Another interesting NFL season is in the books. Super Bowl LIV (too perfect for Dave Grutman’s infamous Miami club, which always has its biggest night on Sunday) offered up a lot of interesting musical notes.It was watched by more than 99.9 million people on FOX, more than last year’s broadcast. The Spanish-language simulcast on Fox Deportes combined with streams on FOX, NFL, and Verizon platforms boosted the average viewership to 102 million, according to Fox Sports, also an increase from last year's multi-platform audience. The cost-per-commercial also grew to $5.6 million per 30-second slot, which breaks down to $186,000 per second. The ad space was sold out by November.COMMERCIAL CAMEOS
It was exciting to see up-and-comers like YBN Cordae getting some shine. He had a cool cameo in Coca Cola Energy’s spot.
Chance the Rapper popped up in the Quibi ad. I'm excited to see what this company does over the next few months. They have a smart team and a great concept: short-form content for your phone. Chance is the host of their Punk’d reboot and the trailer looks dope af.
Can’t be mad at J.Lo and Khaled’s appearance in the Hard Rock commercial, although I hear the team was working overtime to make last-minute edits to cut a scene featuring a helicopter. They pulled it off and it was fun.
One of the notable plays this year was by Chipotle and Justin Bieber, who made a big bet without even paying the NFL or FOX. The campaign appeared on TikTok during several commercial breaks and featured content from prominent TikTok personalities, all doing their rendition of Bieber’s new single. Chipotle says the ad reached a combined audience of 95 million and generated more than 2.5 million engagements among those who saw it. It doesn’t hurt that Bieber tweeted and posted twice to Instagram before the game began. Nothing like the bully pulpit!
THE SONG IS THE STAR
Cheetos played the nostalgia card perfectly, utilizing “You Can’t Touch This” in an ode to cheese-covered snack fingers everywhere. Hats off to MC Hammer for staying in the picture and continuing to capitalize on his iconic hit.
Doritos employed a similar tactic with "Old Town Road” in a spot featuring Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus. In both of these spots the creative was clearly designed around the song.
BRAND PARTNERS
Post Malone and Budweiser further cemented their commitment to one another with their hilarious ad. Bud Light has a long-standing relationship with Post and has been able to keep their brand synonymous with the rap superstar by utilizing an array of tactics including sponsored tours, pop-up shows, and TV ads. It was a nice touch to have the two characters from Posty’s brain actually at the stadium and in character for further Bud Light buzz.
LATINX
The big musical moment of the night was the halftime explosion. It was dynamic, hyper relevant, and fearless. I loved the J Balvin and Bad Bunny cameos. Both J.Lo and Shaikra killed it with equal parts entertainment and protest, and both saw a huge bump in sales and streams following their appearances. Shakira, a Roc Nation client, recently released “Me Gusta” featuring Anuel AA and on Monday announced a world tour for 2021. All of the live pieces of Super Bowl entertainment now live exclusively on Tidal, another smart move by entertainment consultants at Roc Nation. The NFL is releasing an album from the content.
BEATS
What Is Sync Licensing? A Look at One of the Music Industry’s Fastest-Growing SectorsThe past decade has witnessed an absolute explosion in the quantity of video content. What started with YouTube now encompasses big-budget productions on Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Go, not to mention a continued stream of games. Almost all of that requires music, which is where the sync license comes in. (Digital Music News)
2010-19: Rise Of The Festival-Industrial ComplexFestivals are now a cornerstone of dance music culture around the world: weekends where day turns to night turns to day, where the experience of listening and dancing feels unbounded, pleasantly surreal. (Resident Advisor)
Reach Gen Z? Why Beauty Brands Turn to Live Music EventsNew Live Nation research, “The Beauty of Live,” dives into the increasingly important role that makeup, skin care and grooming plays for Gen Z and millennials in the U.S. and U.K. before, during and after music festivals. And it’s a trend that’s as prevalent for young men as it is for young women. (Adweek)
The Shifting Definition Of Independent MusicRecently a reader called me out for repeatedly throwing around the phrase ‘independent artist’ or ‘indie label’ without explaining my definition (or if I even had one). Fair enough. Let’s discuss: what does independent mean in 2020? (8sided)
How Dubsmash revived itself as #2 to TikTokLip-syncing app Dubsmash was on the brink of death. After a brief moment of virality in 2015 alongside Vine (R.I.P), Dubsmash was bleeding users faster than it could recruit them. The app let you choose an audio track like a rap song or movie quote and shoot a video of you pretending to say the words. (Tech Crunch)
Music Industry Investigation Report: Key Challenges, Collective Insights, And Possible Futures For The Music Industry.After collecting nearly 300 survey responses, The Creative Independent analyzed the information and distilled it into 10 key findings, which we are presenting here. Alongside each key takeaway you’ll find a snapshot of the supporting data, plus write-in quotes from survey respondents. (The Creative Independent)
What 2019 Album Releases Can Teach Us About 2020 PlanningThese broad claims bear truth but I wondered, just how much truth? To find out, Amber Horsburgh analyzed 691 album releases from 2019 in the US trying to find answers to: when are the best and worst times to release an album, how style of music effects release windows, and how can marketers strategically plan their record campaigns around optimal release weeks in 2020. (Medium)
iHeartmedia Laid Off Hundreds Of Radio Djs. Executives Blame AI. Djs Blame The ExecutivesWhen iHeartMedia announced this month it would fire hundreds of workers across the country, the radio conglomerate said the restructuring was critical to take advantage of its “significant investments … in technology and artificial intelligence.” In a companywide email, chief executive Bob Pittman said the “employee dislocation” was “the unfortunate price we pay to modernize the company.” (Washington Post)
Project JAM: Justice for All MusiciansAs creatives know, it takes more than one person to bring a vision to life. However, there is currently no central hub for creatives to find fellow collaborators. Project JAM wants to bring the community together through our ecosystem and find justice not only for musicians but for the music yet to be made. (Musicfy)
M.I.A. Launches Patreon Account Promising Videos, New Music, MoreM.I.A. has launched her very own Patreon account. Patreon is a membership-based platform that allows fans to support artists and entrepreneurs at different price points. In return, they gain access to exclusive content. Check out M.I.A’s page here. (Pitchfork)
The Music Industry’s Relationship with Tech Has Been Less Than Optimal. We’re Here to Improve ThatThat was the question leaving the lips of the music industry in February last year, when then-BMG US boss Zach Katz announced that he was exiting the music company to launch a new venture dedicated to “forging proactive collaboration between music and technology. (Music Business Worldwide)
Disney Paid $75 Million For Worldwide Movie Rights To Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’; Biggest Film Acquisition Deal Ever? When Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted the news Monday that the movie adaptation of his groundbreaking Broadway show Hamilton was set for release by Disney in fall 2021, he omitted one of the most breathtaking parts of the deal. (Deadline)
Black Music Executives Have to Be Honest About LyingThey should publicly reckon with their sustenance of white supremacy under the guise of a Black agenda, educating the aspirants set to follow their harsh path. They should make some kind of penance to the artists they’ve screwed over. Until they do that, their pleas for Black empowerment are impotent. “Representation” will simply mean the devil we know. (Okayplayer)
What Categories Of Investment Do Celebrities Participate In?Over the last few decades, savvy celebrities have been making lucrative investments in various areas of business outside of their day jobs. Whether it’s in software start-ups or esports enterprises, we used Crunchbase data to find out which stars are the biggest and busiest participators in business investments. (Tide)
Music Ally Startup Files: Voisey is the TikTok for Music CreationIf co-founder Olly Barnes’ infectious optimism is correct, Voisey is a phenomenon-in-waiting. It’s an app that has the potential to shake up how songs are made; tap into hitherto locked-away artistic talent; develop a new breed of pop star and pop songs; and maybe even bypass the traditional label system. (Musically)
How Tidal Can Embrace Its Mission To Win The Music Streaming WarsIn 2019 streaming accounted for 80% of the US recorded music market. While Streaming is now the dominant music consumption medium, the competition for market share is still wide open. (Forbes)
BYTES
Finneas talks collaborating on music with his sister, Billie Eilish, why he's grateful for their gradual success on SoundCloud before "Ocean Eyes" hit and identifies random real-life sounds hidden in their biggest songs.
Spotify has released four new episodes of The Game Plan, the streamer’s ongoing video series on how to navigate the new music industry. Two new episodes focus on touring and feature A$AP Ferg, Tei Shi, Japanese Breakfast, and Trippie Redd, as well as tour managers, agents, and label managers like Nasa Hadizadeh from Cult Records and Jess Page from Mom + Pop Music sharing best practices.
Learning with Duolingo is fun and addictive. Earn points for correct answers, race against the clock, and level up.
Friday typically brings a bunch of new music releases, but this Friday’s new drops includes a new track from an unlikely source — Elon Musk . The SpaceX and Tesla CEO said earlier this week he had written a new song called “Don’t Doubt ur Vibe,” to be released on “Emo G Records,” but as usual it was hard to tell if Musk was being serious or just having his evening internet fun.
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!