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Berklee Online: Master of Arts in Music Business

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Playing the Grammy Game: The new ways to snag an award: media campaigns, intimate performances and paying experts who know who the voters are


Songs As Branding Platforms? A Historical Analysis of People, Places, and Products in Pop Music LyricsArtists have become decidedly more accustomed to partnering with product marketers. Typically, though, the relationships have involved tour sponsorships, endorsements, or the use of the artist's music in commercials. There are plenty of examples of using popular music in advertising. However, how often has there been advertising in popular music? Artists are in a sense "brands." Many of them appear to promote or acquaint audiences with their lifestyles through the music they create. Popular songs can serve not only as a mechanism for the subtle marketing of commercial consumer products, but also as a platform for marketing artists. Three types of branding devices are typically employed by songwriters: the mention of specific product brands, geographical places including cities and states, and well-known people (e.g., celebrities, cultural icons, and politicians). The aim of this study is to identify just how often these three types of lyrical references have occurred in popular songs through the years. How frequently have popular songs employed lyrics that may be serving the purpose of branding or advertising consumer products or the artists themselves, and are there observable trends regarding the practice over time?


The Rising Power of Fan ArmiesThe article features the rise of fan army platforms to promote music artists. These fans use social media and websites to put artists on music charts and to help them break records. Some rely on marketing partnerships in order to earn. Artists that have fan armies include the South Korean boy band BTS, Beyonce, One Direction and Taylor Swift.


The Marketing Science Behind Spanglish Remixes: The article discusses the marketing incentive to release bilingual remixes of successful songs to expand the reach of the original song and increase the reach of the foreign language artist, focusing on work by Spanish-language musician J Balvin and the success of the approach.


How streaming can transform music marketing: The article discusses the role of music streaming services in marketing. According to the author, marketers can use services such as Electric Jukebox, Spotify, and Apple Music to improve audiences' emotional connections with their brands. Details on the targeting of specific audiences and scenarios through streaming services are presented. Other topics include radio marketing, curated channels and playlists, and video broadcasts of live music events.