Industries / Record labels
Audience growth for record labels and artists.
A release is a moment. We build the audience system that makes every release worth more than the last.
Music marketing is often organised around a release date: a burst of paid spend, a few weeks of content and then silence until the next single. That pattern buys attention but rarely builds an audience that carries forward. The labels and artists that compound are the ones with a system between releases.
We build that system around the fan journey: discovery, first listen, save, follow, ticket or merch purchase, and repeat. Paid social and content create reach, owned channels capture the relationship, and measurement shows which activity actually moves a listener from one stage to the next.
What gets in the way
- 01Release campaigns that start from zero every time because nothing was retained between releases
- 02Paid spend judged on impressions or streams without a view of the audience it created
- 03Content that is only promotional, with no reason for a new listener to follow
- 04Fragmented data across platforms, ticketing and merchandise
- 05No clear owner for the always-on work between release moments
The approach
One system, built around record labels.
The same four-stage discipline we apply across the agency, with the detail changed for this sector's buying process.
Map the fan journey
Discovery, first listen, save, follow and purchase are different stages. We define what each one looks like for the artist and which channel carries it.
Build the release system
Pre-release, release week and post-release each get a content and paid plan, with assets prepared before the date rather than during it.
Capture the audience
Email, SMS and owned communities give the label somewhere to reach listeners that does not depend on an algorithm. We plan the capture before the spend.
Measure movement, not noise
Reporting focuses on saves, follows, ticket clicks, merchandise conversion and repeat listening, alongside the platform metrics that provide context.
Services that apply
The components we usually use.
Not every engagement uses every component. The mix is chosen from the business model, the available data, the budget and the commercial goal.
Social media in this sector. Social is the native channel for music, but volume is not the same as connection. We plan content around the artist's world, not only the release: process, influences, live moments and the community around the sound. Paid social extends the strongest creative to new listeners, and the owned channel keeps them. See social media management, paid social or a strategy and audit.
What we measure
Success is a business number.
- Cost per new listener or follower
- Save and follow rates by campaign
- Ticket clicks and merchandise conversion
- Repeat listening and owned-audience growth
Where we are based
We are headquartered in Seattle and work with labels and artists across the United States and Puerto Rico. Release campaigns are built around the audience's platforms and time zones, not ours.
Common questions
Record labels, answered.
- Do you work with independent labels and artists?
- Yes. The scope changes with the size of the release and the team, but the discipline is the same: a clear audience, a release system and measurement that carries forward.
- Can you run paid social for a release?
- Yes. Paid social is usually the fastest way to extend reach around a release. It works best when the creative and the owned-audience capture are ready before the campaign starts.
- Do you guarantee streams or chart positions?
- No. We do not guarantee streams, chart positions or playlist placement. We build the system and report what the audience data shows.
- Can you help between releases?
- Yes. The always-on work is where compounding happens: content, community, owned-audience growth and testing that informs the next release.
- Do you produce video or photography?
- We direct creative and can work with your existing production team or partners. Large production budgets are scoped separately.
- How do we start?
- Tell us about the artist, the release calendar and the audience you already have. We will assess where the system is leaking and propose a starting point.
Next step
Tell us about your record labels business.
We will tell you honestly whether our system fits, and what a sensible starting point looks like.