A Shazam-branded label will launch at Warner Music Group, signing acts specifically discovered through the music tagging app.
Warner says that the Shazam label imprint – a product of a new wide-ranging partnershp with the music-recognising platform – will ‘identify unsigned artists for support and development by combining WMG’s global A&R expertise with Shazam’s proprietary fan activity data’.
At the same time, the app’s promotional channels will enable artists to directly contact fans who Shazamed them, encouraging fans to continue to champion the artist they helped discover.
“By partnering with Shazam, a brand which is synonymous with music discovery for fans all around the world, we have forged a potent proposition: the first crowd-sourced, big data record label,” said Rob Wiesenthal, COO/Corporate, Warner Music Group.
“While data and crowd sourced analyses will never be a substitute for the expertise and instincts of our A&R professionals, we do believe the information we obtain for this new label will provide very useful signals that will bolster our ability to find the stars of tomorrow.”
In addition, WMG’s labels will receive data on fan behavior amongst Shazam’s enormous community of 420 million users in 200 countries – while Warner will provide Shazam with exclusive content and other benefits to ‘augment the user experience’.
Initial projects activated under the alliance have already included Shazam’s first video premiere with Chromeo’s ‘Come Alive’ and Shazam’s first single premiere via its News Feed with Wiz Khalifa’s ‘We Dem Boyz’.
“We are excited to enter into a next-generation partnership with Warner Music Group. Every minute of the day, people around the world Shazam over 10,000 songs, giving us incredible insight into what songs are trending and allowing us to discover future hits. Combining Shazam’s proprietary data with WMG’s A&R expertise will yield fantastic results,” said Rich Riley, CEO, Shazam (pictured).
“We are also eager to use our deep data and advanced promotional solutions combined with exclusive content from WMG to help artists engage with their fans and sell more music.”
Mike Caren, President, Worldwide A&R, WMG, said “Millions of fans use the Shazam app to discover music, so when a song debuts strongly on the Shazam chart it is an exciting, early indication that it has hit potential. By deepening our relationship with Shazam, this landmark partnership will complement our existing commitment to A&R, create new talent-spotting possibilities, and expand our range of innovative artist development activities.”
Wiesenthal added, “We are constantly seeking out boundary-breaking means of taking our A&R and promotional strategies to the next level, and this alliance creates unique and meaningful opportunities for both music fans and artists.” Music Business Worldwide
