Digital Technologies Report by shanneka simpson

Issue 1 20/03/2012

How does the music industry use digital marketing to gain digital consumers

ÂŁ1.90

Authors

Hannah Mayer

Abbas Ali

Shanneka Simpson

Rosanne Dodds

Contents page Introduction Market share Industry expert Primary research Funding Revenue and Royalties Illegal downloads Search engine optimisation Online PR Twitter YouTube promotion Linkedin Interactive marketing Digital effectiveness Online partnership E-mail marketing Opt-in e-mail Viral marketing Control Planning traffic building Resources Online traffic building Pay per click Offline marketing Offline traffic building Meta tags Source codes Conclusion Bibliography

6 7 8 9-17 18 19 20 21 23-25 26 27 28-29 30 31-33 34 35-39 40-43 44-46 47 48 49 50-52 53-54 55-57 58 59 60-61 62 63-65 5

Introduction

The evolution of marketing, and digital technologies in the 21st century is astounding. There are several platforms from print to online that can all be tide together to create a great campaign. The music industry is one example of an industry that has taken hold of these evolutions, allowing the consumers to directly be involved. This edition of Sound magazine looks at the technologies utilised by various top record labels, the outcomes desired by different campaigns and the final effectiveness of these campaigns. Taking into account the various platforms and various sources used by consumers to interact and enjoy the products from the artists and ultimately the experience provided by the record label. Not all music is purchased and enjoyed as it is meant to be, with illegal downloads, copyright infringement and the ever growing list of online music sources such as Myspace, Spotify, YouTube and various sound â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cloudsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; it is an ever growing chase to ensure credit is given where it is due and the consumer is receiving the best of what they desire. Sound magazine are taking a deeper look Into the market where record labels compete for top chart artists - and fight to stay the top. Where digital marketing is now at the epicenter of record labelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing plan, creating awareness and a consumer base.

Market Share

Nearly 90% of the global music market is made up of five main corporations; EMI Records, Sony, Vivendi Universal, AOL Time Warner and BMG (BBC, 2012). Each corporation runs their headquarters in the United States which is the world’s largest market (BBC, 2012). The largest share of 29% is by Vivendi Universal which is has operations and licenses across 63 countries. In a close second place is AOL Time Warner at 15.9% (BBC, 2012). The top record labels do not pose as ‘competition’ towards each other as it is easier to work together and to maintain the friendly approach for the public (BBC, 2012). Working in partnerships together, these record labels are able to maximise profits and reputation. It has proven difficult for smaller record labels to operate in this environment without being taken over by the larger corporations (BBC, 2012).

Industry expert Isabelle Nabanja Studying Music Business at The Academy of Contemporary Music

Q1.How has the development of digital technologies affected the way in which record labels market themselves, and their artists? I:It has improved the way they can reach greater audiences, thus increasing the fan base of their artists. Fans are able to listen, search their favourite artists quicker via Smartphone's, tablets etc. The advance in technology has also helped them be more innovative with the way the way they market their artists. For example Bjork used a Smartphone app when using her Biophilia album. Q2.What in your opinion are the main digital technologies used within the industry? I:The main technologies used nowadays are apps; they are growing increasingly alongside the increase in the number of Smartphone's being bought. They enable users to gain instant access to their purpose. Apps combine audio and visual aspects to gain the users attention and interest. In addition, as more technologies that are app enabled develop, the more the generations can adapt to them. Nowadays, we see children as young two being able to navigate touch screen technology, and enjoy the benefits of them. This proves to be an adaptable technology that can be received over a diverse age group. Q3.What do you feel are some key objectives taken into account when developing a digital marketing strategy within the industry? I:The main key objective would be to make sure that it is adaptable and can be used on more than one technology; for example, on a computer, laptop, tablet, Smartphone etc. By incorporating this multifunctional digital marketing strategy you are able to reach more people via numerous applications. Q4.What social media platforms do you feel has drastically changed the way music is enjoyed? I:MySpace was once very popular for artists and A&R people, and still is to some extent because it allows artists to showcase their talent and is a means of discovery for A&R people. However, due to the introduction of Facebook, social networking shifted from music and social networking to just social networking. Despite this Facebook has adopted the new methods of listening to music by partnering up with Spotify, where its users are able to tell their friends what they are listening to on Spotify. This integration is an example of two popular programs that require modern technology have adapted to meet the needs of their audience.

Primary Research

Name: Phoebe Scott Age:19 Email address: phoebe.scott@hotmail.com 1.

Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Yes

2. What is your most preferred genre of music? Whatever is current in the charts - probably pop/R&B 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Hourly - I follow artists on twitter and regulary check my news feed 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? Yes 5. What entices you to sign up? Knowing the latest upcoming acts etc 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? Information in real-time 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? Probably less than they used to due to things like twitter and facebook but still a hefty contribution 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? 8/9 - easy to find who you're looking for by searching 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Definitely, yes. I'm more aware so I'm more likely to get involved. 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? It depends what I'm doing - if I'm not busy I'll have a scan through to see if there's anything going on.

Name: Yvonne Nakato

Primary Research

Age: 20 Email address: nakato2000@yahoo.co.uk 1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Not really because the latest music e.g. The kind that is in the charts and therefore played in shops isn't usually the genre that I like. 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? Râ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;B, preferably from the 90s. 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Often! That's the best way that I find music I like. I use YouTube a lot. 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? Yes, one. 5. What entices you to sign up? The reliability. 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? Getting up to date accurate information about the artist(s), album releases, performances etc. A lot of press stuff is usually incorrect. 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? Depending on how famous or in demand the artist is I think they receive better exposure. Unless they're up and coming, nevertheless the most popular usually receive the most attention. 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? I think 8. It's pretty straight forward and basic. 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Yes definitely, it's where I hear the news first. 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? I usually skim read the headline and if it's interesting I'll read the whole newsletter.

Name: Cree Webster

Primary Research

Age: 19 Email Address: cree_webster@live.co.uk 1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Yes. 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? House. 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Fairly often. 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? Maybe one or two. 5. What entices you to sign up? Tour dates, promo information and single and album releases. 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? Being able to keep up to date with the label the new artists, tour dates and album releases. 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? It is a massive contribution, marketing and promoting each artist pushes sales and makes them accessible to their target audience. 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? Fairly easy and self explanatory. 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Yes 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? Unlikely

Primary Research Name: Yanique Pennicooke Age: 20 Email address: yanique_pennicooke@hotmail.co.uk

1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Yes. 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? Cultural music. 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Once a month. 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? No. 5. What entices you to sign up? Free demos of their latest track. 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? None 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? It will be beneficial as their work will be promoted to a wider scale of audience. 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? 5 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Yes. 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receive many emails to be honest.

Name: James Massiah

Primary Research

Age :22 Email address: jamesmassiah@hotmail.co.uk 1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? YES 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? FUNK 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? DAILY 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? NO 5. What entices you to sign up? IM NOT SIGNED UP 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? IM NOT SIGNED UP 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? OFFERING INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND OFFERING EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOADS 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? 7/8 THEY ARE USUALLY WELL LAID OUT WITH SIMPLE TABS OFFERING CONTACT, TOUR DATES AND ARTIST INFO 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? I HAVENT SIGNED UP 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? UNLIKELY BECAUSE THEY ARE USUALLY JUNK, BUT IF I SIGNED UP AND IT WAS AN ARTIST I CARED FOR I SUPPOSE I WOULD READ

Name: Shae Burk

Primary Research

Age: 23 Email Address:shaeburk@hotmail.co.uk 1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Yes 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? Rap 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Regularly (4 times a week) 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? Yes 5. What entices you to sign up? Free updates about the artist 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? newsletters 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? A huge amount because it makes their work more open to the public 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? 7...the websites are usually clearly laid out 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Yes 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up?

14 Sometimes, they send a lot of emails out and they are often about the same things so I do find myself deleting the email before I even open them. It does depend on the subject of the email.

Name: Hayley Warner

Primary Research

Age: 20 Email address: hayleywarner_25@hotmail.co.uk 1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Yes, but I don't go out of my way to find out what's new. 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? R'n'b. 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Rarely. 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? No. 5. What entices you to sign up? Nothing. 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? I'm not sure, they probably send u emails with exclusive information about the artist. 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? Not sure. 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? Never been on one. 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? No. 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? I am not signed up to any, but probably not if I was.

Name: Jason Emery Age: 21 Email address: JasonEmery@hotmail.co.uk

Primary Research

1. Are you interested in keeping up with the latest music? Not really 2. What is your most preferred genre of music? Indie 3. How often would you say you surf the net to find out more about the artist you like? Not often 4. Are you signed up to any music label websites? No 5. What entices you to sign up? Not signed 6. What benefits do you feel you receive from signing up to the record label websites? None - not signed 7. How do you feel these label websites contribute to the success of the label and their artists? Keeps someone up to date 8. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest) how easy is it to navigate around these music label websites and why? 8/9 9. Do you feel that since you have signed up to these label websites you are more likely to purchase music and concert tickets and watch music videos online? Perhaps 10. Would you say you are likely or unlikely to read the emails sent to you from the music labels once you have signed up? Unlikely

Primary Research

The questionnaires concluded that considering it has been declared by advertising central yahoo that 15-24 year olds are the most frequent users of the internet and mobile, the label websites were not playing a key role in the music industry as much as they use to since the rapid evolvement of social media. With the worry of being bombarded with emails, the questionnaire participants expressed their disregard for what the labels sign up advantages are and perceived the information being sent to them as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;irrelevantâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; majority of the time. However the subject of the newsletters e-mailed to these subscribers sometimes caught their attention, often if they had spear time or received something relevant to them such as; tour dates for a particular artist they like. This is where music label websites such as EMI Recordings and Domino Recordings gain an advantage as they give the opt- in option of receiving particular information based on the subscribers interest.

Funding Currently the majority of funding for the music industry within the UK is done through the Arts Council or the National Lottery, however this is only a small portion of funding and the cost to run such

industry

much

greater

(Freedman, 2010). Each year the music industry contributes ÂŁ5bn to the national economy, along side this addition to the economy the music industry also provides new jobs, however it is known that the number of new jobs would be more if the industry

was

being

properly

funded

(Freedman, 2010). Due to the fact that funding is cut short, finding new acts and expanding further into digital is becoming increasingly difficult. (Wray, 2010). The IFPI (2012) graph demonstrates the amount of revenue earned from digital music sales in 2011.

For a successful digital website, saving money anyway possibly is constructive. By using social media instead of print advertising for instance, independent labels such as XL Recordings are getting its brand name recognised and well known without spending excessive amounts on flyers etc. By recognising that social media sites are an essential tool in digital marketing, brands are able to communicate to its audience for free using Twitter and Facebook which costs nothing to sign up and use. However,

brands now have to pay for

advertisements on Facebook.

(Facebook offers brands advertising space at a cost).

Revenue Due to falling CD sales and the rise in digital piracy there was a drop of £189m in the UK music industry revenues in 2010. Consumers are spending less, and band managers hold back from scheduling tours, both key reasons in the decline in revenue (Sweney, 2011). However, festivals within the UK provide a boost to the industry revenue by 20%. The fall by 7.9% in CD sales continues to occur as the digital services provided and piracy continue to grow (Sweney, 2011).

Royalties In 2011 the organisation that represents 75,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK , PRS for Music, blamed digital piracy and a fall in high street sales for 1% year-onyear decline in total royalties. These were down £7m to £611.2m in 2010. Royalties from recorded media fell 8.8% to £117.2m, only partially offset by an increase in income from overseas and from commercial radio in Britain Plunkett,

2011).

PRS

for

Music

collects

Websites

such

royalties for songwriters from more than 25bn

Soundcloud.com,

uses of music each year, from digital streams

Apple

to breakfast radio and background music in

ReverbNation deliver

shops (Plunkett, 2011).

royalties

iTunes to

and record

labels for using their songs.

Illegal downloads In order to protect those within the music industry, legal music hosting websites such as iTunes, Spotify and sound cloud have been produced. A place where consumers can purchase music and share it legally. However, this has not solved the souring numbers of illegal downloads. It was hoped that sites such as these would provide more investments in artists and more jobs, but this has not been proven to be the case (Telegraph, 2010). In an act to stop illegal downloads the music industry supplies a large amount of resources in the antipiracy campaigns, to help educate the public. In 2011 the IFPI alone removed 15m illegal downloading links, an increase of 115% from 2010 (IFPI, 2012). It has proven difficult to monitor illegal downloads, while new anit-piracy laws are being labelled as â&#x20AC;&#x153;immoralâ&#x20AC;? and breeching consumer rights (BBC, 2010).

Search Engine Optimisation

Successful SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is to simply obtain the highest position or ranking after typing in a combination of keywords into a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo.com (D. Chaffey, PR Smith). Firstly, by typing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;music record labelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; into google.co.uk, the following labels appear on page 1 of the search; Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Universal Music and Warner Music Group. These particular record labels are some of the largest and most successful worldwide, working with international artists. By achieving high position/ranking, these websites are easily found by its audience and this is clearly beneficial to the record labels.

SEO

When typing in ‘record label’ into google.co.uk, the highest website that appears in terms of position/ranking is the independent record label Domino Records.

(music record label Google.co.uk

(record label Google.co.uk)

Polydor, EMI Music and Domino Records appear on the first search page when typing in ‘UK record label’.

When searching for ‘music record label’ into Yahoo.com, the only large record label that appears is Universal

Music

the

first

search page. The websites found are

mainly

containing

informative articles

sites record

labels in general which is of no major benefit to record labels striving to obtain an audience for their official websites.

Online PR The four key areas involved in Online PR demonstrated in figure _ outline the areas that are covered for an online PR plan. In SEO various techniques used to attract visitors through search is important, by back linking and maintaining a positive online presence the brand or company will have a much greater chance at being higher on the search results page. It is important that the website in question has researched into the keyword analysis in order to identify the relevant words and phrases relating to the brand/company (Chaffey, D. 2008). By also creating brand awareness through various consumer engagement activities such as blogs, and other online communities where consumers are able to discuss and interact with one another and the brand. The dialogue created will help the brand to understand the consumer needs and wants (Chaffey, D. 2008). The use of social media to create a buzz about the brand and the specific campaigns running will help spread the message further by what's called as viral marketing. It is important for the brand to communicate with various journalists who have a large online presence. By setting up press releases online through websites, email alerts about news that journalist and different third parties are able to sign up to or subscribe via RSS feeds is a very good way to communicate fast and efficiently (Chaffey, D. 2008).

website (blog) tags for usability to help visitors locate specific topics.

Online PR

The final key component to any online PR campaign is knowing when defensive PR and crisis pr is enough. The use of defensive PR occurs in the other three components to online PR outline above, while crisis PR generally involves the management of a potentially negative incident involved the brand. Universal Music (UMG) has demonstrated a good Online PR presence and strategy. By appearing 6th in the organic search on google when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;music labelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is searched. The website http://www.universalmusic.com/ has several areas in which Online PR is demonstrated, through the navigation bar on the top of the page various areas such as news both corporate and artists , contests and company information is provide d. UMG also promotes the sign up to the newsletter as well as RSS feeds, twitter, myspace, and Facebook. Maintaining a good control over all popular social media platforms, creating a buzz and providing brand engagement between consumers.

Online PR

UMG has demonstrated the powerful tool of Online PR by maximizing mentions of their brands, by being present on social networks where the desired target audience is for certain artist is important. The understanding of different areas in which a brand can build their online presence through Online PR is important in link building. UMG is able to control the reputation of such artists and ensure only positive messages are being displayed. Because the audience is connected by social media networks more communication occurs allowing consumers to become closer to the brand and artists involved (Chaffey, D. 2008).

Twitter These are example of how major record labels use social media such as Twitter. Record labels promote specific artists and their new release, tweet contains the links to websites music can be heard and bought at.

Twitter also allows individuals to

hit

out

companies,

recording

these

examples show rapper 50 Cent lashing out at his record label president Jimmy Lovine for not helping to promote the rappers new album and Calvin Harris ranting at his label for removing his song.

YouTube Promotion

This is an example of how record labels create awareness for their artist, this particular example

occurs

during

Rihanna song where at the bottom there is a banner which changes

which

contains

advertisements of different artist by the same record label.

This is an example of how record

labels

use

digital

marketing to create revenue, within this particular example just before a

Lady GaGa

music video a advertisement of Tinie Tempahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new single was advertised.

LinkedIn LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site has a variety of record labels with their own profiles. By having a LinkedIn profile, the record labels are able to connect with others in the music industry, advertise job vacancies and to advertise its official website, which could encourage more followers on social media websites. Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such as record labels have made it their priority to see that descriptions, information and company logos are used correctly on LinkedIn (TechRepublic). The information has to be accurate and must be seen by web users. For instance, EMI Music has an informative profile featuring up-to-date news regarding new employees. Linked in allows the user to connect with other businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and on EMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page the user can view where else EMI Music employees have worked for. This benefits other music labels as the viewer can then select other profiles to observe which increases brand awareness.

(EMI Music Linked In profile page: http://www.linkedin.com/company/emi-music)

Sony another record

Music

Entertainment,

hugely label

has

successful a

large

amount of followers on its Linked In profile page. The profile contains the link to its official website, careers and services the label offers and other basic information.

(Linked In: Sony Music Entertainment http://www.linkedin.com/company/3039?trk=srch_hero_comp_name)

Interactive Marketing Interactive advertising uses online or offline interactive media to communicate with consumers to promote

products, brands, services.

Interactive marketing is widely used online, Polls, questionnaires and pop ups are all signs of interactive marketing. Interactive marketing is any type of marketing that engages a customer for example Amazon.com interactive with their customers by asking them to fill out surveys which they then use to improve their service, the following are examples of interactive marketing.

Most websites offer prices or cash money for the completing of a survey or poll.

Digital Effectiveness By observing the main record labels official websites, certain aspects stand out to the user. For instance, with Warner Music Group there is a large amount of Flash used which creates an attractive yet professional looking appearance. Warner Music Group also displays hyperlinked buttons on its homepage to allow the user to access the social networking sites that supports the brand, including pages for; Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, which creates even more brand awareness and allows the brand to interact with its audience in many ways. By selecting an image of an artist on the homepage, a flash video appears which plays a music video for that specific artist. This brings life into the website and instantly informs the user of the types of acts the label represents.

Record label EMI uses social media well to promote the brand and encourage audience engagement. For instance, the user can instantly view ‘tweets’ from

Twitter

directly

that the

appear

homepage

under the title ‘latest tweets’. ‘Recent posts’ and ‘tags’ can also be viewed as certain key words

such

artists/musicians names may interest a user. This way, the user can select the hyperlinked phrases

view

information.

(Warner Music Group – Flash music video)

Digital Effectiveness

Domino

Records

official

website uses several social media

networking

site,

including; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud and MySpace. This allows the brand to connect with its audience,

keep

them

informed of the latest music news and to increase brand awareness.

Users

the

website can also sign up for news by inserting their email address. Domino Records also uses e-commerce through its site. Users can purchase merchandise, tickets, pre-order albums and more. Users are easily able to select artists through dropdown buttons under the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Martâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; page. They can then select the desired products they

(Domino Records official website)

wish to purchase.

Digital Effectiveness

Domino Records official website uses several social media networking site, including; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud and MySpace. This allows the brand to connect with its audience, to keep them informed of the latest music news and to increase brand awareness. Users of the website can also sign up for news by inserting their email address.

(Domino Records official website)

Domino Records also uses e-commerce through its site. Users can purchase merchandise, tickets, pre-order albums and more. Users are easily able to select artists through drop-down buttons under the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Martâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; page. They can then select the desired products they wish to purchase.

Online Partnerships It is important for brands to understand the key types of online partnerships that require frequent management. Link-building, affiliate marketing and online sponsorship are factors that need to be attended to, through a structured nature by navigation of the main website (Chaffey, D. 2008). Due of the importance of link building within SEO there are several key ways in which to ensure a brand is keeping links relevant to search sites and attracting consumers regularly. By ensuring that the website displays quality link building through quality content it is important that consumers are encouraged to share such content on various sites. It is possible to make requests for inbound only or one-way links from partners by delivering link-building campaigns, a less valuable alternative to this would be to agree on reciprocal links between the brand and another organization, having trusted links are more important than not having the links (Chaffey, D. 2008).

Brands also have the option of buying links, however Google will down rate any brands it identifies as doing so, the only alternative would be to buy links directly from website owners as Google is not able to identify the agreement. Brands are also able to create their own external links, through the use of blogs and community forums, however it is noted that search engines do not recognize such links as they are usually tagged as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;no-followâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Chaffey, D. 2008). The final way in which brands are able to optimize and distribute press releases and various articles relating to the brand that contain several direct links back to the appropriate brand website, this is known as generating buzz through PR (Chaffey, D. 2008).

E-mail Marketing Chaffey and Smith p.378 explain that, a coherent marketing programme which helps build relationships needs to combine excellence both in devising effective outbound e-mail campaigns and managing incoming e-mails to satisfactorily resolve customers’ questions. Chaffey and Smith refer to e-mail marketing as ‘direct mail on steroids’ reason being that there are several benefits of email marketing, Incentives aim in this section is to provide examples of how the music industry market their online presence through e-mail. It has been stated by Chaffey and Smith on page 379 that the physical costs of e-mail are substantially less than direct mail therefore it is beneficial to a record label company that they reach their target audience via email. The screenshot is an example of what Chaffey and Smith refer to as ‘direct response medium encourages immediate action’. The screen shot shows an email received by a member of the Universal Music Group website and has been designed to encourage a click through to a website where Universal Music Group are promoting one of their artists new videos. This e-mail is a portrayal of Universal Music Group tactical approach to create an impulsive response to the email. This is also a good example of what Chaffey and objectives or newly launched product. On the contrary, the downfall that some record labels Smith define on page 381 as a house-list campaign which periodic e-mails to support different experience is that house-list campaigns suffer faults such as the dismissal of the main message.

E-mail Marketing

Within the e-mail as a result of the creative design of the e-mail containing

various

different

pieces of information. Chaffey and Smith believe that although newsletters and regular e-mails are a good place to start with eCRM, the complications such as dismissal of the vital message has led to record labels such as EMI Records investing in both online and mobile music content to ensure their message is delivered and not just online.

In the hopes that the recipient of the e-mail will have an impulse response, an offer to purchase the single on iTunes is shown.

There are two different messages and a tool bar for the official Universal Music Group website. The actual message that Universal are trying to promote could be dismissed.

“eCRM will be a vital revenue generator for EMI,”

comments

Eilon,

“Technological

developments provide eCRM with its biggest challenges, but also its biggest opportunities. The eCRM strategy will allow us to make the most out of our new media developments, providing online and mobile music content. Ultimately,

intend

strengthen

the

relationship and expand the dialogue we have with consumers, delivering them what they want and when they want it.”

The Universal Music Group link in the e-mail directs the recipient to

The option to watch the video is also presented, this incorporates

the

Chaffey and Smiths theory of integration as the link to the video

channel.

artist

YouTube

takes the individual to the artists YouTube channel where they can promote other footage of themselves as well as YouTube.

E-mail Marketing

The artist YouTube channel then promotes the other music by the artist.

Chaffey and smith endorse the fact that e-mail marketing leads to faster campaign deployment, this means that lead times for producing creative and the whole campaign life-cycle tends to be shorter than traditional media (p.379). The ease of personalization is also a benefit of e-mail marketing. Chaffey and Smith put forth the idea that it is easier and cheaper to personalise e-mail than real physical â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;snailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mail. The screen shot below demonstrates a personalised e-mail received from Island Records to and individual who have signed up to the website.

The e-mail received from Island Records addresses the recipient by their first name. The e-mail is often received within 24 hours.

Another factor of e-mail marketing is that the deliverability of the e-mail can often be jeopardised if the e-mail is detected as SPAM due to word associated with SPAM mail in the subject or body of the e-mail. The screen shot below is a e-mail sent to an individual who has signed up to the site asking them to add the email address of the sender to their contact to ensure they receive the emails being sent to them without any issues.

E-mail Marketing Asking the recipient to add the email address to the contact list to ensure the recipient receives the e-mails being sent to them. However the e-mail address provided cannot be replied to this could jeopardise the relationship one has with Island Records because they cannot contact the label easily.

Based on communications preferences Domino Records informs the individual signing up to their website how many times they will receive emails in a month , as well as giving the option to request what artist they would like to receive information on.

The option to choose what artist the potential member to the website would like to receive information on.

Similarly Island Records to give potential members the option to receive information on the artists of their choice.

E-mail Marketing

Universal Music Groups renderability has difficulty showing all the images on the email due to the size of the screen; however the e-mail provides links which open up new tabs in order to show the images from the e-mail. Def Jam Recordings also have the same issue however the email has been completely blocked for the recipientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; safety. However a link to access the website is available.

Website links providing new tabs to view the e-mail in full.

The option for the recipient to unblock the e-mail

A web link to access the website.

Opt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in e-mail Chaffey and Smith explain on page 494 that opt-in e-mail is when the customer is only contacted when they have explicitly asked for information to be sent to them (usually when filling in onscreen forms). Majority of record labels have a sign up option on their website asking the potential member to enter their e-mail address and other personal details, they then send a follow up e-mail containing a web link that the recipient needs to click on in order to activate their membership. The e-mail also contains a link for the recipient to opt-out of receiving any e-mails from the sender by unsubscribing to the e-mails. The screen shots below show two different recording labels process of opt in e-mail processes.

The opt-in option to sign up to the website using an e-mail address.

Opt-in e-mail

Input personal details .

An e-mail to confirm the subscription to the website.

The option to optout of receiving e-mails from Epic Recordings by unsubscribing.

Opt-in e-mail

Different options as to how the individual would like Def Jam Records to obtain their details.

Input personal.

Opt-in option, this is asking the subscriber if they would like to receive e-mails on the following options below.

Opt-in e-mail

An e-mail containing a link to confirm the subscription to the website.

A follow up e-mail sent after clicking on the link in the initial confirmation e-mail to welcome the new member to DefJam Recordings website and to provide them with the option of unsubscribing.

Viral Marketing

Chaffey and Smith explain viral marketing on page 328 in its simplest form, ‘word of mouth’ and ‘word of mouse’. The formal definition they then gave on page 499 was that e-mail is used to transmit a promotional message to another potential customer. ‘Online word of mouth’. Forwarding e-mails is one way of viral marketing; often e-mails have the option to forward the e-mail in the body of the e-mail and not just on tool bar of the e-mail server. Below three screen shots of the process

Interscope

Records

use

when

viral

marketing. The first shows the ‘forward to a friend’ option within the e-mail, the second screen shot shows how Interscope Records allow the original recipient to make the email personal so it seems as though it is from the member of the Interscope Records website and not from the record label its self as the individual receiving the link did not opt-in to receive e-mails from the site. However the third screenshot displays a problem that may occur, as the e-mail has been blocked due to the personal message sent with the forwarded e-mail as it contains SPAM like vocabulary. If the recipient to whom the forwarded e-mail is sent to is unaware this

mail is being sent to them they may delete the e-mail before having access to read it.

Viral Marketing

The option to forward the e-mail to a friend.

The e-mail address for the friends, the recipient would like to forward the e-mail to. There are 11 options.

A personal message that will be sent as the body of the e-mail delivered to each recipient The name of the sender

The option for the recipient of the forwarded e-mail to become a member to the Interscope Records website

Tells the recipient where the e-mail has come from.

The option for the recipient of the forwarded e-mail to become a member to the Interscope Records website

Viral Marketing

Polydor Records use web facilitated

viral

marketing

techniques. As they do not have a membership to their site they allow visitors to the site to forward videos and links via email to friends or colleagues etc. The get the link option allows individuals to

post

these

links

and

videos on their Facebook,

The option to e-mail the

Blogs and Twitter.

video

friend

colleague etc.

The video link so that visitors to the site can post it on their Facebook, Blogs or Twitters

Control In order to measure the effectiveness of promotions and campaigns in terms of traffic volume, quality, cost per visitor and customer acquisition, different techniques need to be used while various control actives also will need to take place (Chaffey, D. 2008). It is important that budgets are set out prior to campaigns running, decisions on how the budget it to be allocated in regards to online and offline promotion. However it has been seen that these two platforms tend to see similar budgets. It is noted by IFPI.org that the marketing and promotion of artists are often the largest budgeted for the record label. The value that marketing has towards an artists success is extremely high, marketing builds the brand identity and awareness for rising artists and helps promote merchandise and tour dates (IFPI, 2012). In the US, it is possible for a marketing campaign budget to run $2.3 million in the promotion of some high profile artists.

Sony BMGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s president Thomas Hesse stated that he thinks of his business as undergoing a fundamental transformation in regards to digital and social media platforms, going from a CD company to a multi-revenue and multi-business company (Holahan, 2008). This was following the unveiling of MySpace Music along side two other major record labels, Warner Music and Universal Music. With the introduction of more online sites where consumers are able to download and stream online music content, CD sales dropped as a result record labels started looking at more online platforms to make money from be it advertising, promotions, sales and merchandise. All of these areas of sale and interaction use to be left to outside sources to handle, now more and more record labels are taking control of their brand and artists in the online world. In order to establish the effectiveness of various campaigns, the brand are going to need to run several web analytic to identify the quality of traffic being received.

Planning Traffic Building The key aspects of traffic building include; targets, techniques and timing. Traffic building objectives are basically tactics to achieve wider e-marketing objectives. Traffic building also involves combining new online digital media channels and traditional offline communication techniques to promote the web site proposition and to encourage visits (D. Chaffey, PR Smith). An example of this can be found in EMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website where social media websites are advertised on its homepage to encourage viewers to access the websiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relating to the brand.

Finally, timing is essential. Online customers are looking for products, services and experiences throughout the year. Therefore e-markets should include both specific campaigns, perhaps to launch a

site or a new product for instance. They should also make investment in a continuous process of attractive visitors by search of affiliates (D. Chaffey, PR Smith).

Resources Resourcing is simply achieving the correct

balance

investment

between traffic building and other emarketing objectives (D. Chaffey, PR Smith). The right balance between expenditure

on;

web

design

creation, service or maintenance and traffic building must be taken into account (D. Chaffey, PR Smith). When

deciding

the

best

communications mix for an online campaign, the marketer should take into account the following factors; cost

per

acquisition,

volume,

conversion flexibility, frequency and risk.

The image to the right demonstrates the flow of resources used to bring an artists to the public and be successful. The music industry is not an easy one to enter and become a success so it is key for brands to build the proper campaign

following

various

communication techniques.

Online Traffic Building This involves three key aspects, which includes targeting, techniques and timing. Traffic quality is high if site visitors are within the target audience for the website and if they respond in line with the communications objectives. Traffic building is a vital when achieving e-marketing objectives within a brand. Online traffic building can be achieved by using social media correctly. For instance, record label Sony Music displays up-to-date Tweets on its homepage to inform users of latest music news. By tweeting about their own artists, followers that notice the comments on Twitter could

land

Sony

Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

official

Twitter/home page with a click of a button. Sony Music is publishing information on Twitter to its own artists pages, which will encourage users to access their official Twitter page.

Online Traffic Building

(Sony Music: Website)

(Sony Music: Social Media and Links)

Online Traffic Building

On XL Recordings website, the user can select an artist that the label represents. By doing this, the user is then taken to a page that is dedicated to that artist. This page is blog styled, and features many hyperlinks that take the user to other websites such as NME.com (New Music Expert) to access even more information. By having this partnership with NME, XL Recordings are able to gain more views from their target market audience who support the same type of music that XL Recordings promotes. 1. XL Recordings artist selection

2.By selecting an artist, the user is taken to that artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page

3.There are hyperlinks in the blog styled information which takes the user to sites such as NME.com.

Pay Per Click

A company/person that pays for adverts to be displayed on a search engines result page, each time a specific key phrase is entered or advert is clicked on the advertiser pays.

When

you

enter

Warner

music (a well recognised record label) into Google the search engine directs you to the Warner Music website which is the first link. The key

words

Google

entered

where

into

“Warner

Music”

When you enter EMI music (a well recognised record label) into Google the search engine directs you to the EMI Music website which is the first link. The key words entered into Google where “EMI Music”

Pay Per Click

When you enter XL Recordings (a well recognised record label) into Google the search engine directs you to the XL Recordings website which is the first link. The key words entered into Google where “XL Recordings”

When you enter Jessie J (a well recognised recording artist) into Google the search engine directs you to the artist’s website which is the first link. The key words entered into Google where “Jessie J”

When you enter Eminem (a well recognised recording artist) into Google the search engine directs you to the artist’s website which is the first link. The key words entered into Google where “Eminem”

When you enter Record Label into Google the search engine directs you to a list of websites which contain the key phrase “record label”, within the top 6 results are 2 record labels EMI music and Polydor Records.

Offline Marketing It is important that the music label takes into account the type of message and advertising that is going to take place, be it incidental by having the web address be the main issues being targeted or specific by ensuring that the online value proposition (OVP) is identified and addressed. With around 85% of advertising budgets being still being spent offline it is important that brands take into account the connection of both online and offline advertising (Chaffey, D. 2008). Brands need to ensure that their online image is being presented to consumers. It is important that the URLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are used in text to direct consumers

relevant

sectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

online.

demonstrating a good OVP, there will be a direct benefit to the consumer for visiting the website (Chaffey, D. 2008). Typically sales promotion and various offers for consumers are available through the online site while maintaining the traditional brand values that the consumer is familiar with

Traditional marketing techniques such as print and TV advertising used to generate website traffic (book pg 714)

(Chaffey, D. 2008). With the popularity of social networking sites constantly rising, it is no surprise that brands are taking place within them. In particular music labels. A way to connect more with consumers and identify with their needs, it is ideal that music labels turn to social media such as Facebook, Myspace and so on to listen and share music. However, with the sharing and music comes the issue of downloading content.

Offline marketing such as radio is heavily used by record labels to prmote their artists. Tv commercials are used to help record labels sell their artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles and or albums. In addition to this

billboard

and

magazine

advertisements and features also help to push sales.

Offline Marketing

This is an example of offline marketing used by record labels to help promote their artists. This particular example uses Eminem on the front page to help promote his upcoming album. The aim of this feature cover is to drive Eminemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sales and to drive traffic to his website or I tunes where his music can be purchased.

This is another example of offline marketing used by record labels to help promote their artists. This particular example uses Adele on the front page of Q Magazine. The aim of this cover is to help Adele stay relevant, consistent and very much in the public eye, another aim is to drive sales to Adeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website and I tunes where her music can be purchased.

This is another example of offline marketing used by record labels to help promote their artists. This particular example uses Lady GaGa on a billboard that is advertising the release date of her album. The aim of this advertisement is to create awareness of when Lady GaGaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s album can be purchased in addition to driving customers online to purchase the product.

Offline Marketing

Examples such as this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZgN7Q_ATnk are used heavily by record labels to promote the release of artist singles and albums.

This is another example of offline marketing used by record labels to help promote their artists. This particular example promotes the latest N Dubz album, this particular example is carried out by Tesco however it is also used by major record labels. The aim of this type of offline marketing is to divert traffic to N Dubz websites and Tesco where the album can be purchased.

A good example of offline traffic building is a collaboration

Offline traffic building

between iTunes and Starbucks, in 2006 the launch of ‘Starbucks hear music now’. Which brought new artists and songs brought forward to the Starbucks consumers with the ability to download from iTunes for free. This campaign also allows consumers to download previous week’s artists, and preview various other collections put together by Starbucks. More recently, Starbucks revamped their ‘pick of the week’ card that displays the current weeks artists. Consumers are now able to download apps, book samples from iBookstore, various TV shows all from iTunes. This campaign promises to delivery great content that is fresh and unique (Starbucks, 2012). Working together iTunes and Starbucks have demonstrated the use of offline advertising to drive traffic and allow consumers to interact with the brand, allowing profile of the consumer and adding value (Chaffey, D. 2008). Also included in offline advertising campaigns is word of mouth, because of the powerful ways in which a happy customer will tell 10 friends about the product, but an unhappy customer will tell 20 it is important that customers are satisfied with the product and that they go away happy. The PR and advertising of all campaigns needs to be able to stimulate word of mouth, with the rise in social networking online viral techniques such as ‘tweets’ and notifications will help promote the brand or product. Along with creating a buzz for a campaign it is a popular practice for musical artists to perform publicity stunts. In 1977 The Sex Pistols pulled off a legendary publicity stunt. On June 3rd The Sex Pistols took to a boat on the river Thames in London to perform, shortly after they were arrested for this punk stunt (BBC, 2001). This was a stunt to mark the Queen’s Silver jubilee, the band sailed to ‘God Save the Queen’ the single jumped to number 2 in the charts (Virginmedia, 2012).

Meta Tags Meta-tags are simply part of the HTML of a website (webmarketing now) and are information inserted into the ‘head’ area of a web page. Meta information is used to communicate information and can tell a browser what ‘character set’ to use (Search engine watch). Meta-tags are now used as the description and links for search engines. By searching for EMI music label on Google.co.uk, the link and description is show as below. The description accurately describes the web site and informs the user of its content in a simple sentence. The meta tag keywords are used to increase the chance of boosting a page on a website and enhances the chance of users to find it when using a search engine (GettingHits, 2010).

Below is a slightly more descriptive example of how meta-tags can be used. XL Recordings, a smaller record

label

shows

several

keywords which are titles of pages on its website. The description informs the user of where the record label is and which artists it works alongside. The keywords such as ‘about’ and ‘studio’ have sentences below describing what content is inside the webpage. The user

can

headings

simply to

click

reach

that

the page

instantly instead of having to search through the homepage. Overall, meta-tags are useful for web users to access web pages efficiently and also inform the user of what content is contained in the sites.

Source code

Source codes consist of the programming statements that are created by a programmer with a text editorial or a visual programming tool and then saved in a file. They are simply before and after versions of a computer program that is compiled before its ready to run in a computer (SearchSOA).

Source code

To view a websites source code you click VIEW then Source code in the toolbox. The source code shows you the code that makes up the entire website, it is possible to copy code from other websites.

To concludeâ&#x20AC;Ś Through analysing various music label websites, and conducting both primary and secondary research Incentive has discovered that music websites are competing with social networking sites who are also trying to promote artists, concerts, tours and music. Music label websites are losing their purpose as digital consumers obsess with social networking sites they fray away from visiting music label websites. The primary and secondary research which was conducted showed that digital consumers understand why the websites existed yet hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t signed up to them and if they had they rarely opened the e-mails sent to the from the record labels although they had opt-in options that they agreed to. This is why it is important for these music label websites to send out e-mails relevant to the subscriber. Henceforth e-mail marketing strategies implemented by some recording

label

websites

such

Island

Recordings and Domino Recordings giving options to the subscriber as to what artists they would like to receive information about could prevent the emails they send from being dis missed. With the increase in illegal downloads music label websites try and encourage legal purchasing through their websites, iTunes, and e-mail marketing. Overall music label websites could benefit by drawing more digital consumers to their websites by running their own promotions such as; viral campaigns, label events, offers and incentives to visit the website.

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(2012).

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the

music

industry

[online].

Available

from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1042_globalmusic/page3.shtml [Accessed: 17/03/2012] BBC

(2010)

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music

downloads

are

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;on

the

riseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

[online].

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from:

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Available

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Available

from:

http://www.linkedin.com/company/3039?trk=srch_hero_comp_name [Accessed: 17/03/2012] Plunkett, J (2011). Music royalties fall for first time [online] The Guardian. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/28/music-royalties-fall-for-first-time

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How

use

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