The marriage between the sports industry and brands is a partnership as old as time itself, but why is it taking the music industry so long to catch up? According to market intelligence agency IEG, spending on music sponsorship in 2018 was just 4.8% of the total spent on sports. So what does the future hold for music and brand partnerships, and can the industry ever compete with its sporting counterparts?
Whilst sports offers a broader reach spanning multiple demographics, music provides an opportunity for brands to hone that audience down to those fans that matter to them.
“Music is so universal and it really does provide something for everyone based on the genres and the fans… You could be at a hip-hop show one night, a classic rock show next night and you’re seeing twenty thousand different people. That provides brands with a unique opportunity to align with audiences wherever their priorities are, which is something that differentiates it from sports.” Deirdre Molloy, Head of Brand Partnerships at Live Nation Canada
Alan Palmer Senior Vice President of Wasserman Media Group builds on this; “brands are utilizing sponsorship as an integral and core part of marketing to reach these audiences at the moments which matter most to those audiences, the benefit of music is there’s an opportunity to create a deep emotional connection.”
Unlike their counterparts in sports, artists aren’t as heavily reliant on sponsorship as a revenue stream. Beyond this, there is a genuine fear of being seen as a ‘sell-out’. So how can brands forge authentic partnerships with artists and tap into their lucrative audiences?
“Sometimes when we interface with an artist and their camp and they hear what we’re doing and what we’re trying to achieve, it allows them that amount of comfort that it’s not a random big brand, trying to make them look like they've sold out or something. I think when both the brand and the artist get over themselves a little bit and come closer to the middle, that’s when really interesting stuff happens.” Shannon Cole, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Royal Bank of Canada
With a shift in the way fans consume ‘live’ experiences in the wake of the pandemic, artists and brands alike have had to adapt in order to stay connected with fans. The last twelve months have played host to a raft of new innovative partnerships – from the ingenious to the downright bizarre (and often both).
Creativity is the music industry’s secret weapon in the battle for sponsorship superiority. It’s something that brands alone cannot compete with and all evidence suggests that this is just the beginning of a new era for music partnerships. What happens next? Nobody knows for sure but we can’t wait to find out.
