TV is having a breakout moment, or perhaps we should call it a revival. For years, traditional TV, delivered via cable or satellite, has mostly seen their subscriber numbers dropping. This is mainly an issue in North America, followed by Europe and Latin America, while Asia and Africa still see growth in this department. However, TV is making a comeback over the internet, mainly through connected, or smart, TVs. When you buy a new TV from Samsung, LG, Philips, etc. you get access to a whole line-up of TV channels for free, but supported by ads. Data shows that viewing via these channels is growing fast and that streaming video now mainly takes place via connected TV devices.
For now, it’s the usual suspects of news, sports, and classic shows that attract people to watch those ads and pay with their eyeballs (and data). Now, music is primed to take a chunk out of this new revenue pie.
It’s Vevo time
Looking at what makes for popular viewing on what’s called FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) services, shows that it’s mostly a lean-back experience. It seems to be the kind of TV people put on in the background as opposed to sitting down and watching their favourite show on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, etc. Music’s, somewhat problematic, playlist culture, offers a way to tap into that market as it’s very well suited to a leanback experience. As such, there’s been a rush to release music-related channels on FAST services. From jazz to EDM and from karaoke to audio, the most obvious candidate to benefit from the leanback viewing experience is perhaps Vevo. First, they partnered with interactive music video TV channel Xite, and they’ve recently pushed into the world of FASTs launching on various services. Of course, Vevo was founded by major labels, helping it get access to both content and the artists who create it.
Reach and advertising
Since people who tune into a channel on a FAST service watch ads, it’s important to maximize the time they spend on your channel. A leanback listening experience is great for this, because it allows people to tune in do something else and have the TV on in the background. Of course, music will never beat the reach of sports, but it’s got something else. In the words of Bill Durrant, quoted in a recent DigiDay article:
“We are an industry that seeks out consolidation because it makes our lives easier and reaching a large number of people easier. But when we’re not doing that, we need [media companies] that aren’t microscopically small and still reach people around a specific passion point in consumers’ minds. That’s still relevant in driving involvement and consideration for brands.”
That’s where music comes is. A company like Vevo is not small and there’s hardly a better passion point than music. Moreover, a lot of brands are already familiar with putting their money against musicians and artists (I know you’re thinking of Travis Scott right now).
The music video format is also suited for advertising breaks with the added bonus for advertisers of utilising their brand partnership to combine their ad-buy with a deeper connection and product placement.
The future is on TV
Even YouTube shows that viewers are migrating from mobile to the TV. With the added bonus that on TV those viewers watch around twice as long as on mobile. Furthermore, eMarketer is expecting ad spending on connected TVs to grow by 52.9% in 2021. So while many of us will focus on TikTok, Snapchat, and other social media there’s a strong argument that a large part of what will happen for music in the near future will happen on the big screen. Various services, from TV makers’ owned and operated platforms to, for example, PlutoTV, are drawing viewers into their TV screens again. Brands will always be attracted to music and the dedicated audiences that come with it. Equally interesting are the laidback listeners who are willing to engage their eyes and ears to advertising while they enjoy a music video.