Reaching Millenials Through Music

In our ever-connected online world, kept spinning by two billion millennials, why are brands so hung up on making TVC’s when music is more important to their audiences?

Historically, ROI has often been low for brands who have adopted a one-size-fits-all approach and blown their budget on a one-off campaign. With numerous agencies controlling the brand’s look and feel, the brand’s sound has been discarded in the shadows, curiously being the last asked to the dance.

Synchronisation is only one small (and obvious) way a brand can work with music, and this can often be misunderstood as ‘working with music’. Strategy and planning aren’t given a spin let alone a rewind.

But times they are changing.

The IFPI has published its annual report; the music industry is once again in a state of flux, and those who dig a little deeper than mainstream news will see that its heart is beating stronger than it has in years. Once merely a drip of income was generated by streaming. But 2015 saw a 45% growth rate and a 66% rise in subscribers. Retail value of UK recorded music was also up 3.5% to £1.06bn with album sales up 3.7% to 121.6m.

Revenues are up, subscriptions are up and more interestingly the live space is sucking up the blue skies – business is blooming.

There are countless articles about how brands want to engage and connect with their audiences and find their passion points. Are they overlooking the fact that music already ticks all of these boxes? Why don’t they stop missing the beat and realise that a music strategy could be the key to winning hearts and shares with the young population?

“Revenues are up, subscriptions are up and more interestingly the live space is sucking up the blue skies – business is blooming.”

Millennials live their lives through social media and music is their second most shared commodity (pictures taking prize place). And it would seem that this immersion in the digital world is creating a generation hungry for real experiences.

Live Nation is the world’s largest live events company and 2015 saw its revenue increase by a massive 11%. Growth continues across the industry; CODA is one the UK’s largest booking agents and 2016 sees them expanding once again. Smart brands will use this information to plan where their budgets are allocated for the coming year.

Its time for marketers to take inspiration from brands like RedBull and Converse, as they too could be shaping culture, basking in the glory of a well-planned music strategy.