Entertainment Architect (Concept Development + Brand Strategy + 360º Distribution + Production)
LocoDistro was a proud sponsor of the Live4ever Media Lounge at SXSW2018
British singer-songwriter Frank Turner talks us through the inspirations and influences behind his latest solo album Be More Kind, trying to unite using a campaign slogan that has divided a nation, as well as the countless other projects which he always has on the go. Frank was one of this year’s SXSW artist highlights for sure.
Some Rock History for ya… Today in 1983 (ahem 35 years ago) U2 released their 3rd studio album War. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album is regarded as their first overtly political album with ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘New Year’s Day.’ War became the band’s first #1 album in the UK—knocking Michael Jackson’s Thriller from the top spot.
It’s 2018 and we must acknowledge that race barriers sadly exist for too many Americans. Today in 1961 #Motown released its first million-seller. #ShopAround by #TheMiracles. Talk about breaking cultural barriers. Amazing achievement. I almost didn’t post this cause I didn’t want the importance to sound contrived—me being a white guy posting during #BlackHistoryMonth. But I happen to love #SmokeyRobinson. And I’ve had the pleasure of working with him. This anniversary deserves acknowledgment.
LocoDistro has got a lot planned for #SXSW this year—and we’re #thrilled to be doing it with @Live4everMedia who never cease to amaze in terms of “who to watch” each year. Stay tuned because some very special announcements will be made!
#SXSW2018 #Live4ever #LocoDistro #PirateStudios #JAFilms #SnapchatToSomeone
In honor of the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win earlier this week (and the Grammys last week) we’re gonna kick off the weekend with a Philly-born Grammy-winning legend—DJ Jazzy Jeff. Born in Philly, winner of HipHop’s first Grammy (for 1989’s ‘Parents Just Don’t Understand’) and legit creator of Turntablism’s game-changing Transform scratch—DJ Jazzy Jeff is still so good that Hollywood went to him to perform all the scratching in the feature film ‘Straight Outta Compton.’
This set is almost three years old—but so damn good. Hosted by collaborator and MC, Dayne Jordan, here is DJ Jazzy Jeff performing a tribute to the late-great J. Dilla from Johnny Brenda’s on N. Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, PA.
Happy Friday. And you’re welcome!
Does it matter that the “safe choice” for Music TV’s single biggest performance doesn’t have a good album?
This Sunday Justin Timberlake takes the Super Bowl Halftime stage to support an album that Pitchfork describes as “shallow” and “a huge misstep for Justin” …but does it matter?
Let’s start with why Justin? Let’s be honest—he’s not musically exciting, he’s already done it, and nobody misses him yet. So wasn’t there anyone else the fans would be more excited to see?
Millennial pop fans prefer Charlie Puth – but JT is okay
R&B pop fans prefer Cardi B – but JT is okay
Older pop fans prefer Madonna – but JT is okay
Rock fans apparently don’t exist
Country fans prefer Chris Stapleton – but JT is okay if he brings Chris Stapleton
So when you look at it that way—JT is the clear and obvious choice for today’s TV Executive. The question of “is he musically relevant right now?” wasn’t even asked. Booking rule number one for TV Execs should always be—how is the music?
As long as we’re attempting to safely appeal to the perfect middle of a divided country, JT is what we get. But I can’t help but believe that going for the “second best booking” because it safely checks the boxes isn’t just a cop-out. How well is “lowest common denominator” working in other areas?
Now, throwing a bone to JT… his catalog and charisma may pull him through just fine. But I do hope he doesn’t bring Jimmy Fallon on stage. If he brings out Janet Jackson however— I’ll forgo another trip to the seven-layer dip and watch what happens. All that said, a “safe” performer with a questionable new album should not be enough to book TV’s biggest music gig.
Yes, everyone will be a ratings expert by Monday morning. But answering the headline’s question of “does it matter” two day’s before the event isn’t a sure thing. He’s a star for a reason, even if that reason happened a few years back. Social media will rant regardless of quality, so perhaps the actual Halftime ratings will be the only true definition of Halftime success or failure.
If Halftime experiences a ratings drop-off of Grammy proportions then yes, it matters. Take a knee to that.
We’re proud of the latest campaign we created for the amazing non-profit A Better Balance—called Family Leave Works. And we’re even more proud to help spread their message this holiday season in support of New York State’s ground-breaking paid family leave law which goes into effect January 1st, 2018. You can learn more about the amazing work they do by visiting www.FamilyLeaveWorks.org.
You can help too with a simple Tweet or Post of support…
I support #FamilyLeaveWorks and paid family leave.
Learn more at FamilyLeaveWorks.org
We’re off to
SXSW tomorrow (March 13) with our new client Pirate Studios who (with an ‘artist-first’ approach) is reinventing rehearsal studios for the music industry globally.
We’ll also be taking meetings on behalf of client JA Films (#RollingStones, #Adele, #EdSheeran).
Meet with us at the @Live4everMedia Lounge at the Omni. Email GabrielGornell@LocoDistro.com if you wanna meet up to talk music branding, distribution, and 360º packaging.
Written by Gabriel Gornell
Gabriel Gornell is a branding, production, and distribution executive who has worked with countless artists that range from The Rolling Stones to Oscar the Grouch.
If your band’s attractive lead singer gets 300 likes for every pouty pic on Instagram—but you struggle to get 50 people to come to your gigs—you’ve got great reach but terrible impact. Same holds true for established acts just a few years out of their prime who have a respectable Facebook following—but struggle to get decent festival bookings.
Of course there are many factors involved in branding your music project (like the actual music for instance) but this post focuses on the importance of consistency.
Across the go-to social platforms, messaging from both established acts and emerging acts compete against millions of posts from hundreds of thousands of artists. Snoop Dogg alone puts up 5-10 Instagrams per day.
Further complicating, even if you do break through the clutter, ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ aren’t the only measure of your branding success. Don’t get us wrong—the reach you can get from Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook is awesome. But reach is not the same thing as impact. So how can your posts possibly stand out? Have any impact? And how can you convert ‘likes’ to ‘listens’ on a distribution platform like SoundCloud? This article explains why consistency helps.
The Van Halen logo will be our obvious example. This mark has changed very little since 1978, and regardless of who’s singing—it represents the Van Halen brand. Almost 40 years later, the Van Halen brand is so strong—they’ve survived 3 singers, internal feuds, Wolfgang on bass, and lots more. Obviously they back up their brand-promise with a guitar god, Diamond Dave, classic records, and a great mythology that all work together. But for the most part—long before social media mattered— they’ve been consistent with regard to their identity materials. They’ve actually been more consistent than The Rolling Stones who create a new tongue treatment for every tour and every album. In a sense, Van Halen has become the Coca-Cola of Rock n’ Roll branding. And here is why Van Halen-like consistency will help your music project.
Reason #1 The most obvious benefit of consistency is increased awareness because the more your audience is exposed to your brand—the better their chances of remembering it. And simply put, if you keep changing it there is less chance your audience will remember it. ‘Effective frequency’ is the marketing lingo for this. Understanding all the competition and clutter out there—even the old advertising ‘Rule of 7’ probably isn’t enough anymore.
The Rule of 7 states that a customer needs to “hear” a marketing message at least 7 times before they’ll buy that product or service.
Today most marketing experts put effective frequency numbers much higher than just 7 times. But wherever you think it is for your particular audience (7 times, 20x, 100x) one thing everyone generally agrees on is that messages are more effective when repeated. So don’t waste your brand impressions by being inconsistent!
The benefit of effective frequency and consistency working together is true across all entertainment mediums. Have you ever seen a televised award show where the show logo is different in the on-air promos, the step-and-repeat, and the animated show open? One show with three logos happens more than you’d expect (not mentioning any producer names). Not surprising, the network then wonders why their unaided awareness numbers are slipping. Partially they’re slipping because televised award shows have become boring as shit. But it’s also because their brand team doesn’t keep a watchful eye—and their effective frequency is watered down by inconsistent branding.
Reason #2 Consistency conveys your identity and attitude. A focused effort to establish and maintain consistent branding across all your touchpoints (social, website, SoundCloud page, EPKs, etc.) will deliver a specific set of impressions. Do you follow through? Will you deliver a decent bar tab? Will you get the ratings? Will you sell the tickets?
Reason #3 Consistency helps you manage perceptions. By thinking deliberately about your brand message and what you’re trying to accomplish—you control how people perceive your music project. This goes beyond your fans—it also helps manage what promoters, venues, labels, and sponsors think of you.
Reason #4 Consistency connotes professionalism and stability. Let’s be honest—labels, promoters, distribution partners, and sponsors hate instability. In 2017, even Guns N’ Roses show up on time—and all of their current materials reference their ‘Not In This Lifetime’ tour with impressive consistency. So act like a stable organization!
Reason #5 Consistency eliminates issues surrounding brand confusion. For many emerging music acts (especially emerging DJs… no digs intended), their branding is actually more of a hindrance than a help. A consistent brand should instill confidence rather than prompt confusion. Which EDM artist was that again?
Reason #6 Consistency protects your investment. Without established brand standards—many labels, managers, and producers will spend thousands of dollars building a brand—only to have it degraded by inconsistent and sloppy application. Build equity in your brand by being consistent and build upon previous successes.
In a nutshell, be Van Halen. Be consistent.
The first step in defining your music brand. Early in my career (which started in advertising way before social media) we were taught to memorize Ogilvy’s definition of a brand.
“The intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.” —David Ogilvy
Many years later, this simple yet telegraphic definition is still the best. And it holds true regardless of whether the brand is a toothpaste or a rock band— though for bands, there are some obvious additions to the list. Regardless… how do you define and guide an emerging brand/band when most of these elements aren’t yet known? By writing down what it is that you want!
For us—Every successful distribution plan. Every marketing plan. Every identity plan. And every concert film starts with some basic branding exercises. And if your brand isn’t yet defined, start by telling us what you want. Give us your top ten.
For any emerging artist or music project we urge you to start by simply making a list of the top ten things that you’d like to accomplish. And there are no wrong answers!
The music side of the entertainment business is a challenging winding journey to say the least. So give your projects their best chance by clearly defining your goals upfront—so that you may then develop strong strategic plans to accomplish those goals.
From a sales and distribution standpoint—clearly defining where you’re going and how you’re going to get there will soon be as much of your brand as your music.
(Funny aside, I actually shot a commercial for the Spice Girls dolls during my advertising years. They are probably worth a ton today!)