Sunburn, Mahindra Blues, Coke Studio, SulaFest ? it?s an eclectic mix of music and marketing as brands get artistes and fans to groove to a new beat

You say you want a revolution…and here it is. A magical music revolution, that?s got brands following it beat for beat. After the opening season of Coke Studio last year delivered a thumping viewership of 40 million viewers on MTV and 7 lakh fans on Facebook, Coca-Cola India has embarked on a fresh season of the show. This year Coke Studio, which is being aired by public broadcaster Doordarshan also, will feature 200 singers, 12 producers and over 40 original songs. Some of the big names include Amit Trivedi, Ehsaan & Loy, Shilpa Rao and the Noora sisters. ?We?ve had 2.5 million views on Youtube and over 13 million downloads for the opening season,? said Wasim Basir, director, integrated marketing communications, Coca-Cola India.

Brands are increasingly starting to realise that there is an inherent relationship between advertising and music. While some are featuring artistes in ads and promotions, others are developing properties around music. Then there are some who are stepping in as sponsors of existing music festivals and events. Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel released its ?My song – My story? ad campaign which had singers such as Shaan and Hariharan narrating the story behind their hit numbers. The promotion for Airtel Music (a value-add service by Airtel) allows subscribers to listen in to live concerts and speak to these artistes. Ray-Ban, known for its premium range of sunglasses, organised a nation-wide hunt recently for leading rock bands and featured a total of 188 bands from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Guwahati and Chennai. The Mahindra Group has a branded jazz music property called ?Mahindra Blues? which is now in its second year. Similarly liquor brand Seagram also organised a nine-hour-long web concert christened Fuel Music Day in March this year with artists such as Suneeta Rao and Shilpa Rao.

Energy drink Red Bull prides itself on properties that promote the cause of music. The Red Bull Bedroom Jam is a yearly property that allows young and upcoming bands to perform and record their music. This year, the event saw more than 400 participants. The brand also has a Red Bull Music Academy where established artistes interact with young talent. In addition, the Red Bull Thre3style ?a disc jockey (DJ) competition has DJs across the country competing with one another. ?Red Bull is a youth brand and such properties give wings to upcoming talent, in addition to allowing a connect with our target audience,? said the Red Bull spokesperson who did not want to be named.

This interest is not limited to western or mainstream music alone. Jewellery brand Tanishq paid tribute to the legendary Carnatic singer MS Subbulakshmi this year by unveiling a limited edition of engraved gold coins for its consumers.

The biggest beneficiaries of this new-found interest by brands are the music festivals and their fans. Percept?s electronic dance music festival Sunburn started out with an attendance of a few thousand people in 2007 with just Smirnoff, Carlsberg and Force India as sponsors. Today, Sunburn has an attendance of around 1,00,000 people ? a huge captive audience for brands ?and Percept expects this number to go up to 1,50,000 this year. Sunburn Goa 2011 had a slew of brands such as Absolut, Lenovo, Gitanjali Group, MTV, Red Bull, Colgate Plax, VH1, Lakme, Panasonic, Canon, Google+, YouTube, Budweiser, Mint-O-Gol and 7 Up associated with it. ?We?ve also had sponsors such as XXX Energy Drink, Tuborg, Kingfisher Beer, Red Romanov, Eristoff, Sain Juice, Bailey, Bingo and many more through the years. Apart from these, we have had tremendous support from our partners and vendors such as Bookmyshow, Vardenchi, Creation, Bright Outdoor, Times, Thomas Cook and Submerge,? said Shailendra Singh, joint managing director, Percept.

Similarly, premium chocolate brand Cadbury Bournville did an activity last year at SulaFest, a music and wine festival in Nashik, where it set up chocolate tasting stalls. The idea was to promote the intake of dark chocolate with wine, said Rajeev Suresh Samant, founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards.

Even lesser known festivals attract sponsors. For instance, Storm, a select camp-out festival held in the hills of Coorg has seen sponsorship from brands such as Coca-Cola and Bacardi. The festival offers an eclectic mix of world music.

Sabbas Joseph, one of the founder directors of Wizcraft International, an event management company, says that music events are hugely fulfilling for consumers. ?Obviously, these are events that offer a huge degree of satisfaction and fufilment and of late, I?ve seen a lot of brands, including cellphone manufacturers, auto and even fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) advertisers, either wanting to organise branded music events of their own, or tying up with others for sponsorships. For instance, Chevrolet?s Global Indian Music Awards is one of the biggest events we?ve done.? Joseph says it is tough to keep track of how many music events happen in India and how much they rake in via partnerships or sponsorships. ?If you look at artiste-led music events, there must be one happening every day in every city.?

Disc jockey Ankit Kocher, who won the VH1/MTV award for being the number one DJ in electronic music in India, says that apart from the usual alcohol brands, there are others such as jewellery brand Gitanjali, and deodorant brand Axe who are keen to be part of music festivals. ?Festivals have become an important place for the brand to speak to their audience and provide them interesting ways of interaction and association,? said Kocher. ? I am currently in talks with brands and clubs to put together monthly branded events which will bring electronic music to the people of this country. We are going to be launching our projects in Goa, Pune and tier two towns in Western India ? these will begin post the monsoon,? he added.

Percept?s Singh said that Sunburn is now valued at $ 100 ? 150 million and is projected as a home grown brand that?s making waves the world over. ?Future plans for Brand Sunburn include taking the festival across Asia ? Thailand,Malaysia, Vietnam, Singaporeand Bali. Percept is also looking to open Sunburn ? The Club in Mumbai. Moving ahead, Sunburn will become a platform to create star performers. Furthermore, we plan to extend the brand into Sunburn Club Lounges, Sunburn Merchandise, Sunburn Talent, Music Record and Video Labels, Sunburn Records, etc.?

Percept is also in the process of taking Sunburn to other cities within India. It organized the Sunburn mini-festival in Mumbai in April this year, which saw nearly 16,000 people participating across three days. ?This mini-festival format shall go to Sunburn?s key markets such as Delhi and Bangalore. The next city festival shall be held on October 6-7, 2012 in Delhi,? said Singh. ?As Sunburn grows it offers an ideal avenue for brands to attain a higher brand visibility, increased brand trials, heightened levels of awareness and top-of-mind recall.?

According to industry estimates, R75-100 crore advertising money is pumped in yearly around music events and properties. It costs a brand about R5-10 crore to sponsor or advertise in a music festival, depending on how big the property is. Ramanujam Sridhar, founder and chief executive of Brand Comm consultancy, said that brands generate trials and short term visibility through such associations. ?If you are trying to do a short burst of activity and generate maximum trials, then this route suits you best,? said Sridhar. He added that it is primarily youth brands – cold drinks/energy drinks, adventure gear, telecom, snack brands that try and associate themselves with music. ?Of late, you may have non-traditional brands such as Lakme and Colgate coming in. These brands are coming in because of the growing influence of the youth in brand decisions, but may be that?s the exception rather than the rule.?

Not everybody, however, is happy with the growing influence of brands on music festivals. Palash Sen, lead singer of music band Euphoria, said that most festivals had wound up being more about brand associations, than about music. ?It is a fad for brands to associate with musicians/artistes and organise festivals and artistes but the fact is that the musicians themselves get paid peanuts for this. Most of them play at festivals because of the huge crowds and not because of the money. And the whole thing winds up being more of a charade (promotion) for a particular brand or brands, and music takes a backseat.? Sen said that he would appreciate brands doing something meaningful for the cause of music, for instance, coming out in support of a record or music band and sponsoring them for a consistent period of time.

Vishal Shetty, who plays music at popular night club China House in Mumbai and former owner and promoter of nightclub Fire n? Ice, said that brands were exploring new niches in music. ?Mahindra Blues festival is a branded jazz music property promoted by the Mahindra Group. It is in its second year of running right now, and is held at Mehboob Studios. The festival again includes big names in the world of jazz, which is a niche space in India,? he said.

Shetty said that with younger executives taking over the reins in companies, brands are trying their hand at alternative music, and new routes of connecting with musicians/artistes. ?Nearly 60% of the population in this country is below the age of 30. Brand custodians are a lot younger too. They have experienced alternative forms of music, and want to sync the joy of that experience with their brand.?

Not everyone wants to be a part of the advertising blitz. Some festivals, such as the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) held in Jodhpur every year, want to maintain their exclusivity and partner with select brands. Divya Bhatia, artistic consultant and programmer for the festival, says that the festival is produced by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust and Jaipur Virasat Foundation. ?This is a non-profit festival. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has been our primary partner since the inception of the festival ? they have supported us financially and in kind. Our other regular sponsor has been Cairn India. We?ve also had tremendous support from Umaid Bhawan Palace, Bal Samand Lake Palace, Ajit Bhawan (Jodhpur) and Fort Chanwa (Luni). International cultural houses and embassies have been regular partners – particularly those of Spain, the UK and the Netherlands,? he says. Bhatia is not really looking for a deluge of assorted products. ?Our festival build-up has been deliberately gradual and the best part is that we?ve been successful in nourishing a wonderful audience for the kind of artists we bring,? said Bhatia.