum, and a man who held back from sharing too many stories on stage.

One person in the audience told me after that he couldn’t mistake this panel as a music panel as everyone swore freely, but more importantly, expressed themselves very openly.

It seemed to inspire the audience too, as they were fantastic. When we over-ran by 15 minutes, I invited the audience to attend the next session in the main hall. I said I was happy to stay, so did the panelists. The audience stayed put, leading to overrun by 40 minutes…causing chaos for the organisers! (Sorry Clare, Charlie and everyone at CSquared!)

The questions just kept coming. It was fantastic. So thanks to Lucy from Diesel, Steve King and John Taylor from ZenithOptimedia, Graham Duff from Universal McCann, the guys from Nokia Procurement (I know you were out there!), the fantastic lady from Future Magazines (contact me please!!!), Olivia from Media and Marketing, Mariana from CSquared, Martin Sambrook from Billetts and Tom Bowman from BBC Worldwide, the guy at the back who asked about Apple, and everyone else who I have forgotten!

One minute we are on the stage at the Venice festival of media discussing the impact of a DIY revolution on the music business, and a few days later the Sunday Times Style magazine is running an article about the very same topic!

And as if by serendipity, the article is about Manchester band the Ting Tings, who recent signed to Sony BMG, whose European CEO Maarten Steinkamp was one of our speakers at Venice. We promise that neither of these two events were connected.

The key for the Ting Tings was to ensure that no matter who the signed to, they would retain complete creative control of there music. This may seem to an outsider as only a small concession on the label’s part, but this a a big leap of faith for any major record company when it comes to a totally unproven new act.

And in true DIY spirit, the album cost pretty much nothing to make. No expensive recording studio in the south of France for these guy’s, with the band using Pro Tools and Garageband (an application that comes free with your Mac laptop) to record the album in their own home studio. While they also decided to use their home-made lo-fi video for their single, That’s Not My Name, in preference to the usual big budget record company promo.

Encouragingly the Sunday Times not only suggested that the DIY revolution would allow artists to take control of their own destiny, but also suggested we should all go out and make our own DIY music, movies, fanzines, novels and fashion labels. Let’s hope this hasn’t given Peaches Geldof or Paris Hilton any new ideas!

citizensound listened in on the Sports Marketing panel to see whether there were any insights to be picked up from bringing the worlds of sport and marketing together.

Rob Simmelkjaer, former ABC News anchor and ESPN reporter, bravely dealt with continual sound distortion on the mikes and ran a really interesting panel. Meanwhile, Gianluca Vialli provided an example of a true professional…modest, charming, insightful and engaging - many of the young Premier League stars could learn from him in more ways than one.

I asked them what lessons could be learned from the sports world for the music world, as more brands move into music.

Dominic Fawcett, Managing Partner of Mindshare, rightly stated that there has been too many instances in sports marketing where the connection between brand and sport made little sense to consumers. He was also concerned that the creative expression of the brand/sports partnership was a little too forced -

Brand X: We are part of the team

…ouch…

Meanwhile Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director, SportsBusiness Group raised two interesting points. For him, the sports world is struggling with a fanbase that is ageing, be it cricket, football, rugby, tennis or the Olympics. no such problem in the music world.

Secondly, Sports he said struggle to attract lots of female fans. So sports marketing is also limiting from a brand’s perspective. Another reason why music makes sense for many brands…

So citizensound does have a future then!

citizensound has just got back from the Venice Festival of Media. Great three days, which started with the Welcome drinks. We caught up with Maarten Steinkamp and Soeren Hinsch from SonyBMG along with some friends from Havas Media Madrid

Meanwhile, Nick Watt (citizen 02) shared a joke with Marcel Engh of SonyBMG

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

The Music Industry is going through a time of repositioning, where record labels, concert promotors, music distributors, digital retailers and artist managers are vying for the position as the one-stop shop for their clients - the artists. CD sales are falling fast while people are paying inflated prices to see their favourite band live. Artists are ready to seek investment from Venture Capitalists or sign up to brand partnerships. It is a fascinating time to be involved in the music space. Nothing though is more exciting than the clear trend towards the DIY ethic in music.

Whether it is an established act - such as Radiohead or Simply Red - or young unsigned artists (such as Holly Rose (opposite) who will be appearing at the Venice Festival of Media Gala Dinner), musicians are looking to do it for themselves. Technology has something to do with it, making the distribution of music an easier thing to do. Partly, it is just a sense that ‘there is another way’. A way that gives the artist control over their own destiny. The DIY artist will still need the right people around them to find the right investment, or get the best distribution. Yet distribution doesn’t mean anyone will discover the music. How do they get noticed? Is it still about getting in the van/train/private jet and doing lots of gigs? Or will the online social networks do the work for them? And are the challenges for established acts any different?

The music industry has responded by re-shaping in front of our eyes. All artists are having to work out who best serves their interests.

And then we have the fans. They can find more music than ever before. They are more fickle than ever. They can make up their own personal Top 10 every minute, and can use free peer-to-peer services to pick one song and move on.

The artist wonders:

• Where is the fanbase going to come from?
• How do we hold on to them?
• How can we get standout now that everyone has cheap
• and easy access to marketing and distribution?
• Who can we turn to for help?

Exactly the same challenges face each and every brand. Who do they turn to? As for their marketing services partners, the race is on to offer the right kind of services that brands need to deal with the world in 2008.

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

Citizensound were invited by the Venice Festival Of Media organisers C Squared, to deliver a session at last year’s inaugural event, entitled ‘Brand, Bands and Fans’. We ran a panel session with esteemed band managers Pete Jenner of Sincere Management and Gary McClarnan of Sparklestreet. The aim of the session was to discuss how Brands could get involved with Music in ways that benefit them, the Artist and the Fans. The session was a sell out, with standing room only. This no-doubt influenced the orgasnisers decision to have us us back to run another session at this year’s event!

citizensound brands and bands session, DIY: Do… or Die?

DIY culture, where creators connect more closely to consumers, is beginning to alter the shape of the music industry. It is nothing short of an industry revolution - where record labels now act as agents, and where tour operators now act as record companies. Can brands harness the DIY culture? Where can agencies get involved? How can both manage the managers? This Session will find the answers.

And as ever we have an august bunch of speakers to chew the fat with citizensound founder Paul Bay acting as moderator.

Maarten Steinkamp CEO, Continental Europe of Sony BMG. Maarten heads up the Continental European division of SONY BMG, which at 20 markets, is the biggest international division of the music entertainment company of Bertelsmann and Sony Corp.

Martin Stiksel, Co-Founder, Last.fm set up insine.net in 1999, a platform for unsigned bands and an online record label together with Felix Miller. They were joined by Richard Jones of Audiosrobbler fame in 2003, and founded Last.fm with a view to building the social music platform to end them all.

Jon Webster, CEO, Music Managers Forum. “Webbo” has worked for 2 people most of his life - himself and Richard Branson. Most of his career was spent at Virgin Records, which he became Managing Director of in 1988. In 2007 he embraced the artist centric future when he was appointed CEO of the Music Managers Forum

John Ingham, Chief Experience Officer, ESP. John has been involved in interactive media since 1985. From 2001 to 2005 he was Head Of Content Development at UK mobile operator O2, helping to develop Europe’s first OTA mobile music download service. He now advises media and entertainment companies on their online and mobile strategies. He was also the first man to interview the Sex Pistols back in 1976!

We’ll post up more background information on the topics we’ll be covering in the run up to event. If you are planning to attend this years event, don’t forget to sign up for our session which will take place on Tuesday 15th of April at 1.45pm. We look forward to seeing you all there..