FEATURE

Promoed's Top Hits: A Look Back at Our Most Popular Stories of 2023

It’s been another big year for our humble newsletter. With 2024 fast approaching, we’ve decided to look back on 2023 and the stories that got you clicking the most this year.

Here’s the takeaways from our biggest music marketing stories this year:

Music Catalogue Marketing in 2023 (Link)

In recent years, we’ve seen older releases resurge in popularity. This year has been no different, and back in August we looked at the approaches artists have taken to help drive this trend.

For songs that might be considered more ‘dated’, a blend of traditional strategies and digital innovative approaches has proved successful in marketing catalogue releases.

One key strategic move is aligning marketing efforts with key moments such as anniversaries, touring schedules, festival slots, side projects, and even seasonality - they can provide the perfect opportunity to reignite the flame of an older release.

Monitoring trends and actively engaging with them, and even paying to drive them is another tactic we’ve seen artists succeed with.

Additionally, effective sync campaigns and the repackaging of existing content have proved popular and effective methods.

The Rise of Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam” (Link)

Earlier this year, Kylie Minogue’s chart-topping single “Padam Padam” reminded us of the power of strategic timing, understanding core audiences, and leveraging modern platforms like TikTok.

We saw Minogue release “Padam Padam” just before global pride celebrations. Given her popularity amongst LGTBQI+ communities, this was key to the release’s success - allowing it to become the soundtrack for key moments in June, driving its success further.

The “Padam Padam” release also saw Minogue become more active on TikTok, where the song has achieved notable popularity.

On release, "Padam Padam” was declined for playlisting support by BBC Radio 1. It wasn’t until late June that the track landed C rotation, which goes to show that immediate support from tastemakers isn’t essential to a track’s success.

Ocean Alley’s “Confidence” (Link)

Ocean Alley took TikTok by storm this year after a sped up version of their 2018 track "Confidence” was uploaded to the app and went viral.

Thanks to this organic trend, we were given another fantastic case study to prove the importance of artists actively engaging with the trends sparked alongside their music.

By using the trending audio in a number of their own posts, reposting their existing popular content, and participating in the trend themselves, Ocean Alley were able to foster the growth of the trend that saw their track gain millions of streams in addition to playlist additions and traction on TikTok itself.

Marketing Support Act’s Ausmusic T-Shirt Day (Link)

Support Act’s Helen Lear provided us with insights on the iconic Ausmusic T-Shirt Day, and the campaign that saw the charity raise $700,000+ AUD this year.

Lear shared how Support Act drive social media engagement through easily digestible and shareable content, ambassador collaborations, user generated content and more.

Additionally, Lear revealed how Support Act tailor their marketing approach keep their audiences engaged and involved at fundraising over the course of an eight week campaign, and how they leverage a peer-to-peer strategy, by inviting businesses, social groups and fan clubs to create teams, set fundraising targets and encourage customers, staff, family and friends to donate to their team.

Marketing to their audience of “anyone who loves Aussie music” is no small feat, but with a carefully crafted and multifaceted strategy, Support Act have once again brought the Australian music community together to support music workers across the country.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Boy & Bear's Independent Album Release (Link)

This year saw Boy & Bear successfully launch their return, after pausing from releasing new music in 2019. Their self-titled album was released independently and debuted at #4 on the ARIA Charts.

We dove into the release with Jaddan Comerford, CEO and Founder of UNIFIED Music Group, the band’s manager, Aidan McLaren of UNIFIED Management, and Mardi Caught, Founder of marketing agency The Annex to learn about the collaborative, strategic approach

For the first time, Boy & Bear utilised the various channels of UNIFIED Music Group. This included Lonely Lands Agency, The Annex, Super Special, Community/UNIFIED Recorded Music, and UNIFIED Management. In addition to collaboration with this team, key drivers of the campaign’s success include a strong pre-order approach, release week events, investment in reconnecting with old fans, and establishing strong relationships with new ones.

The Current State of Festival Marketing (Link)

Our conversations with Steph Mrmacoski, Untitled Music Group’s Senior Marketing Manager reminded us of the importance of agility and flexibility in music marketing strategies.

Earlier this year, Mrmacoski provided insights on Untitled’s adaptive approach to festival marketing. Covering everything from ticket sale trends, campaign storytelling, technology's impact on the music festival landscape, influencer marketing, future trends, and more, Mrmacoski gave us some invaluable perspectives on the current state of music marketing, and what we might expect moving forward.

That’s a Wrap

Whether you’re a new subscriber in 2023, or you’ve stuck around from previous years, thank you for your support.

We’d also like to thank the incredible people who have made our interview and case study content possible this year. We’re looking forward to sharing plenty more with you in 2024.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}

FAST FACTS

Impress Your Boss with This Fast Fact

👉 93% of US teenagers report using YouTube, more then any other online platform.

This is according to recent findings by the Pew Research Center.

TikTok, while still popular, has also seen a decrease in its teenage user base, dropping from 67% to 63%.

Interestingly, Snapchat has now edged out Instagram, securing the third position with 60% usage among teens. (Link)

KEY FINDINGS

Our Top Picks This Week

• The Record Label Crisis (Link)

• How Old Music Became the Biggest Thing in New Music (Link)

• Billboards 10 Biggest Music Business Stories of 2023 (Link)

• Spotify is chasing annual profitability. SoundCloud’s already there. (Link)

• Zach Bryan’s Aus Debut: How UNIFIED & Untitled Secured Year's Biggest Country Gig (Link)

• Pollstar: Top 100 tours revenue grew by 46% to $9.17bn in 2023 (Link)

• MIDiA’s 2024 predictions: The algorithm is not listening (Link)