Slow growth in campaigns built around music points to lack of cooperation between the two sides.

The connection between music and advertising seems almost too obvious to state, with the ability to make an emotional impact and engage with the consumer a crucial objective for both. And yet, in Asia at least, examples of the two sides cooperating together are few and far between.

This was the basic premise of the inaugural Music Matters Advertising Forum, held in Singapore on 8 December 2009 and organised by Branded in association with Media. The forum provided an opportunity for the music and marketing industries in Asia to gather under one roof and talk through some of the barriers that are preventing them from working together.

Speaking at a roundtable on the eve of the forum, Jasper Donat, president of Music Matters and executive director at Branded, pointed out that the kind of advertisers who were utilising music five years ago are almost exactly the same as those building campaigns around music today. That is not to say that the kind of communications being run by the likes of Coca-Cola, Nokia and others are not interesting and engaging; it’s just a surprise that so few other brands have chosen to get involved by now.

So where does the problem lie? Both sides, it would seem, have a certain amount of culpability.

Sandy Monteiro, senior vice-president (ASEAN), VP of digital, at Universal Music Group Malaysia, puts the blame firmly at the door of brands and their agencies. He says that the music marketing sector has grown slower than, say, sports marketing, because more clients understand sports than music. “Sometimes, it all boils down to the taste of the top guy at the company, and brands need to have more trust in music companies to run successful campaigns.”

Monteiro’s solution has been to dispense with the middle-man: “We have had to get rid of agencies and engage the brand directly. We bring in the agencies once the brands are engaged.”

This is not to say the music industry itself is free from blame. One pressing problem is the number of hoops that marketers need to jump through to access the product - the music. Barriers include the bands themselves, managers, record companies, publishers and other rights holders. At each stage, the marketer is faced with a fresh set of negotiations, not to mention costs.

In addition, there is a certain amount of lethargy from within the music industry. Michelle Teh, director of marketing and content partnerships at All The Worlds, the company behind last year’s F1 Rocks in Singapore, says that the music industry in Asia has not been aggressive about approaching agencies. At the same time, music companies have focused more on protecting the interests of artists rather than working with brands.

This is not helped by the fact that most musicians are usually suspicious of branding, often associating it with the idea of selling out. “Most artists equate advertising with writing jingles,” says Marcia Tan of music website sixtyfive.sg and manager of artists including Electrico and Budak Pantal. “We need to look at ways of synergising them and getting the right brands to fit.”

It is not all bad news though. Teh points out that a new generation of brands is warming to the idea of building awareness around music. In Singapore, for example, SingTel put music at the heart of the launch of its AMPed multimedia music offering, with Lady Gaga appearing at a special showcase event. SingTel was also a sponsor of the F1 Rocks event, alongside the likes of LG and OCBC.

Moving forward, it is clear that the relationship between music and marketing can improve if a common dialogue is established. Jeffrey Lemon, Smirnoff sponsorship manager for Asia-Pacific, says the ideal situation for him would be for everyone - brand marketers, agency, musicians, label and artist management - to get around the table and come up with ideas that suit all parties. A big ask, given the fragmented nature of the music business in Asia, but one that, if answered, may start delivering results.

US$3.7bn	The value of the global music download business in 2008
40%	Of music purchased globally in 2009 was digitally downloaded
30m	Estimated number of people that tuned into F1 Rocks
55%	Of Asian consumers use mobile to listen to music (Synovate)
240m	Number of Chinese internet users who consume music
26%	Percentage fall in Japanese retail music sales in 2009

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This article was originally published in the 14 January 2010 issue of Media.