I Spoke To An Entertainment Digital Marketing Agency, And The Current And Future States Of The Music Industry Are Resilient
L1NEUP DIGITAL discusses the resilient state of the music industry following COVID-19.
We're L1NEUP DIGITAL, an entertainment-focused digital marketing agency specializing in selling out shows and building artists' fanbases. We officially launched right as lockdown started in March, which was perfect timing to launch an entertainment-focused company.
The agency provides its own content. L1NEUP DIGITAL takes on their role of being thought leaders in the entertainment marketing space by providing the most updated and informative content possible for entertainment industry professionals such as owners, marketers, managers, and also for fans of entertainment content. The brand's personality is fun, educational. story-filled. witty, and dope.
I took on the opportunity to interview the co-founders of L1NEUP DIGITAL, Ross Gassaman, Paul Peck, and Julio Marin.
Ross Gassman has years of experience in the entertainment industry from his years as a DJ/Artist to leading the digital growth at Loud And Live, one of the largest Latin music concert promoters in the US. Ross led the strategy and execution of all digital efforts for Loud And Live's portfolio of music and sports events and brand name clients.
Julio Marin comes from his most recent role at Zenith Media where he worked on Verizon's paid social B2B account. He has extensive event promotion experience in addition to supporting the digital marketing efforts of nationwide tours, entertainment companies, and a variety of New York venues.
Paul Peck, a music industry veteran, has an extensive media production background as Superfly and Bonnaroo's creative director of original media where he was responsible for the production of broadcast and streaming media content. Paul is the co-founder of the Okeechobee Music Festival has served as a chief creative officer and head of programming.
L1NEUP DIGITAL is a proactive entertainment digital marketing agency. By taking their own part in the BLM movement, the agency created an informational on the 11 Genres of Music Influenced By Black Culture. Working at L1NEUP DIGITAL with the co-founders has been an eventful experience, but I'd like to hear more from their first-hand business venture.
What do you teach?
We look to educate clients and general consumers interested in the digital marketing and entertainment industry about the latest strategies and tactics that could help them in their own campaigns or understand more of what we do for their campaigns. Our goal is to sell-out shows and build fanbases.
Why did you start teaching?
We believe in providing value. There's no better method to reciprocate attention nor business other than by showing what we can do for others and what they can do for themselves. Both digital marketing and the entertainment industry are fast-paced and new information is constantly changing the landscape. We felt that in order for us to keep up, educate ourselves, and stay at the top of our game it made sense to share that knowledge with our peers at the same time. At the end of the day, people have the intrinsic need to celebrate life, and we want to be there to share and connect them with these experiences.
What do you love most about marketing for the digital entertainment industry?
There's never a time where things are exactly the same in this world. Every marketing campaign, every music release, and every tour or festival has its own unique strategy in order to hit its goals. It's constantly testing and learning, thinking on your toes, and creative problem solving which is challenging yet so rewarding when you get it right and see results.
What virtual classes are you offering? How can people find those classes?
We're not currently offering any typical agency "masterclasses" but we do have a blog and podcast that are completely free for anyone to read and listen that's interested in entertainment marketing. We believe in delivering value. That's what all our content is based on. Anyone could connect to their potential fans and market their events/music provided they have the appropriate resources and know-how. We're here to make that accessible
Which social media platforms is the agency most active on?
We are on all platforms from IG to TikTok but the most active and engaging platforms for us currently would be Instagram Twitter, and surprisingly Pinterest. People love live entertainment boards...
What is your biggest takeaway regarding COVID-19?
The biggest takeaway from COVID that we've seen is how adaptable both the digital marketing and entertainment space have been. If there wasn't already a major push to digital, content, streaming, etc. prior to COVID, then now we see how important a digital strategy is from a touring artist to a traditional retail or IRL business. The best example so far of this adaptability is Diplo. Diplo's gone from touring almost every day to streaming almost every day. He's expanded his audience reach to numbers that weren't even fathomable pre-COVID. The same goes for his label Mad Decent who now has over 86k subscribers on Twitch, instantaneously becoming a household name in the Twitch community with its quick adoption of music, gaming, and community.
What long-term effects do you see COVID-19 having on the music industry?
Artists will need to continue to harness the power of digital mediums to stay connected with their fans and create additional revenue streams. Previously, artists mainly depended on touring for their income but now everyone's come to the realization that at the end of the day, fans are all you have and if you're not actively engaged with them you'll quickly lose status with them and won't have as many monetization opportunities. A good example would be Cameo which is a platform that allows fans to purchase personalized messages from their favorite celebrities amongst other things. It's exploded since COVID started and arguably democratizing experiences previously inaccessible, even if they're charging for it.
What is one thing you want the world to know about the music industry in light of COVID-2019?
The industry is very resilient.
What preparations has your agency made for the future of the music industry?
We've quickly adapted our business model to support virtual events and put a heavier focus on music marketing. Previously, our main focus was live events but now we realize that we're presented with new opportunities to make a difference and help clients navigate this new world.
How comfortable are you about the music industry reopening?
The music industry never really closed, that's why we're able to do what we're doing in terms of helping artists with their music marketing and building their fanbases.
In reference to the event side of things then 2021 looks like the earliest you'll see IRL (besides drive-in) concerts happening. Due to the shift from life to virtual, we've put a big emphasis on helping promoters and festival organizers with marketing their virtual events.
When live events are available to market for your artists, do you plan to market them differently than before the pandemic? If so, in what ways?
We don't believe that the methods that worked previously will go away and will continue to double down on what previously worked but we think what we'll see are promoters shift budgets significantly away from traditional media and have a greater focus on digital.
L1NEUP DIGITAL is considered a digital medium for artists in terms of marketing, what are the competitive factors in your line of work? Do you think any of these factors will change in the future?
I think the most important part of marketing overall in today's world is differentiating yourself within the market. We live in such a saturated world that you really need to understand your brand and properly position yourself in order to make it competitive and valuable. This is why the argument could be made that nearly every single business is in some way, shape, or form its own little media agency - because you have to be putting out content in order to get recognized. The same goes for artists. How does your music speak to your fans in a way that makes you stand out? With the ease of digital access, the volume of content is only increasing which means you have to work that much harder/smarter to be able to stand out. However, this also naturally allows for the opportunity for the most impactful content to shine through...
What’s your number one tip for engaging with your brand’s community?
Figure out what your message is. Who's your audience and what you're trying to tell them. You can't amplify messaging that falls on deaf ears.
What new collaborations can we expect to see from your agency?
Just recently we've announced our affiliation with Feature.fm (you can sign up with this link btw ;)). Being in this industry for so long, we've used many different similar platforms that offer features like pre-save, smart links, and self-serve advertising but we feel that Feature.fm has next-level features and tech that enables artists to maximize their music marketing potential.
Couple Taking Picture · Free Stock Photo
We Have Wasted Too Much Time Caring About Our Social Media Presence, Let's Take A Lesson From Canada
If I wasn't ready to move here, I am ready now.
I'm very aware that it's 2019 and social media is the forefront of our world. And for us millennials, social media is not just the hub for everything communication, but for many, it is also a large contributor to our self-esteem. We all know the pit in our stomach that emerges when we're disappointed in the number of likes we get on our Instagram pictures, or when you see a Snapchat story of a hangout you weren't invited to, or when your friend doesn't post for your birthday. Oftentimes we only show the pictures we look the prettiest and skinniest in, and frankly, just the best parts of our lives. I'm guilty of it, and so are you.
Recall the last time you took a picture not just because you thought you looked good in it, or that it matched your ~trendy feed~ but because you wanted to look back at the special memory of that moment. How many times have you whipped out your phone because your friend was doing something drunk and stupid and you wanted to document it for your private story rather than just laughing it off and enjoying the moment? Because let's face it, those moments are few and far between.
On the other side, think about how many times your parents, teachers, and coaches reminded you to keep your social media clean and not post something that could get you in trouble or negatively impact your future. All those cumulative hours spent being cautious and deeply thinking about these things is absurd. Social media is EVERYTHING and your digital footprint has an extremely large influence on how you live your day to day life.
Nonetheless, I am a supporter of social media and its opportunity for creativity, expression, and connecting with people. There are so many wonderful things such as job opportunities and reestablishing old friendships that can come from the powerful tool we call social media. It is a way for us to find people to share in common interests, seek advice, and show off the people and things that we love the most. Social media may have its problems, but it is certainly not practical or even wise to get rid of it in its entirety. Again, it's 2019.
However, I firmly believe that there are changes to be made and ways that companies can help fix the unhealthy obsession with materialism and physical appearance it can foster. Sure, we can't stop people from posting what they want on social media, and unfortunately, we still may get a little hurt at what we may see. Yet I do see the value of trying to stimulate positive changes that can make social media a place to lift people up rather than bring them down.
A few weeks ago I was scrolling through "The Morning Toasters" Facebook group (if you're confused about what I'm talking about you can view my past article here), and came upon something that caused me to think a lot. A fellow Canadian toaster shared this photo regarding the changes that came with their new Instagram update:
Look! You cannot see other people's likes, just you're own! In my mind, this is truly revolutionary. After doing more research, pretty much Instagram is doing a test update with some users in Canada where they are hiding likes from anyone you're following. You can see who liked the photo (and theoretically do the math if you were really desperate to see how many likes your followers have), but the count feature is no longer accessible. When it comes to your own pictures, you can see the number of likes you get, but you have to click the "others" button to be able to do so.
I'm sure if there is a positive reception of these changes from Canadian users, then they are likely to be applied to all Instagram users worldwide. Personally, I think this is an extremely beneficial change for the platform in helping to stimulate social media usage in a positive light. For me, at least, I think that knowing that my followers no longer will be able to see these types of numbers will come with a sense of relief.
It's hard to stop caring what others think, and quantitative features put in place such as like or follower counts greatly contribute to anxiety and feelings of self-worth amongst social media users. I am such an advocate for social media but have seen the adverse effects and even stress that it creates. I truly think that a small change like this is a step in the right direction in creating a place for a healthy, authentic online presence for everyone involved. Praying that these changes can come to the United States soon!