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    The Monocle Weekly: Sounds Like Branding exclusive interview

    monocle_weekly

    Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé and culture editor Robert Bound speak to Jakob Lusensky about the book Sounds Like Branding and the relationship between music and marketing.

    Listen to the Monocle Weekly, edition 113, online or download the programme here and you’ll hear Monocle’s editors, amongst them Tyler Brûlé, speak with Jakob Lusensky on how music and marketing have blended together, how it has affected artists, the future for music branding, and much more (if you want to go directly to this, skip to 38:00).
     

    slbenglishAbout the book Sounds Like Branding

    Sounds Like Branding is an ‘ear-opening’ journey through the history of music and marketing, from the humble jingle and the arrival of Muzak to Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking association with Pepsi in the 1980s and music branding embraced today by global brands such as Nike, Starbucks, Levi’s and Coca-Cola.

    “Jakob Lusensky has done a great service to all marketers by writing Sounds Like Branding. Every company should have a music strategy. Some do; most don’t. This book shows you how. It’s a five step programme – a very short stairway to heaven.”
    Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

    Read more here.

    Order Sounds Like Branding at Amazon.co.uk

     

    About the Monocle Weekly

    The Monocle Weekly is a mix of smart discussion, previews, field reports and feature interviews. From Monocle’s studio in London and their bureaux in Tokyo and New York, Monocle’s editors focus on the stories shaping the week ahead.

    Culture editor Robert Bound is a regular with his weekly playlist of artists established and obscure and editor Andrew Tuck is at hand to moderate debates and pull in contributions from our correspondents in far flung corners of the world. The Monocle Weekly is hosted by editor in chief Tyler Brûlé.

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    Sounds Like Branding released today!

    SLB English

    Today marks the international release of the book Sounds Like Branding, published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (A&C Black Publishers Ltd).

    “Jakob Lusensky has done a great service to all marketers by writing Sounds Like Branding. Every company should have a music strategy. Some do; most don’t. This book shows you how. It’s a five step programme – a very short stairway to heaven.”
    - Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

    Sounds Like Branding is an ‘ear-opening’ journey through the history of music and marketing, from the humble jingle and the advent of Muzak to Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking association with Pepsi in the 1980s and the music branding embraced today by global brands such as Nike, Starbucks, Levi’s and Coca-Cola.

    Order Sounds Like Branding at Amazon.co.uk

    Interested in a sneak preview of the book? Download a free excerpt of Sounds Like Branding and read about why you should market your brand through music, the music stairway, strategies for working with music and more!

    Get a free excerpt

    Download

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    The impact of music on businesses in public places #1

    Music is important for businesses in public places such as shops, restaurants and more. However, it’s not only important to play music. It’s important to play ‘the right music’, i.e. music that fits the brand or business profile, at the right volume. Then consumers will stay longer, re-visit, recommend your business to others as well as buy more from you. But music is not only of value for businesses in public places, it has a positive impact on workplaces as well; it makes workplaces more relaxed and your employees more productive.

    These are some of the results our survey reveals, conducted on 1000 Swedes between the ages of 16-64. The respondents in the survey have been asked questions about the impact of music on their everyday lives, public places and at work (public places is used as a generic term for businesses such as shops, shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, transportation services, sports stadiums, gym and workplaces).

    The results from the survey are published in a report in Swedish, Myten om musik besannad: En undersökning om musikens betydelse för verksamheter i offentlig miljö (Uncovering a musical myth: A survey on music’s impact in public spaces). Below are some of the results.

    The importance of music for people in their everyday lives

    As regards the importance of music to people, music is ranked as more difficult to live without in everyday life than sports, movies and newspapers. Music also beats TV, radio, arts and literature. Only Internet and mobile phones are ranked higher.

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    More than 6 out of 10 say that music is important or very important to them in their lives. As for 16-24 year olds, that figure rises to 74%.

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    The impact music has on businesses in public places

    As regards businesses, the survey reveals that ‘the right music’ makes almost 4 out of 10 stay longer in a business in a public place. That figure rises to 50% when it comes to 16-24 year olds. Further, 31% of all people return to a business in a public place which plays music that is appreciated by the visitor, or consumer. 21% recommend the business to others and 14% also say they buy more.

    What music is it that is appreciated then? Which music is ‘right’, from the consumers’ point of view?

    First and foremost, the music that is played in a shop or a restaurant for example, has to have the right volume. Secondly, it has to match the business’ profile, or brand. It is less important that the music corresponds to the consumers’ personal taste or that it hits the radio charts and they recognise it.

    It’s important or very important that the music played in a shop or at a restaurant…

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    The survey further reveals that ‘the wrong music’, as in noisy or irritating, makes 44% of consumers and visitors leave a business and 38% wont come back. Almost 4 out of 10 also say that ‘the wrong music’ makes them buy less.

    The impact music has on employees and workplaces

    As regards music in workplaces, more than 6 out of 10 people and as many as 8 out of 10 16-24 year olds listen to music everyday, or at least once a week when they’re at work.

    66% of those who listen to music everyday, or at least once a week, think that music affects them in a positive or very positive way at work. Almost 50% of the 16-24 years olds say they love to listen to music at work, and just as many say that music makes them more productive while they’re working. Further, 43% of all people say that music makes the work environment more relaxed. As regards 16-24 year olds, that figure rises to 56%.

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    You find more results here.

    Download full report

    (Note: the full report is in Swedish)

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    Exclusive survey on what impact music has on businesses in public places

    Myten om musik besannad

    To better understand the impact of music on consumers and to learn more about the attitudes towards music being played in businesses in public places*, as well as music played in the workplace, Heartbeats International has conducted a survey on 1000 Swedes between the ages of 16-64. We asked them questions about the impact of music on their everyday lives, public places and at work.

    The survey results are published in Swedish, Myten om musik besannad: En undersökning om musikens betydelse för verksamheter i offentlig miljö (Uncovering a musical myth: A survey on music’s impact in public spaces).

    * Public places has been used as a generic term for businesses such as shops, shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, transportation services, sports stadiums, gym and workplaces.

    Download your copy

      (Note: the full report is in Swedish)

    Topics covered in the report include:

    • The importance of music for people in their everyday lives
    • The impact music has on businesses in public places
    • The impact music has on employees and workplaces

    Five truths about the impact of music:

    • People rank music as more difficult to live without than sports, movies and newspapers
    • Playing the right music in your business makes customers stay longer
    • Music played in your business affects your customers’ opinion about your brand
    • Music enhances wellbeing amongst employees in workplaces
    • People think it is important that artists, musicians and songwriters get paid for music being played in public places
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    Coachella Top Lists

    Eric Welles Nyström, member of the Heartbeats Movement and our man at this year’s Coachella, gives you his ‘Top Lists’ in regards to bands and brands performing at the music festival in California.

    Best Brand Investments

    • Adidas & Jeremy Scott… Following last year’s success at Frank Sinatra’s old house in Palm Springs, this year’s party was by far the most anticipated and desired of all offsite events. Starting with a secret shuttle transportation from Palm Spring’s Museum of Art (another renown piece of architecture in the city) the party was hosted at Elvis Presley’s old estate (!!!), the night went down with Robyn DJing, Kanon Organic Vodka drinks and an installation of Jeremy Scott’s Teddy Bears that made people go nuts at the end. In short, the perfect brand event, put together by LA agency People’s Revolution.
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    • The Creator’s Project, sponsored by Vice and Intel… By far the biggest and most complex initiative of any brand-related events at Coachella, it was executed just as well onsite as it is communicated online. Besides numerous impressive art installations across the festival grounds, the initiative also featured onstage collaborations with Animal Collective, Interpol and Arcade Fire, and incredible visual work beside the stages. On top of that, they even booked a number of young and yet equally cool bands from China and Brazil.

     

    3 Best Performances

    • Robyn and her non-stop, breathtaking live performance… robyn.com
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    • Nosaj Thing and his incredible visual show… nosjathing.com
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    • Magnetic Man, who’s tight video and audio performance blew everyone’s mind away (including bystanders), in similar style to Nosaj Thing. myspace.com/magneticman

    3 Best artist styles

    • The one and only Erykah Badu…
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    • Twin Shadow’s George Lewis Jr…
    • Chromeo and their backup singers, in wonderful Robert Palmer tradition…
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    3 most interesting new products

    • IMakeMyCase and their futuristic, on-demand case-making robot… custom.case-mate.com
    • Mutewatch and their touchscreen watch, which saw love from a number of DJs, stage engineers and artists stylists… mutewatch.com
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    • Native shoes and their perfect festival shoe, which was as light and comfortable as the so hated Croc, but as elegant as any sneaker… nativeshoes.com

     

    3 not-so-surprising surprises

    • Kanye West and his ego, which harshly cancelled all rumours of Coachella finishing in an epic manner of guest appearances by Daft Punk, Jay-Z and Rhianna. Alone onstage for almost the whole performance, Kanye’s show also lacked live instruments and live back-up vocals
    • Ariel Pink and his mental state, which lead to a break down at the end of his set…
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    • Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig popping in on Chromeo’s show, to perform their great new track ‘ Wouldn’t It Be Nice’
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    Hip Hop artist London’s record label: Brands

    Interview Magazine gives us this interview with ‘hip hop’s newest name’ Theophilus London. London has been doing it the way we’ve talked about for a while, i.e. working with brands as the new record labels…

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    POLLOCK: When you say your brand relationships, you’re talking about Bushmills and Cole Haan?

    LONDON: Bushmills, Gucci, Cole Haan, Nike, Mountain Dew.

    POLLOCK: What’s it been like working with them and rising at the same time?

    LONDON: It’s such a new idea, because you’re supposed to rise first then all that shit comes. Like, “Oh this song is hot. Let’s put it in a commercial.” But I got these deals before I was a household name to the masses, not just to the progressive people that know me. It’s about the fucking people who are chilling in this pool right now. They get to know me because of a commercial or a billboard in New York City. It’s such a new idea. I’m building a new business model for artists who want to do this after me—artists that haven’t even put an album out yet. I put an EP and three mixtapes out. I didn’t know that was the path I was choosing. And I’m really cool with ladies, so if it’s a lady in charge of the brand, then, yeah, I’ll get the deal. You know, in a business way.

    Read the whole article here.

    Those of you who follow us regularly have probably seen the video of London spontaneously performing ‘The Brand Song’ backstage at SXSW. Those of you who haven’t, check it out.

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    Sounds like Branding in paperback edition and more…

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    The Swedish version of Sounds like Branding has been reprinted in a paperback edition by Swedish publisher Norstedts, and is available for purchase here. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (A&C Black Publishers Ltd) plan to publish the book in the UK on the 18th of July. The book will also be released in South Korea by Acorn Publishing this Autumn.

    For more info, subscribe to our latest news (up to the right), or just continue keeping an eye on this blog.

    Interested in the English beta version of the book? Subscribe here or download it here.

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    SXSW 2011 Ups&Downs

    Eric Welles Nyström, member of the Heartbeats Movement and our man at this year’s SXSW, gives you the ‘ups&downs’ in regards to bands and brands performing at the much celebrated music conference in Austin, Texas.

    SXSW Brands Top Three

    • The ‘Fader Fort by Fiat’ and how they let Odd Future go totally ballistic onstage.
    • TDK and their new speakers series that combine 70s vintage design, 80s boombox concept and modern technology, to create the best product across the whole of SXSW.
    • AOL and their continuous well-thought-out and well-executed events.

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    SXSW Brands Bottom Three

    • The ‘Fader Fort by Fiat’ and their lack of new ideas and creativity compared to previous years. Having bands play on car parts was the ultimate low.
    • Chevrolet, Camel and Marlboro and their lack of understanding on how to introduce their monster products into a creative music festival.
    • All brands, companies and labels who wasted their marketing budgets on download cards, scrapers, useless gimmicks and flyers that nine times out of ten, were thrown away by whoever received them.

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    SXSW Top Trends

    • Brooklyn’s dark electro/art music scene of gothic, witchlike sets and strong influences of 80s synth and old movie soundtracks, received wider recognition with a number of parties outside of Austin.
    • Esben & the Witch, Glasser, Friendly Fires and Millionyoung continue developing their style with tribal drums.
    • One common denominator among SXSW’s best dressing artists… hats! Including Totally Totally Enormous Extinct Dinasour’s remarkable dinosaur feathers, Theophilus London’s wool felt cowboy hat, Twin Shadow’s brown furr hat, and Night Jewels traditional Fez…

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    SXSW Most Symbolic Moments

    • Theophilus London’s freestyle rap backstage at the Fader Fort, where he made up the ‘The Brand Song’, in the most branded place in the country.
    • Hanson and their hustle throughout the whole city. One day you would see their new album plastered across major billboards, and the next day you would find them in the audience of panels and hustling keyboard speakers for industry insight and feedback.
    • As the Saturday night came rolling in and local new media stated that it was the largest full moon in Austin for more than ten years, everyone from Jay-Z, Jamie XX and James Blake, along with countless other major artists (Kanye West, LL Cool, P. Diddy to name a few) and a couple of hundred other bands played free shows throughout the city.

     
    SXSW Most exciting projects for 2011-2012

    • iTunes project with Green Label Sound
    • Converse’s new recording studio in Brooklyn, Rubber Tracks
    • Vice’s concert recording site Noisey.com

     
    SXSW Top Band Performances

    • Glasser at the Central Presbyterian Church
    • Braids and the fact they don’t have an album yet
    • Gayngs and their 20+ people onstage performance
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