Did Intercept Music Unlock the Code to Independent Label Success?
Indie artists continue to blaze new trails within the music industry. According to MIDiA, the firm that provides analytics and research on the digital music and content marketplaces, independent labels and artist streaming share grew by 27% over the previous year – far surpassing major label growth – and now account for nearly a third of all music streamed.*
To maintain this competitive presence, independent labels are striving to enhance their portfolio of artist services, including major label distribution, marketing, PR support, playlist promotion, social media, merch sales and other critical functions. Just one more of these options may create that little extra edge that propels a release into spins, downloads and ticket sales.
Is all this possible when most independents are staffed with a handful of people at most? The answer is yes, if they are working with Intercept Music, and we’ve got a real-world case study to prove it.
The California-born recording artist Iakopo (pronounced yah-koh-po) uses the Samoan version of his birth name and has been recording a funky mix of reggae and island-influenced hip-hop since 2004. Earlier this year Intercept Music took on distribution responsibilities for Iakopo and his label, Starmaker One Music Group, thanks to respected industry mentor Flossy “The Boss” Harrelson.
The independent labels and artists affiliated with Intercept Music get much more than distribution. Intercept is the only provider of a full suite of vetted tools and services to help independent labels and artists be heard in today’s noisy media environment. Using a single dashboard, independent label owners can activate marketing, merch, and distribution to each of their artists and monitor their performance metrics at a glance.
A few months ago Iakopo released “Top of the Hill,” a power-packed collaboration with 2 Chains and Uneekint featuring Dnorri & Edison. To support the effort, Starmaker One and Intercept Music developed a marketing plan designed to raise awareness among music fans and playlist creators. Here are some of the elements, and their results:
Selecting from the Marketing Menu
Intercept Music offers a great variety of ala carte marketing services for artists. From this menu, Iakopo and Starmaker chose to employ standard and enhanced playlist submissions to Spotify and YouTube playlist owners (the enhanced option is designed to improve on the number of playlists reached, extend the time that his song is on these playlists, and push the song to the top of the playlist rankings). He also took advantage of SoundOut music reviews and analysis by 200 enthusiasts, electronic billboard advertising in Times Square, and an ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
Social media campaigns were arranged in advance and timed with the drop date. The campaigns ran on Iakopo’s and Intercept Music’s social channels.
A huge promotional and revenue opportunity, merchandise moves faster in conjunction with a new release. Fans could choose from Iakopo- or “Top of the Hill”-branded apparel.
Iakopo’s ad ran on the electronic billboard at 45th and Broadway in Times Square. It ran 4-times per hour, from 5am-11pm on Friday, August 6. Each appearance lasted 15 seconds.
(Drumroll please) And the Results…
- Within the first two weeks of playlist promotion, “Top of the Hill” was organically added to at least five playlists, including YouTube channels RAPSTAR and Trillion, and Spotify’s Fresh Decisions, with a combined 2.8 million followers. He was also placed on 17 additional Spotify premium playlists.
- The SoundOut music reviews generated a 35-page report as well as 20 usable testimonials to share on social channels.
- The Facebook/Instagram ad campaign generated 1.2 million impressions with a 32-cent cost-per-click.
- Iakopo added 9,900 Instagram followers on August 6, the day his ad ran on the Times Square billboard!
- All this was accomplished on a marketing services budget of just $1,650!
Good music marketing doesn’t need to be expensive, but it does need to be smart. Independent labels can assign each of Intercept Music’s service offerings to each of its artists, even adjusting the mix on a per-release basis, and monitor performance metrics at a glance.
These marketing services are a game-changing digital hub for the independent label. Want to learn more? Hop over to the Intercept Music’s independent label services here.
Whether you’re an independent label or indie artist, rise above the noise and avail yourself to all the tools you need to succeed!
*MIDiA Research: Indie sector and self-releasing artists lead streaming growth in 2020, MusicWeek, March 15, 2021.