B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
S P ORT A N D M US I C C OL L A B O R AT I O N S H AV E TO M OV E O N. A R E YO U R E ADY?
Ever since President Woodrow ordered that the 'Star Spangled Banner' be played during the seventh innings, sport and music have continued to collide. From that day, sporting anthems chosen, played and sang in stadia around the world have evolved into ever more ambitious partnerships – Pepsi & Super Bowl half time show, Baddiel & Skinner & The FA, Shakira & FIFA and AJ Tracey & Tottenham Hotspur. This exciting journey is unquestionably due to the industry’s heightened awareness around the power of music when punching into new audiences. From re-presenting sporting properties as fresh, credible and culturally relevant, music can help brands and rights holders reach younger or more casual fan bases. However, the world has moved past the age where the impact and headlines of just doing a sport and music crossover partnership is enough. TODAY, YOUTH AUDIENCES EXPECT MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT IN SPORT PROPERTIES.
BUT THEY NOW WANT TO SEE MORE. B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
SPORT & MUSIC COLLABORATIONS HAVE TO MOVE ON.
73%
of U18 sports fans said if their favourite musician played at a sporting event it would make them consider engaging.
55%
of U18 sports fans expect entertainment (music, comedy, fashion & gaming) from a sport.
23%
said they are actually disappointed when a sport event doesn't offer more than the game itself.
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
WHEN YOU SEE MUSICIANS & ATHLETES TOGETHER IT’S PRETTY COOL, BUT I FEEL LIKE THEY’RE ALL BECOMING THE SAME ALEC, WRITER. NOW” — GERMANY
“
I’D LIKE TO SEE MORE PLAYERS MAKE MUSIC, OR ANYTHING NEW!”
— DANIEL, CONTENT CREATOR. UK
5
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
NEW RULES We've worked with our global Fan Intelligence Network of over 6,000 influential fans, creative and cultural tastemakers to understand the trends that are shaping how fans engage with sport and music collaborations.
THE FOLLOWING SNAPSHOT EXPLORES THREE KEY RULES THAT BRANDS AND RIGHTS HOLDERS NEED TO CONSIDER TO CREATE CROSSOVERS THAT WILL RESONATE WITH FANS.
WE HAVE SURVEYED 2,000 SPORTS FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, AND INTERVIEWED 50 INDIVIDUALS AT THE HEART OF SPORT AND MUSIC CULTURE...
MUSICIANS, SONGWRITERS, SINGERS, PRODUCERS, ATHLETES, FREESTYLERS, CONTENT CREATORS & FAN PAGE OWNERS
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
IN THESE TWO WORLDS OF SPORT & MUSIC, FAN BASES ARE NOT ONLY HUGE IN SCALE, BUT ALSO IN THEIR LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT – ESSENTIALLY, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MASSIVE AUDIENCES, WHO GIVE A F*CK ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING.” - Owen Laverty, Director of Fan Intelligence®- Ear to the Ground
3 KEY TRENDS B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
2 MAKE IT
MATTER
1 OWN THE
UNEXPECTED
3 GET OUT OF LIVE
1.
OWN THE UNEXPECTED.
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
WITH THE PROLIFERATION OF SPORT AND MUSIC COLLABORATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD, IT’S BECOME INCREASINGLY APPARENT THAT MANY OF THEM ARE DROWNED OUT, EITHER IN A SEA OF SCOFFING FANS, OR WORSE, TOTALLY UNHEARD ALTOGETHER. Time and again, we see sport and music partnerships that sink without a trace because fans just don’t see them as interesting: they’ve seen them all before. What the new generation of sports fans want to see today, is exciting, unexpected collaborations. And other areas of culture are bringing this in a way that music isn’t currently. The NFL took this to heart with an (albeit controversial) partnership with Jay-Z, which spawned the brilliant Songs of the Season campaign. Whilst not without its issues, it certainly made its audience sit up and listen.
“PSG & NIKE & JORDAN WAS SO HUGE AND MADE ME LOOK DIFFERENTLY AT PSG AS A CLUB. IT WAS SO NEW AND FRESH” — ROB, MUSIC PRODUCER. UK
“KHALID & KANE BROWN, LIL NAS X & MILEY CYRUS, HAVE YOU SEEN ED SHEERAN’S ALBUM? – THERE IS WEIRD SHIT HAPPENING IN MUSIC. GET SOME OF THAT IN SPORT. I WANT TO SEE LACAZETTE BOUNCING OFF DIPLO!” — CHRIS, FREESTYLER. US “EVERYONE HAS DONE SOMETHING WITH A RAPPER & A SHIRT OR A FOOTBALL BOOT LAUNCH NOW, MOVE ON.” — FABIAN, DESIGNER BELGIUM.
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 . .0
WHEN THEY ARE AT THEIR BEST, YOU THINK TWO THINGS:
“OH, WHERE D I D T H AT COME FROM, T H AT I S AW E S O M E ! ”
&
“T H AT AC T UA L LY MAKES TOTA L S E N S E”
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 . .0
2.
MAKE IT MATTER.
“ IT HAS TO MAKE SENSE. I DON’T JUST WANT SOMEONE DANCING AROUND ON A STAGE BEFORE A FOOTBALL MATCH. WHY ARE THEY HERE AND WHAT IS IT SAYING?” - OLI, UK This new generation of fans are more cynical than ever, and they want to see the sports and brands that they follow, align with their values. This means understanding what your fan base or potential fan base wants from your sporting property, and then how music can help support this.
HISTORICALLY, THIS HAS BEEN APPLIED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING EQUATION:
ARTIST X = FAN OF TEAM THEREFORE ARTIST X = PERFECT OPTION THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE, FIND YOUR STORY.
FIFA X MIXTAPE MADNESS B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
THE 2019 FIFA EWORLD CUP GRAND FINALS AT THE O2 LAST AUGUST WAS A PERFECT DEMONSTRATION OF A RIGHTS HOLDER BEING CONSIDERED IN THEIR APPROACH TO SPORT X MUSIC CROSSOVERS. It would have been easy for a global sports rights holder like FIFA to sign the largest, mainstream artist to perform on stage before the eWorld Cup finals at London’s O2 arena. However, by understanding what gaming fans loved about the tournament and what target audiences wanted to see from new collaborations in this space, we knew this wouldn’t work. Instead, FIFA created a new cultural platform that shaped the rights holder's place in music and sport. A campaign that was: • Built on grassroots talent • Showcases constant head to head battles, with nowhere to hide • Rooted in urban, youth culture • Followed through social & digital platforms Working in collaboration with the UK’s number one, urban entertainment channel, Mixtape Madness, the FIFA eWorld Cup Freestyle Head2Head Competition gave break-through artists a chance to showcase their talent on a global stage and battle it out for the chance to have their own music video created and showcased on Mixtape’s global platform. Four artists were shortlisted to take part in the first live Head 2 Head Freestyle battle, which was broadcast on Sky Sports Premier League ahead of the final, followed by a live on-stage head to head freestyle battle at the O2. 16 yearold Londoner, Deekayy, won the title of Head2Head Champion on the night, and subsequently had her first EP recorded and released only two months later. THE CAMPAIGN HELPED DRIVE RECORD TICKET SALES FOR THE FIFA EWORLD CUP AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT METRICS EXCEEDED KPIS BY 150%, WITH THE STRATEGY NOW BEING REPLICATED IN MARKETS ACROSS THE WORLD.
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
3.
GET OUT OF LIVE.
SUPERBOWL 2.0 IS THE STARTING POINT FOR MANY RIGHTS HOLDERS IN THE WORLD
61% OF MUSIC FANS WOULD LIKE TO TRY OUT VR MUSIC EXPERIENCES
OF SPORT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT ALREADY EXISTS, AND IT’S REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
Not only that, but music moved beyond the live sphere in 1877 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph cylinder. It’s so much more than just live music in a live venue and has been for longer than any of us (Mick Jagger aside) have been around! In this day and age, music permeates lifestyle and culture. It’s everywhere and the opportunities to utilize it are abundant. From sonic branding to daily WhatsApp content series, and in-stadium audio stings to fan generated anthems, the ways in which sporting properties can leverage music are wide, varied and constantly evolving. This isn’t because they’re cool things to do either, it’s because the ways in which audiences are engaging with music are changing. Live gigs are still central to the music experience, but there are so many more ways to use music to punch out of your traditional audience. So stop and ask yourself...
HOW CAN WE DO A BETTER SUPERBOWL?
217M MONTHLY ACTIVE SPOTIFY USERS IN 2019
DAVID GUETTA
CAS E ST U DY B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
UEFA WANTED TO EXTEND THE REACH OF ITS EURO 2016 COMPETITION AND CONNECT WITH NEW AUDIENCES, BEYOND TRADITIONAL FOOTBALL FANS. With an internal team well-versed in reaching traditional football fans, we worked with UEFA to integrate music into the presentation of Euro 2016 in a way that was credible, authentic and a global first; redefining how an international tournament could engage new fans. Following a rigorous artist selection process through our Fan Intelligence network, we appointed superstar DJ, David Guetta as UEFA’s global ‘Music Ambassador’ and created the world’s first fan generated sonic identity for the competition. Traditionally, major sporting tournaments have had 'official songs' but these were fairly disconnected from the promotional engine of the tournament. UEFA wanted to use the power of music to create a culturally credible platform that would help fans get closer to the heart of the tournament in France. It was also crucial that ‘the music’ was integrated into all fan touch points giving the tournament a consistency that had never been achieved before because of complex rights issues around publishing. With David Guetta in place and the official track written, the next step was how to get 1M fans to sing on the global hit record. Over a three-month period, 1M+ fans used a pioneering web-based app that allowed them to sing a section on the track. Those recordings created a 1M-strong fan chant, which featured on the official song and was then integrated into every aspect of the tournament sound output. The unique rights deal allowed the track to become the 'sound of' the tournament, used consistently across all UEFA media and experiential touchpoints, from mass participation events to trophy tours, partner activations, stadium audio and all broadcast sequences globally. 'THIS ONE'S FOR YOU' WENT TO NO.1 IN 15 COUNTRIES & TOP 10 IN 30, OVERDELIVERING ON FAN ENGAGEMENT KPIS BY 200% AND CREATING THE MOST INTEGRATED GLOBAL MUSIC CAMPAIGN AROUND A MAJOR SPORTING EVENT.
B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 .0
TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT FAN INTELLIGENCE AND ACCESS CUTTING EDGE INSIGHTS FROM THE WORLDS OF SPORT, MUSIC AND CULTURE, BEFORE THEY BECOME MAINSTREAM TRENDS, EMAIL OWENLAVERTY@ EARTOTHEGROUND.ORG AND CREATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WORK.
FA N I N T E L L I G E N C E S E R I E S : B R I N G T H E N O I S E 2 . 0