4sight

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

As we approach 9-9-09, and another celebration of everything Beatles, it's a great time to kick back and think about exactly what an incredible phenomenon the Fab Four have become, 45-odd years after their debut here in the States.  

Of course, when the British Invasion began, the Beatles were at the forefront, and Beatlemania swept the U.S. and the world.  Amazingly all these years later, the Beatles still have incredible presence, and often dominate pop culture buzz.

As a case in point, I went to Google Trends, a great tool for getting a sense of whether brands are indeed hot, based on consumers conducting searches.  This nifty bit of analytics allows you to compare brands - in this case music performers - as well as providing milestone footnotes that help explain the ups and down.

So I compared the Beatles to Kanye West and the Jonas Brothers - two very contemporary pop culture icons that are often making headlines.

Throughout the last year, perhaps the greatest Classic Rock foursome of all time have more than held their own against Kanye and those Jonas guys - and not just during the recent past, as the world gets ready for the Beatles' availability on iTunes, as well as the release of Rock Band.

Throughout their history, and especially during the past couple of decades, the Beatles (and Paul) have expertly delivered news, tours, product, and events that seemingly are timed to create a media groundswell of attention, up against the ongoing news cycles of current events.

As we get closer to 9-9-09, the Beatles are already primed to be a holiday staple.  "This year will be the year of the Beatles," notes Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, and given all the products that will be released, don't sell this prediction short. 

Fallout Boy's Pete Wentz says, "There will never be a band like that, where all four guys could be frontmen."  And of course, that's been a truism now for decades, where the best most bands can do is produce one main star, like Bono or Chris Martin.

A recent column by Bloomberg's Matthew Lynn offers his Fab Four reasons why Pete Wentz may indeed be correct, and why businesspeople should pay attention to the Beatles phenomenon.

1. Get there first - By being first in, a brand gets ahead of the curve.  The Beatles broke a lot of ground in the '60s, and led the way for the bands that followed.  There's a lot to be said for being the first in your category, and defining the standard.

2. Get ahead of the curve - The Beatles got sick of their ballads and pop songs long before their fans did.  That's part of what stimulated them to innovate, and move into the Sgt. Pepper's zone, the double white album, and beyond.  By constantly innovating and breaking their own standards, the Beatles stayed fresh, continued to surprise their fans, and never rested on their laurels.

3. Quit while you're ahead - Whether it's rock stars or pro athletes, most stay on the stage well past their prime.  Obviously, the Beatles took a different path, and while their flame burned the brightest, they were only on the scene as prime players for a relatively short time.  Yes, there were conflicts and issues that conspired to break up the band, but by getting out while they were on top, the Beatles cemented their legend, and never looked tired, old, or out of it.

4. Treat the product with respect - Always protecting their intellectual property, Beatles albums have never made their way into cut-out bins.  Their material is full-priced and premium.  They understood the intrinsic value of their material, and aside from the Michael Jackson/publishing rights incident, they have done a great job of protecting their legacy.

And I'll add one more key element to the ongoing success of the Fab Four - the fifth Beatle, George Martin. 

5. Hire a great programmer/coach - While the band may have been squabbling, there was always a steady, artistic hand leading the way in the studio, setting the standard for the sound and vibe of the Beatles.  George Martin served as a great program director/producer of a disparate group of geniuses who needed that studio discipline.  Fortunately for the Beatles' legacy, George's son, Giles, continues on.  He has produced the Beatles' Love Cirque du Soleil show, as well as the Rock Band product that will soon sweep the nation.

Enjoy this next wave of Beatlemania.

Digital Mystery Tour

While you're trying to determine what the hot got-to-have toy/gadget will be this holiday season, I'm thinking that the '09 award will go hands-down to the Beatles' new game, which MTV and Harmonix (who makes Rock Band) announced last week.  It's not just that the Beatles have finally committed to a video game (and you have to wonder what Activision/Guitar Hero will do next - the Stones?).  It's that their music will finally be digitally distributed. 

The folks at MTV say this won't be the usual music/video game, and will contain more interactive features that go well beyond Rock Band.  In fact, the game apparently won't even use that brand, but will be positioned as a new model that Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos says will be "built from the ground up."  For the Beatles, that's the way it should be. 

More good news - George Martin's son, Giles, will be the project's music producer.  Giles is the creative force behind the Beatles' Cirque du Soleil show, "Love." 

If you've seen it, you know that this MTV/Harmonix video game will be something special, and not just an "expansion pack."

For the Beatles and their heirs, this is a major moment because it represents the band foray into the digital world.  There is no telling how huge this will be, but given the success of the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises, this "game" promises to be something special.  And for Beatles fans - and those who have not yet discovered the Fab Four - this will be yet another way to enjoy their music.

My favorite quote of the last decade comes from Jon Stewart, who when asked how people will enjoy "The Daily Show" years from now commented:

                                    "We make the donuts.  We don't drive the trucks." 

Exactly.  If the content is there - and there's no question that the Beatles' catalogue will live on forever - distribution outlets of the future - like video games - will support it.  This is yet another reason why radio broadcasters simply have to focus on proprietary content that consumers cannot get anywhere else.  Whether it's transmitters, mp3 players, video games, or technologies of the future that we don't know about, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" will live on.

I'm A Pepper

When it was announced last March that the marketing folks behind Dr. Pepper would give away one free sample of the soft drink if Chinese Democracy was released before the close of the year, it seemed like one of those impossible marketing promises.

But more and more, it appears that the always-delayed album will finally be in Best Buy stores next month, and Dr. Pepper will make good on its promise.  Now if every American took them up on the offer, Ad Age estimates a total cost of $165 million.  But, of course, consumers will only have 24 hours after the release of the album to go online and register for their free sample.

Crazy?  Like a fox.  There will clearly be lots of new Dr. Pepper sampling, loyal drinkers of Dr. Pepper will be happy, and of course, the campaign is already garnering lots of free publicity in media outlets all over the world.  Wes Brown of Iceology points out that Dr. Pepper will likely take credit because after 17 years of waiting for the new album, the soft drink company got it done in six months.  Yes, it will cost money, but the payback is already enormous. 

It's a great example of thinking big with marketing, hitching a wagon to a media star, taking a risk, and making an outrageous statement.  No, it's not "40 minutes of non-stop rock" nor is it "Rocktober."  And isn't that the point of bold, over the top guarantees?  

Full disclosure:  I am indeed addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper.

The Selling Of Music - 2008 Style

What an exciting time for the record industry.  Consider these recent news headlines:

• iTunes has now passed Wal-Mart and everyone else to become the top music retailer in the U.S.


• Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group will offer their catalogues in a joint project with MySpace

This is big news for a business that has been plagued by self-inflicted misfires, mistakes, and misadventures in the digital world.  After all this time, they have discovered that indeed there is a "there there" to stream, distribute, and sell music via a variety of different digital sources.  Good for them.

In the meantime, the RIAA continues to downplay radio's role in the exposure and selling process.  But ask yourself this:  how do most consumers discover the music they choose to stream, download, and/or purchase from all these new distribution outlets? It's still about the radio.

Yes, it's great to get a song on Grey's Anatomy or on that new GAP commercial.  Satellite radio is another outlet that the labels vigorously pursue,  but as we see in our new Tech Poll, let's not forget about how the vast majority of Americans still find out about new music:

Now, critics will chime in that this survey is a self-fulfilling prophesy because it is conducted among radio listeners.  But since 90%+ of the U.S. falls into that category, there's not much of a skew to this data.  Hey, if it makes you feel better, subtract 5 or 10 percentage points from FM radio and look at this chart again.  If I was a new band with music to expose and sell, my chips would still be on good old FM radio.  Why the record industry would criticize the incredible power of this traditional medium defies logic. 

What would an artist rather have?  A song in this month's slasher movie soundtrack or a solid add on Z100?  A song featured on Scrubs or strong airplay on KROQ? 

Just asking.