One of the most challenging aspects of the transition Nue went through -- from representing artists to representing brands -- was suddenly having to turn down profitable clients, emerging artists, and the opportunities we had previously found so appealing. We went from wanting the 50 Cent’s to wanting the Forbes 500’s, and we knew we had to go all in to successfully switch. Luckily, the recipe we’d honed in taking baby bands to big stadiums applied perfectly to bringing baby brands to consumers.The synergies between bands and brands are much discussed. Popular artists have a formula that brand marketers can learn from, while brands frequently operate at a scale and strength that artists must tap into in order to reach new heights. Rockstar voices lend credibility where brands deliver unfathomable market power.On October 18th, exclusively at the Worldz, we sit down with Jake Udell & the sisters of Krewella for a power-packed discussion of the band-brand bridge. Worldz is a great festival, full of new ideas and attended by inspiring cultural marketers, and I highly recommend you get your ticket today.Hitting the Right Note // Musicians as Marketers, The Rockstar Business PlanOctober 18th at 3:00PM (PST) - Long Beach Performing Arts Center 300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802Keep your business in-tune by learning from today's tastemakers - musicians. You'll hear the step by step, time-tested method of how artists go from performing in their garages to selling out stadiums. Experts will outline what brands can learn from this process and how they can directly apply this strategy to their business.
BEATS
In the Streaming Age, Does Music’s Q4 Matter Anymore?Record labels once backloaded their schedule with superstar releases targeting the holidays. Christmas 2018 paints a different picture. (Roy Trakin – Variety )
WMG Launches Multi Million Dollar 'Boost' FundWarner Music Group has launched WMG Boost, a seed investment fund to support entrepreneurial growth and innovation in the music industry. The multimillion dollar fund will invest in early stage startups within and adjacent to recorded music and music publishing. (Hypebot)
Will Live Nation and SiriusXM Become a Single Music Behemoth?SiriusXM’s acquisition of Pandora, a $3.5 billion deal announced last week, could just be the beginning of the satellite radio giant’s ambitions. For years, Wall Street analysts have been speculating if the company might join forces with live events powerhouse Live Nation Entertainment, which also owns Ticketmaster — and the likelihood of that seems to have ticked up after its Pandora purchase. (Amy X. Wang – Rollingstone)
The Music Messaging Evolution: From Newsletters To Interactive StorytellingAs newsfeed marketing continues to flounder, having hit an all time low of 2%, those in music marketing are looking for fresh innovating ways to catch up with fans. In this interview we hear from Tim Heineke of POP on the value storytelling and the future of communication between fans and artists. And if you want to join the Messenger bot revolution, we've go discount codes. (Hypebot)
Tencent Music's IPO Filing Reveals Its Greatest Strengths – And Competitors – On The Global Streaming StageTencent Music’s filing to go public with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday (Oct. 2) reveals a much different story: the Chinese company arguably isn’t competing with Spotify at all. Instead, the former has grander, more lucrative ambitions in shaping the future of entertainment and tech -- encompassing more flexible digital revenue streams beyond monthly subscriptions, more direct-to-fan opportunities for creators and tighter integration with existing social media platforms. (Cherie Hu – Billboard)
Looking for the Music in Tencent MusicTME isn’t really a music company or investment opportunity, but is instead a series of social entertainment platforms, of which music – and much of it not even streaming music – is one minor part. (Music Industry Blog)
Tidal Partners with Samsung TV to Launch TV AppTech giant Samsung has entered into its second major streaming service partnership in less than two months. (MBW)
8 Ways Hollywood Is Changing AudioSo what impact will all this Hollywood money and talent entering the world of on-demand audio have on you and me? (Fred Jacobs – Jacobs Media Strategist)
Amazon Prime Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited: What’s the Difference? In many respects, Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited are the same. They both operate in the same app and give you access to many of the same features. Both have sliding lyrics so that you can sing along karaoke-style to your favorite songs. (Gabe Yont – Digital Music News)
Pornhub Records might have been an ill-conceived concept. Like the recent awards ceremony it seemed to be poorly-organized and overly-ambitious, but this wildly unfiltered approach to creation is exactly what the music industry needs right now. Queer artists are being censored, music video budgets are shrinking and the well of new ideas is quickly running dry, yet Pornhub stays afloat because – obviously – we’re all masturbating just as much as ever. (Jake Hall – HighSnobiety)
BYTES
Tracing the rapper's evolution from a teen in New Orleans to his long-awaited album "Tha Carter V."
On the latest episode of Pitchfork's Over/Under, Santigold rates Beyonce's twins, candy corn, and Marvel movies.
Wavestation is a new app that connects artists with fans.
New Orleans-native and Payday Records artist Pell shares a new Imad-Royal produced single titled "Simple and Plain." The love song reflects on the easy and happy moments at the start of a relationship.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Maria Tejada If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!