Marketing Pop Culture

Rock is the new Black

So writes Jim Farber of the NY Daily News, as he gets into the whys of the mainstreaming of Black rock:

So, why are such stunning changes happening now?

Observers cite the same factor that has had the greatest impact on culture in general: the Internet. With digital downloads, "people now hear music before they see it," [The Black Rock Coalition's Earl] Douglass says. "They're not necessarily putting a face to it. All that matters is if it's a good song."

"Culture has become this big department store," says ["Passing Strange" creator] Stew. "You can go to a Web site and buy anything. Kids now will grab stuff they've never even heard of, just based on the name or the description."

And this download-mad shop-a-thon has changed the very notion of what's marketable.

Thanks to Carla Hall for the heads up.  Gotta love Twitter!

Even marketers take a day off

No marketing today.  No twittering.  Just this quick blog entry.  I definitely spent all day away from computers and other wireless devices.  I did, however, spend a lot of time in front of the grill serving up some righteous Q.  Before all that, we had a quick trip to a nearby playground to let the kids run through the sprinkler.  As you can see, they had some good, low-tech fun.

Happy Memorial Day, all!

Holiday weekend reading

If I weren't a dad, then the long weekend could be one of going out to eat, taking in a movie or two, seeing friends, some indie music and kicking back with a cigar and a good book.  I'd be content to end up where the day takes me.  As you can gather, that probably won't be the case.

However, there are two books that I'd like to make dents in.  The first is Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies.  As many of you know, Li and Bernoff are bloggers and Forrester analysts who have been following social media and its impact on business for some time.  This book is designed to help corporate exec understand and thrive in a world that's been made over by social media.  Stay tuned for my notes and thoughts on this one.

The second book that I'm looking forward to is Grant McCracken's new work: Transformations: Identity Construction in Contemporary Culture.  Many of you know that I'm a big fan of Grants, both for the writing he does over at his blog and because of his previous book, Flock and Flow: Predicting and Managing Change in a Dynamic Marketplace (2006).  You can check out the posts I did on the book, as well as the interview he and I did by clicking here.

I know: I'm being ambitious.  Will let you know how I made out early next week.

links for 2008-05-22

• Nas changes name of Nigger: 'The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it'
  (tags: Nas hip+hop)
• Mass Appeal Folds
  The third niche music publication this year.  Tells you a lot about the business when a 12-yr old pub with 100K circulation can't make it.
  (tags: publishing hip+hop)
• Q-Tip Taps Radiohead's Main Man
  Q-Tip will work with producer Nigel Goodrich for his next album.  Should make for an interesting sound
  (tags: hip+hop Radiohead)
• Napster Goes DRM-Free
  6 million tracks with no DRM!  Yay!
  (tags: napster music+business music+downloads music2.0)
• Pitchfork hires 'independent lifestyle communications and brand agency'
  Thanks to The Daily Swam for the headsup here.
  (tags: pitchfork marketing music)
• Back to the 90s: Microsoft to bribe users to use Live Search (Updated)
  "Instead of making something really useful, let's appeal to peoples' basic greed and pay them to use our product.  That way, we can market the payola, not the service"
  (tags: Microsoft)

links for 2008-05-21

• Is Facebook On The Way Down? Depends On Who You Ask
  Once again, numbers can be used to prove either side of an argument
  (tags: facebook)

Minneapolis, Shopper Marketing and Gilly Hicks

You may have noticed that I typically don't blog about my day job.  However, today was the first day of the PMA's Shopper Marketing Summit.  I've never been to Minneapolis before, so it was a special treat to have a tour of the Mall of America.  According to the presentation from EVP Maureen Basch, there's over 4 million square feet of retail space and they're about to add another 5 million with a new development.  Also, there's a very cool amusement park that puts my local Chuck E. Cheese to shame.  Nickelodeon just took over from the estate of Minneapolis native and Peanuts creator Charles Schultz.  Take a look:

A store that caught my eye was Gilly Hicks (here and here), a concept that is backed by Abercrombie & Fitch.  Basically, they sell women's underwear, and expect to compete with Victoria's Secret for 20-something women.  Whereas Victoria's Secret is bright, GH feels like a club filled with lots of nooks and crannies, you know, places where you might hook up. 

Also, this event gave me a chance to try some live twittering via Twitterberry, a twitter application for Blackberry.  Apparently, Twitter was having some problems, but overall it works pretty well.  You can see all of my tweets from the day here.  Feel free to subscribe, if you like.

MTV asks: Is theater finally catching up to the street?

MTV News recently ran a piece that explores how the rock musical is attracting a new, younger generation to the Great White Way, and uses newcomers (and award winners) "Passing Strange", "In The Heights" and longer running shows such as "Rent" and "Spring Awakening" as examples.  "In the Heights" is one of the first to use hip hop effectively in a theatrical setting.

Rock seems to have had an easier transition to the Broadway stage than hip-hop, but that's changing with "In the Heights," which led the 2008 Tony Award nominations with 13 nods. "It surprises me that no one has put hip-hop and Latin music into a Broadway musical before me," "Heights" composer/narrator Lin-Manuel Miranda said. "We really tried to use the music of Washington Heights — salsa, reggaeton, hip-hop — and we use it to tell a story."

And Stew of "Passing Strange" makes this cogent observation:

"I think the theater needs rappers and rock bands and techno and everything," Stew said. "The theater needs every actual music that's actually happening in the world, you know? Because the audience for the new musical, they're out there. They listen to music all the time. We live in a music-obsessed society, you know? Stuff like us or 'Spring Awakening,' it shouldn't be an aberration. It shouldn't be strange. It should be normal."

The MTV News article is here.

Related links:

• Passing Strange index on Boldaslove.us

links for 2008-05-16

• Coldplay Compared to NIN and Radiohead
  A look at web traffic in the wake of "free" albums
  (tags: Radiohead music+business music+downloads Coldplay NIN)
• Nintendo Wii outsells 360, PS3, PS2, PSP combined in April
  The broader demographic appeal of the Wii is at work
  (tags: nintendo wii xbox PS3 PSP)

The Empire Strikes Barack

Thanks to Todd And for the heads-up on this.  You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to love the creativity here.

links for 2008-05-14

• No off switch: "Hyperconnectivity" on the rise
  Consider the demands on the psyche, as well as on enterprise infrastructure.
  (tags: technology culture)
• Why Twitter Matters - And Why I Just Might Follow You
  Yes, I twitter, so this is of particular interest to me
  (tags: twitter)
• Would Ethical Music Work?
  Glenn asks the question, based on a WSJ article earlier this week
  (tags: music+business music2.0)
• Social Networking Ad Spending Update
  eMarketer suggests that spending will be down this year by $200MM, but it's still over $1B
  (tags: social+networks advertising media)
• imeem Leapfrogs Yahoo to Become Top Music Streamer
  Reported in Digital Media Wire via a Wired report
  (tags: imeem Yahoo+Music streaming+media)
• Differences in Media Consumption among Racial Groups
  Some interesting data point from BIGresearch
  (tags: multicultural)
• Become an Expert with the Power of Deliberate Practice
  Just 'cause I want to come back to read this later.
  (tags: Steve+Rubel)
• Facebook Agonistes: Advertisers, Adults, Developers Pulling Back; Banking On Global
  Further discussion on the declining ad spend on social networks.
  (tags: Facebook social+networks social+media)