Creative, automated social media campaigns instead of cumbersome negotiations
Lip sync battles, remixes of favorite songs or dance performances – the success of TikTok has strongly influenced music usage and music marketing on social media. Music plays a decisive role in content production. Who benefits more from whom – the content creators from the music or musicians and labels from the creators – can no longer be clearly differentiated in the TikTok universe. The social media app is an important marketing tool for labels. Thanks to its international reach, up-and-coming musicians can suddenly reach an unimagined target group. But a TikTok video is fast-moving and the processes behind the machinery should actually be just as fast-moving. Until now, the opposite has been the case: anyone planning a campaign via Content Creator on TikTok was faced with several weeks of negotiations and agreements with creators or agencies.
The SongPush platform has set itself the task of closing this gap. SongPush brings labels, music, brands and creators together by automating the deals behind the videos and shortening processes. It takes barely five minutes from the first contact to the awarding of the project. There is no need for cumbersome agreements over weeks or approval loops until a video that uses a certain music is finally online.
A marketplace model for musicians, labels and content creators
“Music is culture and creates emotion. It is the glue that holds everything together. In advertising, it serves as a core element. But it is often the case that the music market itself is determined by many things, but not by music,” says SongPush founder and co-CEO Markus Cremer. He developed the platform together with his co-founders Stefan Kling and Zoltan Morvai and was already active in the music industry beforehand. Cremer started his own music agency alongside his studies, offering digital campaigns via Google Ads and YouTube Ads. Co-founder Stefan Kling knows the industry as a rapper, songwriter, manager and producer. They know about the hurdles that need to be overcome before a release is actually on the market.
SongPush emerged a year ago from previous projects; before that, Cremer and Kling had built a live streaming product for the entertainment platform Twitch, among other things. The idea of mediating between influencers on TikTok and the music industry quickly developed from this. From the associated web app, they developed a mobile app (iOS & Android) and the marketplace model for Song Push. As part of the MediaTech Accelerator, they received valuable feedback on the product in the first few years and made valuable contacts.
Shortly after its release, the app shot to number 1 in the German App Store. Cremer calls the processes that brands and musicians usually face when they want to promote their music or a product with the help of influencers “a huge pain point”. And valid figures are often lacking for campaigns in particular. “We quantify the processes behind the releases and align them in a data-driven way.” For those who use SongPush, it’s made easy. For example, if a label wants to start a campaign, all it needs is a TikTok or Spotify link. A briefing for content creators is uploaded via the platform, video references are added and a budget is set. Now it’s the creators’ turn. They can secure a price in the app based on their average views and the corresponding briefing, among other things, in order to start the campaign. Within a period of 24 hours, they now have time to submit a video that meets the quality standards set by SongPush. Whoever reaches the minimum number of views in the following five days will receive the payout for the cooperation. SongPush provides a marketplace that works for both sides – for creators and music:in/brands. It doesn’t require any tedious planning and SongPush also focuses on micro & nano creators as a target group – i.e. profiles that only have a few hundred to thousands of followers on social media.
The app model in the background is scalable. SongPush works independently and has its own tools to query and analyze the data. The creators, their reach and the quality of the videos are categorized, analytics are tracked and, for example, the price is determined. “What we did manually at the beginning – for example: Why does this song work well and where does it work well? – will soon be done by an AI tool,” says Cremer. Even content creators who are only online with a few videos will be classified using this tool. How many cuts does a video have, what is the quality? “Each video can be analyzed and the content creator can be ranked accordingly,” says Cremer. The analysis decides which songs are offered to them. “We are first and foremost a tech platform. Product first – we focus on our product and on understanding the market and learning every day.”
With TikTok campaigns for worldwide distribution
TikTok is a springboard not only for unknown musicians. Time and again, classics or remixes suddenly become worldwide hits. The creator Nathan backed one of his skate videos with Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, which was released over 40 years ago, went viral and brought the song back into the charts – and Fleetwood Mac band member Mick Fleetwood to his own “Dreams” lipsync video on TikTok. The song “Makeba” by Jain, which suddenly became a summer hit seven years after its release, had a similar fate. And comedian Otto can now enjoy the remix by Berlin rapper Ski Aggu. Following a TikTok video, the two have now re-released the song as a collaboration. Even for musicians who do not have their own accounts on the platform, the platform is a springboard: if their song is used by others, the chances of becoming known increase exponentially.
SongPush’s tools make it possible to place campaigns with hundreds of creators simultaneously and thus rethink (music) marketing. Songs can soon be promoted in very specific countries or communities. Collaboration with brands is also being expanded. In addition to major labels such as Universal and Warner Music Group, the team is already working with the fashion marketplace About You, NIVEA and Paramount Pictures. Embedded in the creative clips of the content creators and with suitable music, it is also a desirable environment for brands. In the long term, the aim is to become the number one platform for creator marketing, says Cremer. “Everything that is promoted digitally can run through us – films, labels, brands. SongPush has music as its DNA, but it continues to evolve. Even though music will always remain the core element.”
More about the MTH Blog
The media technologies of the future are already being used today – not only in the entertainment sector but in a wide variety of industries. For our MediaTech Hub Potsdam blog, we talk to tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers once a month and tell the stories behind their innovative business models, ideas, projects and collaborations.
