Interview
Lauren Park Talks Streaming, Fan Engagement, Digital Marketing, and More.
Vice President, Digital Marketing at 88rising
First things first: how did you decide that you wanted to go into the music business?
I have no idea. When I was in high school I was going to a lot of pop concerts. I think I started talking about managing artists or working for a record label then, but that was before I even understood what either of those jobs actually were. I didn’t think it was actually attainable. I was from the bay area and I didn’t know anyone who worked in the industry - it’s not like I had a role model in the field.
Anyway, after graduating college from UC Santa Cruz, I moved to LA and I got my first internship at Vanguard Records, a fantastic and historic independent label made up of a very small team. The internship turned into a full time job and I was really fortunate to learn very quickly how a label works. The team was about 10 people - essentially one person for every department - and I learned about each of the roles on the team pretty thoroughly. I think this is something that I would have missed if I had joined a major label at that time. To this day I tell kids aspiring to get into the industry to look at smaller companies. You have way more exposure and opportunity to learn.
It was really this job that solidified that I love working with artists and I love working with people who appreciate music as much as I do.
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Your role at Warner Records was focused on fan engagement. What are some clear signs of fandom today? How do you measure fandom?
I think it’s going to be hard to give a short answer on this. Every fandom is different. But when an artist/band/group’s audience is showing high intent across every opportunity - social growth, engagement, streaming, tour sales, merch sales etc - that’s what signifies a really impressive fanbase to me. You can have any of those that exist in a vacuum - but when all the areas of opportunity are moving - that’s when it shows there’s an actual movement and potential for artist longevity.
“88 is a brand in itself with its own audience, it cultivates a community outside of just the company, 88 leads with creative first and there is a core mission.”
You’ve joined 88rising as VP of Digital Marketing, what sets 88 apart from other music labels?
There are so many differences. I’ll start by introducing 88rising - it’s a music collective that highlights Asian and Asian American talent. We’re a label, artist management company, touring company, production company; we have our own music festival and a really robust brand partnerships operation.
I’ve been in the industry for 16 years - other than owning my own consulting business I’ve always worked at record labels. The core of 88 is music and our roster but it really expands beyond a traditional label. I think the biggest differences are: 88 is a brand in itself with its own audience, it cultivates a community outside of just the company, 88 leads with creative first and there is a core mission. I haven’t encountered any of these to the level that 88 has accomplished at previous companies.
What’s the role of digital marketing in the music industry today, and what do you look for in a music marketing partner on the agency side?
I see it as the intersection between an artist and their audience/target audience at every touchpoint online. Short list of Digital Marketing (or, at least for my team) includes social media strategy, social media growth, social media retention, short and long form content, platform optimizations, digital advertising, influencer marketing and email marketing.
When it comes to finding an agency - I obviously look for people who are the experts in their field and can teach myself & my team their strategies, not just make decisions for us. It’s important that it’s a collaborative effort - I like communicating goals and then working together to make decisions.
Honestly the second most important thing is I want my team to work with people who are enjoyable to work with. I’ve liked all of our partners at Wavo. That’s a huge part. I personally don’t want to work with assholes if I can avoid it.
And lastly - we need partners who are fast. We move fast and we pivot a lot - so we need partners that are capable of working at a similar pace. We’ve found a very healthy partnership with Wavo across the board.
When you’re working on a new release, what metrics do you look to as indicators that your efforts are successful?
It depends on which area we’re referring to. In advertising - we love to see that we’re over-pacing projections. On socials - that posts are performing far above the account average engagement. Same with Youtube - we’ll check to see how music video views are pacing in relation to past music video releases. If we are reaching people, they are reacting and then streaming/buying I see that as a success. It all comes down to the goal.
In discussions around music today, so much is focused on streaming. But video remains central for many artists to explore their creativity. How do you see video within an artist’s overall strategy?
So important. Video communicates an artist’s identity - both for themselves and their project. I’d be remiss to not call out both Jackson Wang and Joji videos. Very different artists and approaches - but both excel in the way their music is represented visually.
I strongly believe in having a visual representation to every project. It’s an opportunity for people to further connect and understand an artist or a song/album/release. And Youtube is still one of the most important streaming and discovery platforms. It’s essential to have a presence on Youtube.
How has your work in digital marketing changed with the evolution of social media in recent years?
There is definitely a lot more to sift through - it’s become very content heavy, which is great. Each platform keeps expanding their capabilities and best practices. There are so many more ways for artists to be communicating with their audience across multiple platforms and all of the formats that fall underneath. Like in announcing a new tour - we now recommend having a tour banner for feed post and a vertical video asset (TikTok/IG Reel/Youtube Shorts) for announce day to ensure every vertical across platforms is aware of the news.
“If you really want to be savvy - an artist will have a different content experience for each platform - so the content being shared across Instagram, TikTok and Youtube are all unique to that platform.”
And if you really want to be savvy - an artist will have a different content experience for each platform - so the content being shared across Instagram, TikTok and Youtube are all unique to that platform. But that’s a lot of content! It’s impractical across every project, but I find it impressive when an artist manages that and maintains a healthy mental state.
There are always new platforms to discuss… Should we be doing something with BeReal? How regularly do we need to be contributing to Discord? Do we activate a Youtube Shorts creator campaign? It never ends - but it definitely keeps things from feeling stagnant.
What’s the most common misconception or mistake made with music marketing?
That you should spend money upfront. I believe in parsing out budget slowly and being strategic about when the right time is to activate bigger spends.
How do you view a balance of organic posting, influencer marketing, and digital advertising?
Unfortunately I don’t have a clear cut answer for this - it really depends on the project and the artist. In an ideal world - organic posts perform so well that there’s less need for influencer marketing and digital advertising. However if you’re in that situation - that’s also the cue for when you should be activating ads & influencers to support the organic momentum.
Not every song will make sense for influencer marketing or digital ads. I believe it comes down to how sticky it is - and whether you can capture a stranger’s attention within a couple seconds. That’s probably the most concise way to answer. Obviously that doesn’t mean a track can’t be successful without - I just don’t think it’s necessary to throw money at everything.
Are there any features of the Wavo platform that you find most useful?
I like the Dashboard and the access to our Wavo team. I admittedly used to rely on the weekly updates in email - but I’ve become really dependent on using the dashboard to check momentum in real time. Our weekly calls are also super helpful in shifting strategy and budget when something is or isn’t working.
There seem to be some newer features that are coming that I think a lot of artist teams will find useful. Looking forward to seeing those launched.
If you could, what advice would you tell your younger self just getting started
I’d probably tell myself to work on my focus skills. I wish I had prioritize focused work without interruption earlier in my career. There are too many forms of communication and opportunities for distraction in digital roles (and in general). I’d also tell myself to show up early. Shout out to my first boss Stephen Brower for tolerating me & reminding me to this day that I was always late. I’m much better now.
