5 MINUTES WITH…
Cynopsis sat down with Senior Vice President of Digital Sales Jeremy Levine of Live Nation, the digital publisher and producer. In April, Live Nation struck a major deal with Yahoo to stream a live concert every day; most recently, LN launched its own programmatic solution and bought DIY ticket seller Eventjoy.
How is Live Nation both a publisher and a programmatic platform?
We have built a media company on the foundation of the largest live event and ticketing company in the world (Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010). From original videos and photos, to social based geo-fenced content, to launching the leading music touring blog, we have evolved into a content creator. The next step in our evolution is to harness the scale and amount of first-party data we have through our ecommerce backbone to create data and audience-driven products; these are unique offerings that can best serve our partners and their targeted digital advertising objectives. That’s where programmatic comes in. We have the data, the audience and the scale to be a player, so it was the next natural step.
What do you see as the most interesting trend in digital advertising now?
Brands moving away from “traditional” digital assets to more content-based messaging. Whether through native advertising, social messaging, branded entertainment or sponsored content, brands are looking to get their message across in more creative ways. It all goes back to the era of the original soap operas where the Procter and Gambles of the world were bringing content to TV viewers and integrating their products into the programming. Now it’s multi-screen, targeted and shared socially, but the concept is the same. I only see it continuing to grow.
What is the biggest challenge facing the industry right now?
Clutter and competition in the marketplace, and downward pressure on CPM’s. The online space, and music in general, are extremely competitive and there are lots of options of varying quality for brands. One positive offshoot of that competition is the growth of partnering up between publishers. As my boss likes to say, “One day a competitor, one day a collaborator.” Honda Stage is a great example of this; Live Nation is one of a handful of digital properties working collaboratively on the program, leveraging our various expertise and audiences. In terms of CPM’s, we’re not going to get into a race to the bottom to chase business; not only in terms of direct sales but also as we build our programmatic business.
What makes a music fan different from any other?
A live music fan is generally more affluent (avg HHI of over $75k), more tech savvy (28% more likely to be asked their opinion on technology), more social – online and off – (31% more likely to visit a social network 3+ times/day; 89% more likely to go to a bar or nightclub) and spends more (49% more likely to have used a credit card 20+ times in past 30 days) than the general population. This translates into a consumer who has more disposable income. The music fan is often the one whom friends and family come to for purchasing advice, and that makes them a great evangelist, if a brand is able to make that connection through their product, creative and messaging.