NewJeans x Spotify: Why marketers are rethinking the way they sell music to Gen Z

The pulsing rhythm of the bass blaring through the speakers and the enigmatic energy of the crowd are just a few factors that make concerts such an immersive experience. This is why artists tour and hold concerts regularly to engage with their fans with the hope of boosting the sales and streams of their music.

However, as in the case of the recent war for Taylor Swift tickets, it is an extremely challenging feat for an artist to travel every corner of the globe and to ensure each fan is able to experience their music in an immersive manner.

Coupled with the rise of streaming platforms such as Spotify where numerous artists vie for a spot on one's playlist to earn some revenue, it has become extremely difficult to not only engage with listeners but to stand out from the crowd.

The recent collaboration between Spotify and Gen Z South Korean pop girl group NewJeans, however, aims to bridge that gap. In an attempt to promote the release of their sophomore EP Get UP, the group partnered with Spotify to launch a mix of exclusive content, digital experiences on the streaming platform and physical pop-ups.

Don't miss: Spotify and NewJeans celebrate new EP with immersive Bunnyland experience

The collaboration includes a vacation themed Bunnyland pop-up as well as giant rabbits wearing headphones. Called Spotibuninis, they were deployed at malls in cities such as Jakarta and Manila. The experience was capped off with an algorithm that suggested playlists to curated to each member of the girl group.

As marketers think about the ways they can market music effectively, the Spotify and NewJeans immersive collaboration highlights that Gen Z consumers are craving novel ways of consuming content that engage all their senses. So how exactly can producers and labels go about marketing music in this day and age?

Gen Z consumers want to be immersed 

Ryan Dickinson, creative director at MassiveMusic Singapore explains that in our increasingly digital world, immersive and real-world experiences have become a more effective means of capturing the attention of consumers.

“People want to experience something outside of the regular content they are fed hourly and appreciate and value it more when a brand puts in the effort to let them experience something new, tangible, something that is multi-sensorial and appeals to us on different levels,” he continued.

Agreeing with him, Luke Simkins, group creative director, MBCS explained that experiences must be done at a scale to draw big crowds and be immersive to drive hype for an artist and their music on social media platforms through social amplification.

He said:

Big experiences draw more crowds because young people want to be a part of something big, and more accurately, want to report on social media that they are at something big.

Furthermore, marketers come up with immersive experiences to market music because music has a very short promotional period when compared to product and brand campaigns, said Justian Edwin, co-founder and strategic lead of Katch. Edwin also said that if a marketer fails to successfully market music, they would have to wait till an artist’s next release to rebound.

Immersive experiences sell feelings of intimacy

When it comes to marketing something as intangible as music, Simkins highlights that it is akin to selling a feeling where marketers have to consider the emotional aspect of their consumers that include how one’s friends, peers and community feel about the music, how individuals regard the song and their perception of the artist.

Immersive experiences are successful due to their ability to sell a feeling and a mood where consumers are brought as close to the artist without actually meeting them, Simkins explained.

Similarly, Edwin said that when marketing music, the feeling that should be tapped on is that of intimacy to further build a connection between fans and the artist.

He said:

NewJeans in this context does not solely sell the EP, but rather the whole experience which mainly involves intimacy with its members.

While the market for music demands intimacy, it is the Gen Z demographic that especially requires this emotion to feel a sense of satisfaction to experience, love and connect with artists in multiple ways through immersive campaigns, Edwin explained.

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