Here's a riddle you might ask a major label record executive: they are millions of americans who have a lot of disposable income, they are fanatically loyal music consumers, and they know how to download and install softare. And I'm not talking about rock fans. Who are they?
Gone are the days when advertisers, marketers and society at large ignore
the kids at rave parties and rap concerts.
Newspaper headlines are filled with stories of bafflement and befuddlement about not only what new music technology is, but why?!, why is it such a big deal? Well, ask a music industry businessperson worth their salt and they'll tell you. If you can't find one, I will tell you.
Like several previous age-groups, the younger generation loves their capitalistic musical icons, but even more, they love me-against-the-world scenarios represented in music by their
hip hop heroes. This "Baby Boomers" progeny -- the oft-mislabeled, non-conformist and rebellious group known as "Generation Y" -- have a healthy pinch of cynicism, are technology-savvy, and, without doubt, they have embraced the Internet with love.
But to sell products to the younger generation, e-commerce purveyors must
tap into what feeds their minds: hip hop music.
Yo Bro'
Hip hop culture, like all momentous pop music revolutions, thrives on authenticity and credibility to build an audience -- or to use a different but relevant parlance, "to draw persistent visitors." Hip hop acts build momentum by building an intimate relationship with its community.
Felicia Palmer, founder and producer of Support Online Hip Hop (SOHH) puts it this way, "Hip Hop music will revolutionize the Web."
And if her purported membership is any indication -- well over 100,000 registered
and active users -- she knows of what she speaks. Yet she also points out that
most companies have yet to understand the "true reach" capabilities hip hop
culture radiates.
Reasonable people have guessed otherwise. But even the media establishment has recognized hip hop's societal impact. Time magazine, for instance, recently called
hip hop a "cultural art form." Meanwhile, rapper, dancer, restauranteur and
fashion mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs has graced the pages of
Fortune, Time and Vibe.
These young music powerbrokers control this generation's sounds -- and to
some extent their pocketbooks.
But very few e-merchants are pushing the right buttons to connect with
Generation Y. Many e-tailers use marketing language from the 1950s. Others
repeat the same "whack" mistakes that already doom their online presence
by mislabeling products.
A goodly number of online music merchants, for example, don't seem to be
aware of hip hop's different segments. (In case you don't already know this) there's "conscious rap", "fusion", "gangster rap" and "hardcore"...to name just a few.
People who currently sell records in the mainstream are having great difficulty merchandising this diverse music. If you look at where hip hop music is placed in music stores, it's as if big retail CD sellers can't hide their ignorance (I'm not specifically talking about the workers who work at these outlets, by the way).
Some merchants try to place buyers of gangster rap tunes with people interested in socially conscious music. Not that these two groups can't overlap, but the point is that the segmentation is there and the retailers and distributors aren't yet getting it.
To attract and retain younger consumers, they'll need to get much more
comfortable with hip hop lingo -- and fast.
Why? Because -- stop the presses -- hip hop music is hot. For example companies such as Def Jam will have revenues upwards of $250 million this year alone; No Limit Records is valued at over $380 million.
Color Blind
Hip hop culture is all about people, rich or poor, sans color barriers.
Contrarians say it cannot be all "love and peace." But witness suburban
youth and their fanatical obsession with hip hop culture. This is
reflected by the recent success of white rappers Eminem, Kid Rock, House
of Pain and Limp Bizkit. These groups fuse rap and rock style vocals into
a veritable Generation Y musical "melting pot."
Spawned from this melting pot are rebellious ideas that are global beyond
the music.
Which brings us back to the Internet.
A small number of e-tailers understand the hip hop vibe. Emusic.com, for
example, showers hip hop happy customers with a heavy amount of respect,
love and admiration.
These companies don't place phony ads in newsgroups to draw interest. "We recruit solid partners and build an incredible online presence," says Sean Leonard, Emusic.com's creative director. The company, trying to keep its ear to the culture, has also reportedly created alliances with SOHH. It has also dedicated resources towards building grassroots campaigns.
Other e-tailers, like CDNow and Amazon tap heavily into affiliate programs designed to get visitors to click through to small-time music sites, and thus talking, sharing and adding banners selling their products.
Unplugged
For decades, big music companies -- in their own inimitable way -- have been continually striving to give the kids what they want. [And by "give," of course, we mean "sell."] Generation Y's relatively high level of disposable income is the primary reason e-music companies are fighting to be relevant in their eyes. For example, Emusic, CDNOW, Listen and Amazon have hired experts in these music areas. And mymusicfactory.com has recently decided to aggressively market to them.
Building a bridge to Generation Y is both exciting and scary for most companies. With the potential explosion of mp3 technology and distributed digital music networks that will actually sell music for record companies over the Internet, companies have an opportunity to create heretofore unattainable synergies with their customers.
It could get exciting. Try to fathom the myriad digital services that can be pre-packaged (e.g. -- outtakes, singles and related merchandise such as clothing and other entertainment products).
Generation Y offers companies out-of-the womb digital geniuses that are not afraid to unzip, troubleshoot and enjoy the true benefits of digital distribution. The age of the "digital hip hop heads" has arrived in the form of 16 to 22 year olds with power to rock an industry. And, they're shrewd: they're mindful that their buying and browsing habits are being sliced, diced and analyzed through profiling and other Internet tracking technologies.
Successful e-merchants will figure out how to use the right words and images to "connect" with these kids. Others will forever wonder why a guy with a baseball cap tilted to the side, wild hair and sagging pants bonded better with "Generation Y" than your typical run of the mill $100 million ad blitz.
As marketers, selling goods and services to identifiable demographic groups will be one of our biggest challenges. The rollout of faster digital pipes to serve the ever-growing Internet audience will not be the one big issue keeping e-merchants awake at night. The biggest question will be: "Are we connecting?"
