How transmedia storytelling might be applied to developing a music artist. Audio for this presentation is on the Transmedia Podcast http://transmedia.podomatic.com/

1. Transmedia Storytelling:
Band as a Brand
Robert Pratten
CEO & Founder, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd
@robpratten

2. About me
Pervasive entertainment platform

3. …and in the recent past…

4. ..and in the distant past…
Moonlight Club, West Hampstead 1984

5. Transmedia Storyteller Ltd
“be remarkable”

6. Transmedia storytelling is a
way to attract and retain
audiences.

7. Transmedia storytelling

8. Drivers & Enablers
• Business driver
– Connect with fans & consumers in a meaningful way (word-of-mouth, recommendation,
retention)
• Technology
– Audience has ability to avoid advertising & payment
– Fragmentation of communication channels
– Social recommendation tools: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, TripAdvisor
– Social check-ins: 4Square, GetGlue
– Mobile (smart phones)
– Convergence of devices
• Xbox vs iPhone vs Social TV: movies, music, social media, gaming
• Sociological
– Life with abundance
– User-generated content
– Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding

9. Transmedia storytelling offers:
• Engagement opportunities matched to a range
of consumers (expressive, competitive,
explorative, collaborative)
• Joined-up thinking
– Brand narrative
– Campaign narrative
– Participation strategy
– Content strategy
– Media strategy (paid, earned, owned)

10. Storyworld
10

11. Why Should I Care?

12. UK Music Secondary Revenues (2009)
GBP193.5M (21% of total income)
Other Income
Premiums Artist-related Income
up 17% on 2008
Synchronisation
Up 20% on 2008
Public Performance Licensing
"Artist-related income" concerts, merch, direct sales, sponsorship, endorsements, digital (exc. ring tones)
"PPL (public performance licencing)" domestic TV, radio, pubs, clubs etc
"Synchronisation" (films, TV, games)
"Premiums" Covermounts and Consumer Promotions
"Other Income" (back-end from films & shows, TV productions, hardware deals, advances)

13. UK Music Secondary Revenues (2011)
GBP205.3M (20.5% of total income)
Other Income
Premiums
Synchronisation Artist-related Income
9% total (11.9%
18M 76M 37% of total (14%
increase) increase on 2010)
Public Performance 83M
Licensing
"Artist-related income" concerts, merch, direct sales, sponsorship, endorsements, digital (exc. ring tones)
"PPL (public performance licencing)" domestic TV, radio, pubs, clubs etc
"Synchronisation" (films, TV, games)
"Premiums" Covermounts and Consumer Promotions
"Other Income" (back-end from films & shows, TV productions, hardware deals, advances)

14. Diversified revenues up 8.4%

15. What should I do?

16. Transmedia Storytelling & Bands
• Know the brand premise
• Plan for discoverability
• Ignite the core
• Plan for participation
• Plan for Cross-platform strategy
• Use Narrative Engagement

17. A distinct brand premise

18. Bake in
Discoverability

19. Competition for Attention
Movies on LoveFilm.com
5500
iOS apps (App Store) + Android (Google Play)
700,000 700,000
Songs on Spotify
1,000,000
Songs on iTunes
20,000,000

20. Discoverability
• Be remarkable
– relevant
– resonant
– right production value
• Be spreadable
– empower advocates
– free, giftable

21. Facebook discoverability

22. Incitement Be surprising, playful and live?
Bristol,UK 2012; by splash & ripple
Incit

23. Live performance mobile app?

24. Ignite the core

25. Empower advocates

27. Metrics
• Marketing budget = $0
• Production budget = $500
• Total Net Kindle Revenue (2011) = $1748
• Total shipments on Kindle Jan 1st to Dec 31st 2011 =
972 (retail price at Amazon.com $2.94)
• Number of people connecting to Lauren Ortega on
email = 83 = 9% of total sales
• Video views of Episode 1 (Jan 1st to Dec 31st 2011)
= 4727

28. Sales vs Social Media (Lowlifes)
NB: “video views” used as simple proxy for trend of social media activity. Wasn’t the sole activity also
included email, Twitter, Facebook etc.

29. Sales vs Social Media (Lowlifes)
Tipping point

30. “Big on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn”

31. Kony 2012
Ignited core says to curators (with large audiences) “I’m relevant”
Image from http://krishk.com/2012/04/kony-slactivism-justice/

32. Content Strategy

33. How an artist can earn $1,160 a month
image by David McCandless at Information is Beautiful] Data at http://bit.ly/DigitalRoyalty

34. How an artist can earn $1,160 a month
• Sell 150 CDs yourself (no label)
• Sell 1,200 albums through iTunes (label)
• Sell 1,500 tracks through CDbaby (no label)
• Sell 12,000 tracks through Amazon MP3 (label)
• Stream 850,000 tracks through Rhapsody (label)
• Stream 1.5 million tracks through last.fm (label)

35. Streaming pay rates
http://thetrichordist.com/2012/04/23/streaming-price-index-123111/

36. Multi-platform strategy
Official
iTunes Televised
Good
site
festival
Revenue
Local gig
Spotify
piracy
Poor
Poor Good
Spread, Attention and Credibility

37. Interactive Video

38. Converged Media
http://www.altimetergroup.com/2012/07/the-converged-media-imperative.html

39. Including piracy in your content
strategy
Owned Paid Earned
Content & places you control: Exposure you pay for: Exposure & credibility others give you:
• Music recordings • Advertising (web, radio, • Word-of-mouth
• Videos TV, mobile) • Great reviews
• Artist website • Payola • Sharing of YouTube videos
• Facebook Page • Facebook Likes
• Twitter account • Remixes
• ReTweets
• Piracy
Create to build long-term Quick exposure but maybe Gained through Owned & Paid
profitable relationship with untrusted Most credible but slow to build
fans Short-term attention does not Demonstrates engagement
guarantee long-term survival

40. Label with weak artist
Paid media won’t sustain a weak artist (one-hit wonder?)

41. Independent artist with great music
But word-of-mouth takes time and energy to build

42. Label with strong artist
Paid media provides attention that multiplies spread
Earned media is “trusted“ and multiplies results of paid media

43. Find the right mix of platforms
• Revenue gained
• Cost of delivering content
• Ability of platform to enable social spread of
content
• Fit to audience lifestyle
• Remarkability
(uniqueness/coolness/timeliness/quality) of
platform or content
• Timing of release to audience

44. Matching Audience to Platforms
• Audience
– Who are they?
– Lifestyle?
– Where do they hang out?
• Platforms (e.g. media + technology)
– Reading: paperback, ebook, comics
– Watching: TV, online, mobile, theatre, cinema
– Listening: radio, online, mobile
– Interacting: console, online, mobile, social
44

45. Finding content opportunities
Socializing: helping consumers connect with Digital: technology solutions to
each other through conversation, sharing, enable, manage and measure
collaborating, competing, meeting experiences
Social Digital
How does the physical How can digital
product assist socializing enhance or facilitate
in the “real world”? socializing?
Physical
How can the experience of
the physical product be
Physical: the tangible product enhanced by digital?

46. Flaming Lips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYT_t5y_9Qg

47. Engagement Strategy

48. Old Skool

49. New Skool

50. Give fans the tools
• Community (uploads, reviews)
• Mobile apps
• Social games
• Downloads – graphics, sounds, merchandise
• Facilitate and encourage remixing & mashups

51. Give fans the tools
• Community (uploads, reviews)
• Mobile apps
• Social games
• Downloads – graphics, sounds, merchandise
• Facilitate and encourage remixing & mashups

52. Beck – Song Reader
“twenty songs existing only as individual pieces of sheet music, never
before released or recorded”
http://songreader.net/

53. RadioHead – fans remix Nude

54. What people want
• Significance (special, important, unique)
• Certainty (comfort & control)
• Variety (surprise)
• Connection (love)
• Growth (learning, mastery)
• Contribution (giving back)

55. Fandom meets human needs
Storyworld
Comfort Comfort
Growth Growth
Learning Learning
Surprise Surprise
Fan Fan
Community
Significance
Contribution

56. Gorillaz is a Storyworld

57. Narrative = story
• Characters
• Conflict (Plot)
• Time
• Location
• Fans will invent their own stories if you give them
the tools:
– scooters, parkas, suede shoes, haircuts, tattoos,
symbols… meat dress?
– going to a gig

58. Narrative engagement

59. Narrative engagement
The Who
Quadrophenia
Sham 69
That’s Life

60. Retention
What is this artist saying? (what’s the premise?)
Does the artist grow over her career?

61. Narrative engagement
Over-arching narrative across three albums
“…explores the concepts of evolution and revolution and links between media martyrs Jesus Christ, John F. Kennedy and John Lennon by
focusing on various alchemical, political, cultural, historical, mythological and Biblical themes.”
Sarah Quelland
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.14.00/cover/manson-0050.html

62. Band: Hail The Villain
Album: Population: Declining
“the website allows users to navigate through the scene to unlock character back-stories, clues, downloads and to participate
in the story by becoming Villains and sharing messages with the band”

63. Narrative engagement
Developed by GRAND, Toronto

64. Narrative engagement

65. Narrative engagement
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an
interactive narrative that uses the real
world as a platform, often involving
multiple media and game elements, to tell
a story that may be affected by
participants' ideas or actions.
The term "marketing" sure is a frustrating one for me at the
moment. What you are now starting to experience IS "year
zero". It's not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a
record - it IS the art form... and we're just getting started.
Hope you enjoy the ride.
Trent Reznor
Case Study: http://www.42entertainment.com/yearzero/

66. Conclusions
• Use narrative engagement to build
relationships with fans
• Reward fans for their loyalty
• Empower fans to introduce others to your
artists
• Need a multi-platform business model

67. The End
Robert Pratten
robert@tstoryteller.com
@robpratten
USA: +1 415 287 4150
Europe: +44 207 193 4567