The Box Office Bets on BrandsThis was a big weekend at the box office. Gladiator and Wicked got the Barbenhiem style rollout and created a “Glicked” popular culture moment.I understand why. The way both Paramount and Universal approached brand partnerships around their releases helped build the hype and generate tremendous awareness. THIS is how blockbusters need to be thinking when rolling out in 2025 and beyond.These partnerships work well with music, too. In fact, Nue is exploring artist rollouts with a bevy of brand partnerships as we speak. It makes a lot of sense and ensures a lot of attention by leveraging brand marketing dollars and distribution. We’re testing these waters early next week with a new format featuring thee sure to be, future EGOT & Broadway GOAT, Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m excited to be collaborating with one of my favorite artists of all time.Speaking of cool movie adaptations, his concept album based on the classic film Warriors (reimagined with an all-female cast) is definitely one of the albums of the year. It came out a little too late for Grammy consideration, so watch for it to do damage at next year’s awards, and check it out here now.Thanksgiving BlitzIt’s that time of year again.I’m going to be up in Rhinebeck with my family for Turkey Day. My dream is still to collaborate with the Macy’s Day Parade. The floats and performers are historically great, but you can always innovate. What are your thoughts on the lineup? Jimmy Fallon and the Roots will participate in the festivities, as will Coco Jones, Walker Hayes, Ariana Madix, Joey McIntyre, Idina Menzel, Natti Natasha, T-Pain, Rachel Platten, Lea Salonga, The Temptations, The War and Treaty, Alex Warren, and Sebastián Yatra.I’m looking forward to the annual NFL Thanksgiving classic, too, with Shaboozey, Lainey Wilson, and violin superstar Lindsey Stirling on as halftime performers.Black Friday is the time to shop – or not, since Small Business Saturday is also becoming a more widely adopted hallmark thanks to American Express. It’s important to support your local businesses if you want them to stick around. I’ll have the weekend in NYC to catch the holiday spirit and see some of the new exhibits, like the Luna Luna Art Carnival that opened in Hudson Yards, and old faves like The Whitney. I’ll finish with a bang at the Natural History Museum’s Slick Rick-curated “Ice Cold” exhibit. Who’s coming with me?!Giving TuesdayThe following week boasts Cyber Monday and my personal fave, Giving Tuesday. Two causes near and dear to my heart, whose advisory boards I sit on, are:The Resolution Project - TRP is all about supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs and giving them grants to build out businesses. I’ve been involved with them for years and every year their Gala is one for the books, so stay tuned for that next Spring. If you care about the the entrepreneurial spirit and want to help young people who don’t have the same opportunities and privileges that others have had, please consider donating to this amazing non-profit organization.Young Musicians Unite - I just joined the marketing board of this awesome organization because I really like the team and mission. We are helping to open music programs in schools and teach kids about the joy of connection through music. Right now, the priority market is Miami where I can be hands-on – start local, go global – but I think this vision can and will expand. If you care about music education and understand its importance, we’d be honored to have your support.Then we head into Art Basel, aka the Super Bowl of Culture Marketing, but that’s for next week’s newsletter. I’m excited about the events, performers, and activations, but most of all, the art! But my mantra this week is one thing at a time. There’s lots to look forward to and I want to try to be fully present.Here’s to a happy holiday however you spend it.
BEATS
Who Booked Coachella 2025? The Deep Dive.Back in 2020, NIF’s parent company ROSTR put out the first ever Who Booked Coachella? Since then the annual series has become infamous for its unique look behind the scenes of one of the world’s most famous festivals. Earlier this week, Goldenvoice (the promoter behind Coachella), surprised us all by announcing the lineup for next year’s festival 2+ months earlier than the usual January announcement (New Industry Friday).
Bose’s Latest Ultra Open Airbuds Campaign Spotlights Global Stars Central Cee, Tyla, Lisa, and Don ToliverIn 2011, Dr. Bose made a groundbreaking move by donating a majority of the company’s non-voting shares to MIT, ensuring the institution would benefit from its profits indefinitely. While MIT doesn’t influence operations, it receives significant financial support from Bose’s success. So when Bose partners with stars like Central Cee, Lisa, Tyla, and Don Toliver, the impact extends far beyond advertising. Every campaign and product helps fund innovation and education at one of the world’s top universities (The Bag).
How Tyler, The Creator Rewrote The Rules Of Traditional MarketingIn an era of cultural flattening, parity seemingly proliferates the dominant creative expression in the popular zeitgeist. Whether it be contemporary fashion, music or even consumer products, everything oddly feels homogenous, as if it were AI-produced or algorithmically curated. They all blend together like a DJ mashup, creating a perceived sea of sameness (Forbes).
The 7 Best Music Campaigns of 2024Some of 2024’s best musically driven campaigns essentially created soundtracks for life, with several ads using music to illustrate the stages of a lifetime, the feelings that music evokes and the moments in which music creates a core memory (Ad Age).
Bose CMO On Driving The Brand’s Cultural Impact And The Coming AI ShakeoutFor the launch of its latest earbuds, Bose took an unusual marketing approach. Rather than rely on a product feature-heavy consumer electronics playbook, the audio equipment manufacturer positioned the earbuds, which hook around the earlobe in a manner akin to ear cuff jewelry, as a stylish accessory favored by cultural tastemakers (Marketing Dive).
UFC Announces Global Partnership With Drip Water Starting In 2025UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, and Drip Water, the UK’s first true lifestyle water brand, today announced a new multiyear global marketing partnership that will showcase Drip within many of UFC’s biggest events and other high-profile assets starting in 2025 (UFC).
Google's DeepMind and YouTube built and shelved 'Orca,' a 'mind-blowing' music AI tool that hit a copyright snagName your favorite artist, choose a genre, and feed it some lyrics, and AI will create a song that sounds authentic. That was the vision of Orca, a code-named project Google's DeepMind and YouTube collaborated on and ultimately shelved last year after butting up against copyright issues, said four people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity because they were not permitted to talk to the press (Business Insider).
Willow Smith Teams Up with Moncler on New Collection Willow Smith’s unique fashion aesthetic has landed the artist a new collab with Moncler. The capsule is a minimalist dream, boasting down jackets, an eyelet tee, sweatpants, and leather boots for footwear. “I’m incredibly passionate about the outdoors and exploring this magnificent earth. I imagine these clothes effortlessly transitioning from nighttime camping to high-fashion eveningwear,” Smith said about the looks (Boardroom).
Music Ally Marketing Awards winners: Alan Walker, Aurora, Bring Me The Horizon and moreLast night in London, Music Ally held their first Music Ally Marketing Awards, in association with Spotify for Artists. As their director of marketing and strategy Marlen Huellbrock recently explained, the awards were an expansion of their efforts to celebrate the amazing teams who work with artists. Here’s the lowdown on the winners in all of the categories (Music Ally).
8 impressions from co-creating the sounds of the futureFor nearly a decade, Google has proactively engaged with artists and musicians to explore how emerging technologies can support creativity and help them elevate their artistic practice. Just last year, teams across Google — YouTube, Technology & Society and Google DeepMind — launched a new program to help artists, songwriters and producers get hands-on experience with music AI tools and prototypes to offer their feedback and guidance (Google).
‘Super-Premium’ Music Subscription Tiers Coming In 2025, And 3 Other Things We Learned From Universal Music’s Boyd Muir At The Morgan Stanley ConferenceWhile the term “Super-Premium” has been attached specifically to Spotify’s plans for a new “deluxe” subscription tier, Muir noted that other digital service providers (DSPs) are also planning their own versions of a subscription tier meant to appeal to the superfans who are willing to pay more for music subscriptions, in exchange for a better music experience (Music Business Worldwide).
Pusha T Launches Grindin Coffee with Exclusive LA Pop-UpsPusha T is launching his new coffee brand, Grindin, with exclusive Los Angeles pop-ups this weekend. Named after Clipse‘s iconic Pharrell-produced track “Grindin’,” this premium, high-caffeine black coffee blend embodies the same relentless drive that has defined Pusha T’s career (Hypebeast).
BYTES
This is one of my favorite interviews about music and marketing. So many gems here.
The visual was filmed in a suburban cul-de-sac, entirely on a Ring security cameras and doorbell cams (Upoxx).
The latest startup blending music and wellness is FivePointFive, which has launched its ‘science-backed breathwork’ app in the US. And who better to breathe with than Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Post Malone, eh? Their music is part of the app courtesy of licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG, Concord and Hipgnosis (Music Ally).
Tyler was quick to join in on the praise for the band’s take on “Sticky,” pointing out to fans that he had arranged the song with this exact scenario in mind. “This is why I made ‘Sticky,’” he said in a tweet. “This is why I arranged it that way. This beautiful. My heart is filled,” (Complex).
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!