Source: Billboard,
Page: 24,
Date: 07/19/2008
Month: July
Full Text:
As recorded music sales slip for the business and advertisers find their markets to be fragmented over new media platforms, it's easy to see why both are looking to co-brand in new campaigns. Marketers see using music as a way to reach consumers with a deeper ring that is not forced or contrived. Sara Bareilles' success within the Rhapsody spot along with The Shins and McDonalds, Santogold and Bud Light, and many more have shown a change in how it is easier to pair artists with brands in a day where people are just looking to make things work. Toyota, Red Bull, Barcardi, and Procter & Gamble have marketed, financed, and released music as part of branding campaigns. The next step happened when Reckitt Benchiser's agency of record Euro RSCG acquired a majority stake in an independent record label, the:Hours, with a distribution agreement with Universal Music. The:Hours' goal is to create a large, commercial friendly catalog through signings to be used for many campaigns. The company will continue to work through other labels and publishers, as well.