WPP, Universal Put More Resources Into Brand-Music Partnerships

BrandAmp Goes Down Under

By Mike Tunnicliffe
Originally published in Ad Age 'Songs For Soap": June 13, 2008

BrandAmp, the 50/50 European joint venture between Universal Music Group and WPP, is expanding internationally with the launch of an office in Sydney, Australia.

BrandAmp was established in London in September 2006 to develop music and brand partnerships between Universal Music Group's artists and WPP's client brands, and it signaled the start of music and brands being taken seriously at the agency and music label corporate levels. At the time of the launch, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said, "In a world of media fragmentation, music remains a powerful medium. We see an increasing desire for brands to partner with bands. BrandAmp will allow us to facilitate and manage those partnerships more successfully."

The brand-music and music licensing marketplace is booming across the world and is particularly strong in Autralia, according to a report in Billboard, which broke the story:

" The band-and-brand sector in Australia is experiencing rapid growth. Sean Pickwell, managing director of Sydney-based Waterfront Entertainment Marketing, estimates the sector grew 60% last year and will achieve a similar growth in 2009. He puts its annual revenue at A$12 million to A$15 million ($11.3 million to $14.17 million)."

This concurs with SFS's report from March, which put the global music licensing marketplace at around $3 billion per year and growing rapidly.

SFS predicts that other agency holding companies are eying up this space, but we also think that they'd better move quickly, as a number of start-up ventures that sit between artists and client brands are looking to break out as independent entities.