Brands & Merch Business News

Brand spend on music up 6% in 2012

By | Published on Friday 26 July 2013

Beyonce

Brand spend on music in the UK (not including the sync revenue of labels and publishers) was up 6.09% in 2012, according to a report by PRS For Music and music-specialist brand agency FRUKT.

So that’s nice. Let’s all go to an O2 Academy and celebrate by watching the McFlurry Music Mix Up on our Jay-Z-backed phones, while downing a Beyonce-branded Pepsi and nibbling on a One Direction-endorsed cracker. And if that sounds expensive, just take out a Kerry Katona (now not) approved pay-day loan to cover the costs.

In total UK brand spend on music was up to £104.8 million in 2012, according to the PRS/FRUKT report, which considered artist partnership deals, brand-created music events and online content, and the sponsorship of live music and music TV.

Digital-based music-focused brand ventures saw the highest increase in spend, up 33.81% to £10,341,000, possibly part of a recent trend in which brands increasingly want to own their own media platforms and music content, rather than badging existing media. Artist endorsement deals saw the next biggest rise, up 32.85% across the board to £4,684,750, though they are still the least lucrative of the brand strands the report considers. Unsurprisingly live music sponsorship is the biggest area, despite being down 5.56% in 2012, generating £33,150,424 – the live sector has long dominated in the music/brand space.

Commenting on the stats PRS boss Robert Ashcroft told CMU: “Innovative companies understand the power of a good song and how a memorable music experience inspires and connects with fans. Historically, sport was where big brands put their money, but the last twelve months have demonstrated the unique power of music to convey brand value and how the right partnership can benefit music lover, songwriter and business alike”.

Meanwhile FRUKT CEO Anthony Ackenhoff added: “The brand and music space is an incredibly active and vibrant one. We’ve seen an increase in both the volume of activity and sophistication of platforms over the last five years and there are no signs of this changing. Music is something people instinctively love – when brands improve or enrich music moments and experiences they strengthen relationships with their consumers. There’s a clear trend in brands wanting to take control of platforms and move away from traditional sponsorship – we’re really excited by this and see it as an opportunity to get even more creative”.



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