The Citizen Group
Places & Spaces

Places & Spaces

The sound of a Place or a Space We help countries, cities, museums, galleries, public spaces amongst others to consider how they are heard by people, and how these sounds impact on the experience. Be it silent museums seeking a fresh approach or a tourist authority that is fed up...
Bands / Artists

Bands / Artists

The brand of sound You want your music to be heard. You want people to take time to listen to you. So you need to use tactics that brands use. Whether it is keeping fans interested, finding new fans or getting people to part with a little of their money,...
Brands

Brands

What is the sound of your brand? We help companies and institutions shape how people HEAR their brand, not just how they see it. From the website and the ads, from the retail environment to the the sound of the app or the call centre…people hear your brand everywhere. 4...
Latest entries
The return of the music salon and the new shoots of communalCulture

The return of the music salon and the new shoots of communalCulture

Music these days is seen as highly personal, focused on the individual: my iPod, my selection, my taste, my choice in my time. Yet, at it’s best, music is a communal experience – the live show, sharing favourite songs, artist and fan getting closer together. In my view, there is a clear return to the...
Money for nothin, but the equity ain’t free

Money for nothin, but the equity ain’t free

On Monday evening I went to First Monday, a music industry networking night run by Sybill Bell, who manages the rather excellent Post War Years. Much of the talk was not about doing label deals, but how to raise money for the artists to do it themselves. Recording and distribution seemed not to much of...
Surge of complaints for emusic and Sony raises the question: What is the value of music?

Surge of complaints for emusic and Sony raises the question: What is the value of music?

It looks like I spoke too soon about the benefits of emusic’s deal with Sony Music for the users. What wasn’t immediately clear was the impact on the price that users would have to pay for their downloads. Some of the most loyal users have seen a 40-50%  increase in the price they are paying....
Sony Music seeks the power of recommendation

Sony Music seeks the power of recommendation

Yesterday’s New York Times announced that Sony Music will be making some of their back catalogue available via download store emusic in the US, which up till now has only carried music from independent labels. Although the major labels have never been keen on emusic’s pricing policy (an average 40 cents per track), the site’s...
Song for the week-end: Carry Go Bring Home

Song for the week-end: Carry Go Bring Home

On my way back from a meeting in town, I dropped into the wonderful Supertone Records on Acre Lane for a bit of ‘business research’. Ended up swapping cash for some righteous tunes from Jah Shaka, Scientist plus a little bit of Lone Ranger. But I also came away with this. An old classic that...
Fripperies on Friday

Fripperies on Friday

The sun is shining and it’s looking like it’s going to a lovely weekend. So what better than a bit of fun to make the rest of the working day go just a little bit quicker… This weeks Fripperies On Friday is powered by some of the new technology that is being developed in the...
What do your fans want from you? (Part 3)

What do your fans want from you? (Part 3)

Artists are increasingly embracing Twitter as a great way to connect with their fans. But its not just its simplicity as a communication tool that is attracting ‘celebrity’ users, it can also be a useful tool in helping you grow your fanbase. US indie band Jimmy Eat World accumulated some 200,000 new Twitter followers in...
This summer’s smash hit?

This summer’s smash hit?

French group Phoenix have made some great pop records for most of this decade, with it seems only the American rock critics taking much notice (Pitchfork love ‘em to death). Well hopefully ‘Lizstomania’ from their fantastic new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix will change all that, it has summer smash written all over it. This fantastic...
What do your fans want from you? (Part 2)

What do your fans want from you? (Part 2)

Writing regular blog posts for your fans is not up everyone’s street. But who said you had to write? Kanye West’s blog is a great example of what you can do by developing a visual approach to blogging. Kanye regularly posts up images and videos that have grabbed his interest – be it some arresting...
Six goals for your social media strategy

Six goals for your social media strategy

A few months ago we posted up a picture of the anatomy of a modern musician/music manager that showed how complex their role has become. Tom Williams (a New York based online marketer and publicist) has tried to map out the complex role that social media plays in a bands overall business strategy. What is...
What do your fans want from you?

What do your fans want from you?

Whether you like it or not fans expectations have changed in terms of the type of relationship they expect to have with their favourite acts these days – many of today’s fans expect Access All Areas from their favourite artists, so the need for Artist Generated Content is key in how you communicate with your...
When a brand jingle became a big hit

When a brand jingle became a big hit

Probably the best known example of the music to an ad being turned into big hit is the Coca Cola ‘Hilltop’ ad of 1971. The jingle ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ became the global hit ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’. However, one I came across recently is this. Is...