D2C brands have a lot of lessons to offer all of us and particularly music artists, as marketers. First, what are D2C brands? Most people get in their gut what a D2C brand is, but by definition, they are brands that sell and have relationships directly with their consumers. They bypass traditional retail outlets.[...]
Nathan Hanks
MAX Tracks: The Future of Livestreams
Nathan Hanks, MAX CEO, talks livestream shows — are they a fad or part of the future for the music industry?
The Music That Unites Us
The conventional wisdom is that we’re a divided society. We are red or blue states; boomers, Xers or millennials; early adopters or luddites. The list is endless, and you might think we’re so divided that we couldn’t possibly share the same space, let alone the same country. Of course, anyone who has ever been to a[...]
The Convergence of Media, Marketing & Music: What to Expect in 2018
Having closely followed the monumental shifts in the music, media and marketing industries over the last few years, there's no doubt that 2018 will mark the most rapid acceleration yet in the convergence of these spaces.
CMOs, Audiences Move To Their Own Beats
Marketers have long understood the power of music. As early as the 1920s, when commercial radio was in its infancy, advertisers began experimenting with jingles. General Mills even went so far as to commission a Minneapolis barbershop quartet to perform as the Wheaties Quartet and sing—wait for it—"The Wheaties[...]
The Exchange: Track 2 – The Outer Vibe
The Outer Vibe captures a “Big America” energy that is larger than a 1960s Detroit assembly line. Their sound is a collage of the motor city’s passion and power, the upbeat, good feelings of the West coast, and a cinematic southwestern nostalgia -- a blend they like to call “surf disco.” The band sat down with Music[...]
The Exchange: Track 1 – Luke Wade
Singer/songwriter Luke Wade is a small-town Texas native backed by his band, No Civilians. Luke sat down with Music Audience Exchange to talk about challenges, accomplishments and his thoughts on brands like Dr Pepper, Gibson and Apple.
Nick Messitte at Forbes Weighs In On Payola Laws
A couple weeks back I wrote a piece here explaining why Payola Laws distort the market in the music industry ensuring that independent artists are rarely heard by the general public on radio and streaming services.
On our last MAX Track, “Thinking Like a D2C Brand, Pt 1,” we talked about direct to consumer (D2C) brands and the lessons that they offer for all of us, particularly artists. The big idea for D2C brands, as the name implies, is that they go direct to the consumer. They know exactly who their customers are. They[...]