It’s the Singer not the Song (Airline)
“It’s the singer, not the song” (Mick Jagger)
In what may go down as either the greatest corporate hoax ever or the dumbest corporate marketing maneuver since New Coke, Song Airlines (the low-cost division of Delta Airlines) announced that it has found an even worse business than the airline business to be in…the record business. Evidently, the smart people at Delta feel that their business acumen in business and leisure travel will bring them success in the notoriously difficult business of music.
Atlanta, May 26, 2005 – Song, Delta Air Lines’ low-fare, high-style air service, announced today the launch of Song Records, an innovative brand venture created to celebrate great music and provide a unique platform for showcasing a diverse collection of recording artists.
Song Records is entirely about creating an atmosphere that honors music and allows each person to have their own individual listening experience by featuring an extensive array of music, artists and genres and finding unique ways to market, distribute and showcase these musicians and their music beyond just traditional methods.
“Song Records provides us with a melodious way to show our commitment to offering our customers great entertainment which is a fundamental part of the Song brand,” said Joanne Smith, president of Song. “It is incredibly exciting to be able to offer Song Records through unique channels, including our industry-leading in-flight entertainment system. We want to provide something for everyone with Song Records, honoring the music of truly great artists and the individual tastes of those who fly with us.”
Song Records is kicking off with one-hit wonder Better Than Ezra, pretty much only known for its one hit “Good” which was released 10 years ago but will be releasing future artists as soon as other one-hit wonders can be unearthed.
How long do we have to wait to see Song-competitor Ted pairing with Loverboy?
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May 27th, 2005 at 10:49 am
It worked at Starbucks. It cost’s Delta nil. Turn your frown upside down.
Daniel Glass, the chief executive of Artemis Records, says the Song Records experiment offers a chance to circumvent traditional avenues for marketing pop music, such as radio airplay and retail promotion, which are becoming increasingly constrained.
“There’s a general frustration with the way records are sold,” says Mr. Glass. He cites as inspiration for the Song Records venture the success Starbucks Corp. recently had with Ray Charles’s posthumous album “Genius Loves Company.” Thanks to heavy promotion in its 4,500 North American stores, the coffee chain accounted for nearly one-third of the title’s total U.S. sales of three million albums: “Everyone’s very turned on with what happened with Ray Charles and Starbucks,” Mr. Glass says.
May 27th, 2005 at 11:30 am
I do agree that this is good for Artemis. The record industry’s challenges in selling music is well documented, especially for a small player like Artemis. Of all people, Mr. Glass knows this as Artemis has struggled for years in a very, very difficult environment trying to get attention for their acts.
I do not agree with the Starbucks analogy for several reasons. First, Starbucks already owned a small record retailer (Hear Music) so music was something they had experience in.
Second, Starbucks are in the business of selling many things in addition to coffee. They’ve had mugs, grinders, etc. in their stores for years. Adding one more thing was easy.
Third, Starbucks music was a big part of their brand. People consisently would ask the workers at the store what they were playing. It was a natural extension.
Fourth, music is part of Starbuck’s master plan. Look for the stories on the music stations (that will burn CDs in the stores) that are being rolled out chain wide.
Now let’s look at Song.
They don’t sell stuff. They are an airline.
Music is not part of their brand. People don’t flag down flight attendants and say, “wow, that’s cool music playing over the intercom, where can I get that?
Finally, Ray Charles versus “Better Than Ezra”. Nuff said.
Kudos to Mr. Glass for getting more press on Beter Than Ezra than they’ve had in a decade, but I still don’t see what Song gets out of this other than as a distraction and the promise to be associated with what will likely be 3rd tier acts.