2 MusicWeek 22.06.12 NEWS EDITORIAL

Is digital music becoming a super market?

YOU DON’T GET TO BE AS SUCCESSFUL as Tesco by taking your eye off the ball. Which is exactly why the shock from last week’s £10.8 million swoop for streaming music service We7 didn’t sting for too long. Here is a supermarket that introduced music downloads online

as far back as 2004 – a clear signal that the company has long recognised an opportunity when it comes to digital entertainment. Back then it became the first UK supermarket to go head-to-

head with iTunes – three years before even Amazon launched its Mp3 store. Dotcom niche-seekers might like to jest otherwise, but the people at the top of this British behemoth’s entertainment and digital departments are clearly no dinosaurs - and pay attention to trends. (It’s possibly no fluke that Tesco’s We7 buyout came a week after headline-grabbing BPI data revealed the surprising strength of digital services in the UK.) Tesco may have built its empire on nibbles, ‘nanas and

nappies, but make no mistake: it’s very adept at positioning itself in markets yet to reach its mum’n’dad consumer base. Look no further than its recent acquisition of streaming video

service BlinkBox. What the heck is Tesco doing buying a Netflix rival? It’s hard to be sure. That’s kind of the point.

“In one fell swoop Tesco could make ad-funded streaming a more legitimate business for the music market”

What will be particularly intriguing about Tesco’s latest

acquisition will be how it uses its Clubcard database to leverage both customer loyalty and behaviour in a server-based world. The company already has a huge hulk of information on a giant shopper base – something the likes of Spotify and Apple will envy. Meanwhile, it’s made landgrabs in pricey everyday essentials of the middle classes; from car insurance to mobile tariffs – offering plenty of scope for networked subscription payments. The most likely next step will be a free-to-listen, ad-funded

music service with a subscription tariff add-on for Tesco Mobile customers – a la Deezer and Orange. So far, so predictable. But think of the future possibilities: Tesco knows more than

anyone about how we shop and which FMCG products we gobble up week-in-week out. Wouldn’t targeted advertising utilising this kind of data – on a mass scale – be worth a pretty penny to Glaxo, or Coca-Cola or Pepsi? You betcha. The music industry will have its fingers crossed this is the route

Tesco will go; in one fell swoop it could make ad-funded streaming a far more promising and legitimate business across the market. A slight pang of worry arises when you consider Tesco’s history

of rack-‘em-low pricing on CD, loss leading to drag people in stores for a high basket spend. Could music streaming become little more than a Clubcard user benefit? The embryonic state of the music streaming market means now is not the time for anyone to devalue it in consumers’ eyes. I for one hope things move in another, more tantalising direction:

the more you listen to the free service (plus ads) the more Clubcard points you accrue. A digital music loyalty scheme with tangible, tasty benefits? One which gives streaming a new audience – and finally raises its scale to sustainable levels in the UK? Every little helps.

Tim Ingham, Editor Do you have views on this column? Feel free to comment by emailing tim.ingham@intentmedia.co.uk

EMI launches Electrospective extravaganza

LABELS BY TIM INGHAM

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MI Music has launched an ambitious global multi- platform campaign

celebrating the development of electronic music since 1958, working with the likes of Mute’s Daniel Miller and Wall Of Sound’s Mark Jones. Electrospective brings

together the earliest days of technological innovation at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop with current dance music superstars including David Guetta and Deadmau5. The EMI Music, Mute and

Virgin catalogues are being leveraged to chronicle the key works of acts such as Kraftwerk and Brian Eno, through to Depeche Mode and The Human League, the explosion of electronic dance music in the late Eighties and the rise of global stars like Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers.

Electrospective.com site, and include: the release of a double CD compilation and an album of rare and unreleased mixes; a repressing over of 30 classic dance albums on vinyl; global promotion of 550 seminal electronic music albums via physical and digital music outlets; a dedicated Electrospective online store; an artist roundtable event at a London location in partnership with Mojo, Mixmag, Future Music magazines and supporting technology partners; an OpenEMI developer ‘sandbox’ for developers to create new digital concepts and products (launching in July); an Electrospective Spotify app (August); competitions; and social media activity. Artists involved with the

initiative include David Guetta, Paul Oakenfold, Arthur Baker, Sister Bliss, Carl Cox, Giorgio Moroder, Midge Ure and Martyn Ware.

EMI VP, global campaigns David Rowe

www.musicweek.com

MUTE, WALL OF SOUND ON BOARD FOR GLOBAL CAMPAIGN Activity will centre on the

David Rowe, EMI Music’s

VP of global campaigns, told Music Week: “It’s not often you see a catalogue marketing initiative take place on a truly global scale and on this many platforms. In fact, I think this is probably the biggest you’ll see. “That doesn’t mean to say

we’re spending millions and millions; the beauty of this is that it’s about engagement with media and artists. This is about partnerships – it’s not about waving a chequebook around.” He added: “The response we

have had to Electrospective from our creative, commercial and technology partners has been extremely positive. I would especially like to thank Mute’s Daniel Miller and Wall of Sound / Back To The Phuture’s Mark Jones for their unwavering support, as well all of the artists, producers, DJs and managers that have given their time to be involved in the Electrospective campaign so far.”

Essential feels Halo effect with OST deal

Independent UK distributor Essential Music & Marketing has added a raft of indie label partners to its roster as it secures the contract to distribute the OST for upcoming video game Halo 4. Labels such as rock house

Razor & Tie, Nashville-based Thirty Tigers, Canada’s Hidden Pony and the Australian Staple Group’s label UNFD have signed with Essential on Europe-wide label and services deals. Razor & Tie has specialised

in the rock market with artists including All That Remains, Foreigner, Richard Ashcroft and Chelsea Grin. The label’s deal with Essential officially kicks off with multi-platinum act P.O.D whose new album Murdered Love is due for release in

commented: “We’re thrilled to be partnering up with the Essential Music family in the UK and Europe. Razor & Tie is dedicated to growing its roster on a global level and we believe this is a pivotal strategic alliance for both our companies.” Mike Chadwick, founder and

mid-July. Meanwhile, British record

producer and score composer Neil Davidge will be the lead composer for the soundtrack of Halo 4, which will be distributed by Essential in a services deal spanning Europe. John Franck, SVP of

marketing for Razor & Tie

MD of Essential Music and Marketing said: “We’re really pleased to be signing such venerable international labels; Razor & Tie particularly has been in our sights for a while and to have them on board is a real coup. These North American partnerships are exactly where we want to be expanding as a company and having such success so early on for our US office is a testament to the ability of our US CEO Erik Gilbert and his team.”