The Power of Targeted Music Marketing

It’s all about people and its all about network.

Today’s guest on #HowWeListen Live: In Conversation is Alex Brees CEO and Founder of un:hurd music, a music tech company that uses proprietary technology to help artists reach their most valuable fans via data-led marketing campaigns. 

Throughout this conversation, Alex offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the music industry, the importance of data in crafting effective marketing strategies, and the challenges and opportunities for artists in the digital age. He emphasizes the need for artists to be adaptable, understand their audience deeply, and leverage data not just for short-term gains like playlist placements but for building a sustainable and engaged fan base.

The conversation begins with Alex detailing his educational path, studying psychology at university, which unexpectedly paved the way to a career in sales and marketing. Despite not having a formal education in sales, Alex highlights the crucial role that selling skills play in entrepreneurial success, a realization he came to understand during his university days. After university, he moved to London to tap into more significant opportunities in tech, driven by a fascination with data's power to influence marketing strategies as inspired by books like “Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking)” 

Transition to Tech and Data Analysis:

In London, Alex transitioned from basic sales roles to more complex positions where he could analyze data to drive marketing decisions. Then his tenure at a Global Investment firm, Carlyle, where he worked as a trading analyst. Here, Alex's role was pivotal in converting consumer behaviour data into actionable marketing insights, helping the company optimize its advertising spend and grow its market presence rapidly.

In the Music Industry:

Parallel to his tech career, Alex's love for music led him to organize music events, particularly in the UK rap scene, which was then burgeoning. His efforts not only provided a platform for emerging artists but also challenged the negative stereotypes often associated with the genre, thus opening more venues to these performers. This side venture eventually steered his career fully into the music industry.

Universal Music:

Alex's passion for music and data culminated in a role at Universal Music as a global analyst. Here, he was responsible for using data to optimize marketing campaigns for top-tier artists like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. His work involved a mix of quantitative analysis—looking at streaming and social media data—and qualitative research, such as market surveys to better understand fan desires and expectations.

un:hurd:

Drawing from his many experiences, Alex founded un:hurd, a platform designed to support underrepresented artists by using data-driven strategies to boost their careers. The platform helps artists understand their audience through detailed analysis and effective marketing strategies, mirroring the analytical approaches he honed in his previous roles but focusing on empowering smaller artists and indie labels.

un:hurd music is powerful, seamless music promotion at your fingertips. It offers you the ability to build effective promotional campaigns across all of your platforms that matter. Their technology creates a tailored list of marketing suggestions based on the user’s data and in just a few clicks, one can pitch to playlists, reach new fans on social media and launch a fan hub. Since launching, un:hurd has worked with over 65,000 artists from 129 countries, has raised over £2mil from some of the worlds most influential music investors, been featured as one of Music Ally’s start-ups to watch and has featured on BBC Dragons Den.

Show Notes:

#HowWeListen Live: In Conversation

un:hurd

00:10 - Byta.com

06:10 - London Drill and Trap promoting

08:14 - Being an analyst at Universal Music

10:17 - Major label resources, what that means

12:00 - The transition from Universal Music to un:hurd

12:50 - My Analyst superpowers

15:50 - Competitor analysis for music

17:30 - Wanting to scale up to help millions of musicians

20:45 - learn by doing

21:55 - What does un:hurd do for its clients

23:30 - Byta.com

24:00 - Playlisting is important, but just a part of the puzzle

26:30 - Playlist is NOT the answer

28:30 - know what your goal is as an artist 

32:00 - Spotify playlist pitching & third-party playlists

33:33 - Building momentum

35:00 - Be yourself?

36:00 - Be consistent & own your audience

39:00 - How do Majors do it and does it work for DIY?

42:00 - Create as much awareness as possible

43:15 - #HowWeListen Live: In Conversation

44:45 - ABT (Always be testing) test your content types

45:50 - Always create what feels true to you,

48:30 - rasing capital for Tech.

52:42 - It's all about people, and it's all about network

54:30 - Byta.com

Music by Fin Productions and Oliver Lyu

Episode Credits:

Artwork by Jen Pmphrey

Hosted by Marc Brown

Series coordinated by Jamie Ford

Produced and edited by Colin MacKenzie

Music by Fin Productions and Oliver Lyu