Marketing music to millennials

Media News

New Delhi, April 30, 2012

By: Angela Barkan

Right now we are experiencing one of the most interesting and dynamic periods that the music industry has ever seen. Around the world, people are listening to more music and sharing more music than ever before. No longer hindered or limited by physical or digital storage space or unruly devices, people can access their music anywhere and at any time. Music is truly a social medium. However, while access to music has never been easier, the ways in which people are consuming it, especially Millennials (those born between 1982-2000) is more fragmented.

Millennials as a group are characterised as generally optimistic, they want to make a difference in the world and believe that they can. They are classic multi-taskers. They want control and expect two-way communication. They demand authenticity. All of these characteristics affect how this group interacts with music.

The following are a few trends that are worth keeping an eye on:

1. Access versus Ownership

Youth have always used music to define their personality – that hasn’t changed. However, the way in which they are using music to define themselves has changed dramatically. It is no longer about the music one owns, it is now about the music one shares that helps to define who they are. Within four months of integrating music streaming services into its platform, Facebook reported that five billion songs were shared in over fifty countries.1 Millennials account for the large piece of that pie.

2. Band + Fans = It's a collaborative process

For youth, two-way communication with their favorite bands and celebrities is imperative. It is not just a 'nice to have,' it's a must. Bands that are doing it right engage their fans by giving them an opportunity to become part of the creative process. They use tools like Soundcloud, YouTube and crowd-sourcing websites like Talenthouse and invite their fans to contribute beats to songs, scenes in music videos, artwork in packaging and on merchandising and more.

3. The music video matters

While 'Radio' and 'Friends' continue to be the most used mediums in music discovery by Millennials, online video services are a close third. In 2011, 82 per cent of Millenial Internet users watched at least one video per month. By 2015, that percentage is projected to go up to 92 per cent.2 Every minute more than two days of video footage is uploaded on YouTube and 1/3 of that content is music-related. Needless to say, that is a lot of music that is being viewed online. YouTube and a host of other upcoming services such as cull.tv have developed sophisticated tools that not only allow people to share their own video streams and playlists but also recommend other videos based on their viewing tastes.

New social networks, apps and digital service providers continue to develop at a rapid pace to feed these growing trends. In my presentation at the Power of Youth conference in April, I will focus on current trends in music discovery, consumption, sharing and storage with a focus on Millenial activity in this area. I will also discuss tools that labels such as Sony, bands and brands are using to reach this elusive group and demonstrate how this learning can be applied in a variety of product or service marketing organisations.

For further ifnormation, please contact:

MTV

Alexander

alexander.valldares@viacom18.com