FREE ESSAY ON DATA MINING & MUSIC INDUSTRY

DATA MINING & MUSIC INDUSTRY

Bruce Haring, in his article "Datamining: Spam or Future of Music Business" appearing in
Inside.com states that "Bands are beginning to embrace the data-collection method…"
and then poses the question, "…will some fans be put off by the tactic?"
Disappointingly, he fails to answer the question of fan response to datamining (DM) in
the article and instead gives many examples of why it is a huge element of the future of
the music industry marketing, and at present is grossly underutilized.
Hootie & the Blowfish is a band that effectively uses DM. They recognized early on the
value of building a database of their fan's shopping preferences. Fan data had formerly
been used to sell the band's merchandise and promote the band's upcoming events, is now
shared with promotional partners, like Budweiser, enabling them to cross sell their
products with those of the band. Now the broader consumer habits of the fans can be
targeted, and the band can collect some extra money.
"Does it makes sense?" Haring asks…Apparently yes, because it generates profit, big
profit. Sting netted some 30 million in promotion from a deal with Jaguar.
Existing databases are underutilized because only now is the marketing potential of them
realized, and the tools to 'mine' the existing databases is scarce. Thankfully, firms are
emerging that can analyze and organize the data into marketing friendly reports or sell
the software to do it.
Fans will know the fruits of DM by emails notifying things for sale, more focused
marketing campaigns and greater access to artists based on demand.
No fans were interviewed in the writing of the article.