Universal and Havas unite to monetise band and brand data
Universal Music Group (UMG) and Havas have struck a global pact to identify new revenue streams from the way people are consuming music across a range of platforms.
The “Global Music Data Alliance” between the companies looks to throw up multiple data points pulled from the record label’s artists, whether it's their ticket and merchandising sales or social media and airplay. New audience trends and segments are promised from the additional insights, which are being sold to advertisers as a more cost-effective way to target music-based campaigns across thousands of artists including Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z.
Universal is also layering its data on artists and genres with Havas’ behavioural insights to uncover additional ways of monetising its content. It means that brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, which are both Havas clients, could use the enhanced clarity to pair with more suitable artists, a move that could ease potential reservations around partnerships moving forward.
UMG along with its rivals are jostling for dominance in an industry in the grip of ongoing disruption. Music download sales in the UK dropped for the first time by almost 2 per cent to £1.03bn in 2014, according to the BPI, which represents the country’s record labels and the Official Charts Company.
The decline is compounded by forced cuts to media budgets by record labels, which has opened the door for YouTube to fashion an offer built on amplifying exposure for artists. It is an opportunity the video platform wants to mine through the launch of its ad-free music service later this year when it will face off its impressive cache of tunes against Spotify and Apple.
Despite the heightened competition, there is still money to be made and UMG believes data will be the key to securing a larger slice of media budgets. Both Havas clients McDonald’s and Coke have teased plans to invest more in music but the media agency has declined to reveal any launch partners for the “Global Music Data Alliance”.
Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive of UMG said the pact with Havas will “supercharge” its efforts to pounce on untapped revenues from advertisers as well as “other new business partners”. It builds on the objectives outlined in the companies’ tie-up from last year to let different brands appear in the same video, repurposing the content for various markets and audiences.
The venture, which was unveiled at this year’s CES show, follows a 14-month study from Havas in collaboration with the University of Southern California's Annenberg Innovation Lab. The findings will look to uncover how to create fan profiles based on a person’s passion levels and how they interact with music genres and artists.