Matchmaking with music
Branded tracks. It’s time for brands to stump up for music. Aussie start-up Guvera has teamed with Universal Music Group to begin offering free music in the US early next year, with brands covering the cost of downloads.
All consumers have to do is sign up at Guvera.com and fill out their profiles with demographic and geographic data. Participating brands need to do the same so that the firm’s algorithms can get to work on matching a listener’s profile and preferences with an advertiser’s ‘personality. Then consumers can do music searches and be directed to the relevant branded channels. Brands pay a fee when their targeted users download a track, with UMG also taking a cut.
Guvera cites the example of a 25-year-old female consumer with a bent for surfing and wakeboarding looking for pop music who will then be directed to music channels presented by brands with similar sensibilities.
“With Guvera, every brand can offer engaging content to their target consumers without disrupting them with ads, and can use their channel to represent music that relates to the brand’s personality,” says Claes Loberg, CEO of Guvera.
The outfit plans to launch first in Australia before the end of the year and will likely have all four majors on board sometime in 2010. Guvera is hoping consumers will get used to going straight to the channels and begin associating brands directly with the music they offer.
Another music start-up with an ad-supported model is the boldly named Free All Music, which aims to launch in 2010. The firm plans to make users view a 15-second ad prior to downloading tracks for free, rather than build branded channels a la Guvera. We think that’s a tougher sell.
