Well…we’re here. It’s Election Day.When it comes to curation, I’m a big believer in data + POV + insider information. That’s why Clay Durant and I dedicated this week’s Stat of the Week to covering both music and election details. This election will go down as “the creator economy’s election” and there will be lessons learned that ripple through marketing ideology for years. We saw the role the podcast circuit played, something I addressed a few weeks back. And for better or worse, “influencers” were also everywhere in this race: on livestreams, on zoom calls, and dominating social media, with a particularly large presence within the DNC.That said, music was the unsung hero this election, carrying major marketing weight. VP Harris’ camp chose to lean into music, believing it to be a strategic, competitive advantage over Trump.We know that music creates exponential awareness in a time where awareness is hard to come by. Case in point: Megan Thee Stallion's rally performance on July 30 drove a 29% spike in visits to kamalaharris.com, as well as a 20% increase in unique visitors according to data from Similarweb. This surge reflects Megan’s power to attract a young, diverse audience to the campaign. We were also able to find that:
During the Democratic National Convention, artists like Lil Jon (Aug. 20) and Pink (Aug. 22) enhanced site visibility. Pink’s performance alone brought 1,112,984 visits and 950,363 visitors, with increases of 101.7% and 96.0% above average, respectively. And DJ Cassidy and Lil Jon’s epic voter roll call cut through the noise and helped the DNC go viral in a positive way.
Taylor Swift’s endorsement on September 10 triggered the largest increase, with 1,509,086 visits (a remarkable 173.5% above average) and 1,311,033 unique visitors (up 170.4%).
And last night, election eve as they call it, all of the firepower came out in Philadelphia (Lady Gaga, Jazmine Sullivan) and Pittsburgh (Katy Perry, Andra Day) in an attempt to appeal to woman voters in Pennsylvania.
Music contextualizes and humanizes political messaging.When Kamala told the world she had a glock at the presidential debate, it reverberated across social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where glock-related rap lyrics—like Fetty Wap’s 679—were used to amplify the message she wanted to convey to the American people.More recently, when an insulting joke was told at Trump’s MSG rally, there was a quick movement to mobilize Puerto Ricans through powerful messages from superstar musicians, Bad Bunny and JLO.We know music drives voter awareness and artists can drive hundreds of thousands of new registrations, especially with college students. The DNC did a massive voter registration push at Taylor Swift’s recent Miami concerts, garnering big results.Music clearance is complicated but essential for navigating content, live events, social media, livestreams, and ads.The theme song of the campaign was Beyoncé's Freedom. Not only did the Harris campaign succeed with this anthem, but so did Bey, with our Chartmetric analysis showing a substantial increase in airplay and streams. Since the first political ad featuring Freedom aired on July 21, 2024:
Spotify streams for "Freedom" surged nearly 9%, with over 7.2 million additional plays.
Shazam counts for the song increased by 12%, totaling more than 77,000 new searches.
YouTube views rose by 13%, adding 1.7 million views.
Radio airplay grew by 44%, with over 4,300 new spins on U.S. stations.
Musicians are the most powerful creators – more than actors and influencers – because they are real.Musicians don’t typically do pay-for-play or take on fictional roles. Rather, they are raw, authentic vessels. From Bruce Springsteen's ads to Eminem campaigning in Detroit and Cardi B this weekend in Wisconsin, these are real people telling true stories. Their involvement in the campaign created big music moments that had attention-grabbing impact. Even Lil Dicky got in on the action in his own, inventive way, making a post this week that was true to his style.Strategic booking works better than big names.This was a data-driven ground game. Organizations like iVoted strategically curated entertainment events by booking artists who resonated with specific communities. For example, bringing Tee Grizzley to Philadelphia to connect with potential unregistered voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. The strategic value was clear: these artists had authentic connections to communities with historically lower voter registration rates.DayBreaker did similar work with their Party To Polls tour featuring strategic, market-based artist choices.The bottom line is, music is not just a passion point when it comes to consumer spending; it’s doing work in politics, too. In a race that’s too-close-to-call, music might just be the X factor.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Kamala Harris and Music Marketing’s Role in Her Bid For The White House In this edition of Stat of the Week, the Beats + Bytes team presents an exploration of how the Harris campaign has effectively used music to engage voters across the country, particularly in key swing states. Drawing on Chartmetric and SimilarWeb data, along with in-house research, we answer pressing questions on the impactful role music has played in this high-stakes election.
BEATS
Decentraland Music Festival Returns After Virtual World’s 2.0 UpdateWeb3 virtual world Decentraland is setting up the virtual stages again for its Decentraland Music festival. The event will take place on 20-23 November, and will be free to attend. Alongside virtual performances and DJ sets there will also be talks and panel sessions, with Hospital Records, Monstercat, Beatport, Landr and Infinite Album among the companies providing speakers (Musically).
The Latest Entrant In The Music-Streaming Space Is… Nintendo?This week Nintendo has launched its own music-streaming service, although it’s focused on a very specific area: game soundtracks. Nintendo Music is available on iOS and Android devices at launch – strangely not on the Switch console (Musically).
Jason & Travis Kelce Team up with Boyz II Men for Holiday HitAs the calendar turns to November, Mariah Carey officially announced that the holiday season is upon us. However, the Queen of Christmas isn’t the only one getting in the mood. Jason and Travis Kelce teamed up with the iconic Boyz II Men for their single “It’s Christmastime (In Cleveland Heights).” The song is part of the upcoming charitable album A Philly Special Christmas Party, the third installment of the seasonal compilation by Jason and his former Eagles teammates Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata (Boardroom).
Dave Matthews Band and Live Nation Tout ‘First Zero Waste Tour’ — ‘Over 90% of Waste from Fans on the Tour Was Reused, Composted, Recycled, or Donated’Live Nation and the more than three-decade-old Dave Matthews Band reached out with a variety of hard numbers about that zero-waste tour. As told by the involved parties, the descriptor (and the appropriate figures) pertains specifically to shows delivered at 18 Live Nation venues in the U.S (Digital Music News).
Live Nation’s Veeps to Launch Series ‘Side Hustles’ With Cameron Diaz and Other Celebrity GuestsThe digital program is set to debut on the company’s streaming platform Veeps on Nov. 8 with a four-episode launch. Journalist SuChin Pak, who is the voice of MTV Cribs, narrates the show that offers insight into how celebrity founders manage their businesses and personal lives (Hollywood Reporter).
Snoop Dogg’s Times Square Concert Showed The Ambitious Future of Music in FortniteIn the past, Fortnite’s big musical moments have largely been singular virtual concerts from the likes of Ariana Grande and Metallica. But over the years, music has steadily permeated the game to the point that Snoop’s Times Square performance was just a kickoff point for a monthlong event (The Verge)
Selena Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund Partners With PacSunThe line made its debut at Rare Beauty’s second annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit — held on Oct. 24 at Nya Studios in Los Angeles — where guests were gifted pieces. The selection, out Friday, incudes women’s and men’s styles, featuring jeans in baggy fits, a variety of washes and adorned with embellishments (WWD).
Megan Thee Stallion On True Religion Jeans & Her “No Skips” Deluxe AlbumMegan Thee Stallion is never one to stay put for long, as she lets us know on her sizzling new track “Bigger in Texas”: “Y’all gon’ learn I move on my time and not for none of y’all amusement.” In 2024 alone, she won a much-talked-about rap beef with her first solo Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Hiss,” embarked on her Hot Girl Summer Tour, released her third studio album, and hosted the VMAs, and now, she’s the face of True Religion’s holiday campaign (Nylon).
The Music Industry Is Hoping Halloween Can Be the New ChristmasThe music industry, eyeing the lucrative $11.6 billion Halloween market and following the pattern of Christmas music's success, is making a strategic push to establish Halloween as another major seasonal music opportunity, with artists like Ashnikko and collectives like LVCRFT leading the charge through streaming and themed releases (New York Times).
Lily Allen's Feet Pics & The Broken Music BizIn a viral twist that sparked widespread debate about music industry economics, Lily Allen's revelation about earning more from OnlyFans feet photos than Spotify streams isn't quite the streaming-economy critique everyone assumed - it's more likely because she hasn't yet paid back her record label's significant advance payments (Drowned In Sound).
Ryan Leslie Hacked Artist Marketing With an SMS. Then Bad Bunny's Team CalledWhen Grammy-nominated artist and multi-platinum producer Ryan Leslie released his 2016 album MZRT, there were no billboards, bells, or whistles. Instead, he promoted it via an inbound SMS campaign, without a record label or intermediary (Adweek).
Jennifer Hudson Stars in Old Navy’s Latest Holiday CampaignEmphasizing seasonal fashions at affordable prices, Old Navy is turning up the heat this season with a glitzy party-driven ad campaign featuring singer Jennifer Hudson and a cast of whimsical characters celebrating holiday style. The campaign, dubbed “Love is in the House,” features the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award-winner singing and partying inside an Old Navy holiday home, and it coincides with the release of Hudson’s first holiday album, “The Gift of Love,” (Marketing Dive).
Sony follows Olivia Rodrigo subway spot with MTA ad blitz and MetroCard designWhen Sony Electronics teamed up with Olivia Rodrigo on a limited-edition pair of its LinkBuds wireless headphones in the Gen Z pop star’s signature violet color, she and Sony promoted the new colorway in an ad set on a New York subway (Ad Age).
How Dove Leveraged Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour To Launch A Full-Body DeodorantThe tour’s Los Angeles dates at the Kia Forum, on October 15 and 16, happened to align with Dove’s latest launch — the brand’s Whole Body Aluminum Free Invisible Deodorant Spray was hitting the shelves of Target and landing on Amazon at the same time. So, Dove found a way to host a marketing activation at the tour to celebrate it. The U.S. leg of the tour wrapped on October 23 (Glossy).
BYTES
In a revealing conversation with Tim Ferriss, Jon Batiste—who waited until age 10 to speak and was once considered the "least talented" in his musical family—shares how he transformed early struggles into Grammy and Oscar-winning artistry, all while preparing to release a groundbreaking fusion of Beethoven and blues.
Fun riffing on today's news with marketing maven and one of my favorite newsletter curators, Ben Dietz. I peppered in some hot takes, new learnings and age old wisdom. From the headlines, we covered:+ The return of print magazines as a luxury item+ Tyler's new album and a covert TikTok marketing stunt+ Flowing like water, the perceived value of water and the importance of being fluid in an ever changing cultural landscape+ The age of toxic fandom and where it will lead us nextLet me know what you think!
A new messaging app called Daze has captured Gen Z's attention with nearly 200,000 waitlist signups ahead of its November 4th launch, promising an expressive visual messaging experience that lets teens communicate through floating text, interactive GIFs, and creative effects.
Yeat's new album "Lyfestyle" hit #1 on Billboard, marking a milestone for the 24-year-old rage rap artist who, along with others like Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, represents a new wave of industrial-textured, lyrically cryptic hip-hop inspired by artists like Future and Young Thug.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Rachel Meisner If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!