Expanding The Reach Of Shadow On Star’s Music Video And Leveraging Resources Through Collaborations

AA musician’s marketing strategy typically limits itself to the music community because, well, it’s seems to be the no-brainer plan of action. Music fanatics spend their time idling away on music blogs and Internet radio services bobbing their heads to the rising acts of today and tomorrow, so you can argue that the highest chance of converting listeners to your music lies in the demographic comprised of music fans, and you’d be right. But among your non-musically inclined friends, can you name one who has never enjoyed music?

Music is pervasive in society, appreciated by the young and old to the fashionable, religious and sporty. So it’s not surprising that labels license musician’s tracks to high profile programs and recognized brands as a near guarantee to boost the band’s profile in the mainstream eye. But more so, the importance for such deals are paramount for musicians. For example, Michael Grubbs, the face of Wakey!Wakey! has One Tree Hill to thank for launching his career and placing his name in front of the public eye and into the public ears.

But of course, unless you’re lucky to have met the right person at the right time, as Grubbs had done, or you’ve signed to a music licensing service that happened to catch a producer’s or company’s eye, you’re stuck in a waiting game.

What appears to be an in-house traditional music video typified by the collaborative effort of bands and friends, “Punk Kids,” the latest hip hop and rock single by Portland duo Shadows on Stars, is in fact a strategic partnership with L.A. based womenswear designer Hellz Bellz, and indie menswear label, Gentleman by Day. Philosopher by Night. Pervert by Choice. Rebel by Fate. A third collaborator, Crooked Engine, directed the music video. In doing so, SoS is able to leverage the collaboration in two ways.

• Resources

SoS’s decision to choose clothing labels to work with is based on the vision for “Punk Kids,” starring a rebellious teenage antagonist in his anticlimax. What best exemplified Crooked Engine’s artistry was Hellz Bellz and GPPR’s sassy and subversive personality, embodied in their collections, but what SoS had also gained was the styling expertise of these fashion inclined labels to hit the video’s message home.

• Cross-cultural marketing

More importantly, from a marketing perspective, short of having your music featured on high profiled outlets including Grey’s Anatomy and Apple’s commercials, the cross industry collaboration with the fashion labels provides Shadows on Stars with an opportunity to reach out to a non-music demographic in addition to those that have Spinner and Pigeons and Planes bookmarked. Shadows on Stars saw its brand cross promoted through Hellz Bellz and GPPR’s respective social networks and blogs, that typically sees a fashion-centric demographic, but one that, like music, tends to have dedicated fans.

Shadows on Stars’ Reach

The recently formed Shadows on Stars, with 358 likes and 477 Twitter followers indirectly encompassed a secondary circle through their collaborator’s promotion of “Punk Kids” on their respective social media accounts – Hellz Bellz’s 3.6K Facebook fans and 6.8K Twitter fans and blog readers, GPPR’s 1.3K Facebook fans, blog readers and its founder’s 832 Twitter followers. So when you haven’t yet had your music tacked to a Ford or Starbucks commercial, but are considering filming just another music video, think about how you can leverage your resources and expand your band’s reach, outside of your own closed circle of fans.