Interview
Kazy Brown talks fandom, UGC, Marshmello, and more.
Digital Marketing Integration and Strategy, The Shalizi Group
What inspired you to get into the music industry? How did you get started?
It was a total accident. I was spending so much money going to shows as a highschool and college student that I wanted to find a way to get in for free.
While attending a show at The Ottobar in Baltimore I started talking to a journalist who was there covering the show for a local paper. He was telling me how he attends all the concerts in the area for free and gets time with the artists for an interview.
That week I made up a fake publication name and started cold emailing publicists to review shows. I couldn’t believe it, but they were confirming me to go to shows without ever checking my credentials.
Since I was getting this access to the artists I started interviewing them as a freelance writer and then finding websites who wanted to host the interviews. Eventually, I landed a gig writing exclusives for a music publication where I was asked to do a piece on Larry Jacobson and his new management client Avenged Sevenfold.
We hit it off and continued a dialogue while I was finishing college. Larry asked if I’d like to move across the country and help him with the day to day management of his clients. Why not?
I learned the business first hand while working with Avenged Sevenfold on their City of Evil and Self-Titled albums; both on Warner Bros. Records. I moved from management to the label side, and joined WBR’s digital department. With no true experience in that space, I started out as an assistant and spent the next eleven years working my way into a VP position.
I had the pleasure working with, and executing digital marketing, for over 50 artists including The Black Keys, Linkin Park, Marshmello, Gorillaz, Wu-Tang Clan, Roddy Ricch and OVO Sound.
Get more interviews like this in our newsletter:
During your time at Warner Records, you worked in Digital Marketing and Fan Engagement as VP. In today’s busy and global digital landscape, how do you measure fandom? And, how do you determine which fan insights to act on?
Ultimately, when starting a new project you have to hone in on initial goals, then figure out what metrics help inform those goals. I’m a big proponent of conducting a S.W.O.T. analysis ahead of kicking off a project to determine what areas of opportunity exist.
Sure, an artist wants more fans, that's a given. But where specifically do you want those fans? What do you want those fans to do? What are you as an artist doing that makes them want to keep coming back? Once a goal is established there are a variety of metrics and tools we use to find causation and correlations to make key marketing decisions.
There are people who listen to an artist’s album thousands of times, but never click follow or like on any social property. Do we consider them a fan? What about someone else who may like every single picture an artist posts on Instagram, but has never streamed their music? Do we count them as fans?
With so many touch points to an artist the funnel is bigger than ever, which is why having specific goals is key to marketing effectively.
“With so many touch points to an artist the funnel is bigger than ever, which is why having specific goals is key to marketing effectively.”
After 11 years at Warner, you moved from major label to management, heading up digital strategy at The Shalizi Group. What was that transition like?
Amazing. It’s truly been everything I had hoped it would be. Working at a large corporation has perks, but it also has a lot of red tape that can get in the way of making quick decisions.
Having the ability to brainstorm an idea with an artist and immediately start implementing has been incredible. Moe Shalizi (CEO) and Krista Carnagie (COO) have the utmost trust in their team which allows us to act decisively, work effectively and build confidence by letting us lead.
I’m also blessed to have a roster of digitally savvy artists who not only enjoy making music, but also enjoy interacting with their fans online.
This month The Shalizi Group and Marshmello launched a new kids-focused act called Mellodees. How has marketing a children's music brand been different from your past work?
Mellodees has been incredibly rewarding. With so many parents at home trying to juggle home-schooling their children with their work schedule, we’re hoping to provide an entertainment platform that is focused on learning through music to help parents and children alike.
I never envisioned myself working on a children's project, but I’m so happy to have had the opportunity. The core marketing tenants still exist, and to an extent, they are magnified because of compliance laws.
You don’t have as many tricks in your tool bag that you’d usually use for a music release since your target audience is under thirteen. It makes you focus on having your foundation strong with touch-points that are easy for a child and parent to consume and engage with your artist.
Most of the roster at TSG are, broadly speaking, electronic or hip-hop artists. Was that intentional? Is genre a consideration when you sign an artist?
No, not intentional at all. We’re a diverse company with a multitude of music tastes and styles. Jauz and Marshmello were birthed from the electronic genre which has attracted other artists from the dance scene.
I’d be foolish to tell you that we’re unaware of Hip Hop’s impact, and while we enjoy working in that space, it’s not necessarily a consideration when deciding to partner with an artist.
When I started with the company we were working on an alternative record with Marshmello and A Day To Remember while getting set up to launch a country record with Mello and Kane Brown. We’re agnostic to genre and enjoy playing in different spaces.
You’ve worked on a handful of viral marketing campaigns with an emphasis on TikTok and Instagram including “The Box” by Roddy Ricch and “Look Alive” by Blocboy JB feat. Drake.
Although it’s hard to predict that a song will explode the way these did, what can you do to prepare for it, and then support the song through marketing when it does?
It’s important to make sure there are no barriers to entry for a fan to make user-generated content. Music must be easily accessible in-platform with clearances and claims ready to monetize UGC, but not remove it.
Every label and publisher treats UGC differently. Some issue takedowns because they want consumption to happen from the artists themselves while others are more lenient and allow UGC to live but claim the audio so that it's attributed to the artist.
It’s important ahead of building a campaign that you understand and work with your labels and publishers to know what is and isn’t possible. Once you have an understanding of what's possible then you can build your plan accordingly.
For these two specific examples, we worked with a handful of creators ahead of the song releases to ensure they had the audio and freedom to put their creative twist on the content.
Once launched, we had our artists engaged with their content which verified to other users that the artist is encouraging more creation. I make sure my artist’s press partners and streaming platforms are aware of fan creations once a repertoire of UGC is built up.
It’s important that UGC created for your artist doesn't just live in their own ecosystem. You have to shout out those wins to bring new eyeballs to your fans’ creations.
“It’s important that UGC created for your artist doesn’t just live in their own ecosystem. You have to shout out those wins to bring new eyeballs to your fans’ creations. ”
In Feb 2019, Marshmello made history with the first-ever concert in Fortnite. Following this, there have been collaborations with eSports teams like Faze Clan. What do you see as the future of music and video games, especially now that in-person live events are on hold?
The gaming segment has always been a no-brainer for me. Even ahead of Marshmello’s record breaking performance in Fortnite, I remember working with Activision to have Avenged Sevenfold provide exclusive music for Call of Duty.
When analyzing the psychographics of an artists fanbase nearly every one I’ve worked with has had a massive cross section between gaming and music. Now in 2020, the numbers between music and gaming are so massive they can’t be ignored anymore.
As I’m speaking to you now Marshmello mobile game, Marshmello Music Dance, is a top 20 mobile game and top 3 music related game. I don’t know where gaming and music will go, but it’s a relationship that isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Get more interviews like this in our newsletter:
