#1 Ranked USA Network Pacts With Virgin Records For All Music
#1 rated cable network USA has entered into an exclusive agreement with Virgin Records to provide music from the label’s artists for use across all of USA’s marketing platforms including on-air promotion, cross-channel advertising, digital and mobile. The deal marks the first time a network has made such an exclusive pact with a record label. Additionally, a Virgin Records micro-site will be available on USA’s website to provide artist and promotional information on the Virgin label music being heard on the 
network.
The concept and structure of the agreement was developed by the USA marketing team, together with music media producer and strategic architect Spencer Proffer who is partnered with music mega-manager Doc McGhee in McGhee-Proffer Media. The music will be identified in a variety of methods including chyron titles featuring the name of the artist, song, album and label. USA will also create a specific on-air spot identifying the label as supplying the music heard on the network and driving viewers to the website.
USA is #1 now but what happens when its position changes? Like all the other cable middlemen USA is trying to figure out its roll in a digital environment. But from the virgin standpoint why would I do an exclusive with just one co? Seems like there’d be lots more value in getting #1 and #2 (Turner?) to fight over the exclusive rights. Their roster also seems fairly strong:
Bubba Sparxxx
Massive Attack
Ben Harper
Richard Ashcroft
Gorillaz
KT Tunstall
Dem Franchize Boyz
We Are Scientists
Korn
Big Boi Presents… Got Purp? Vol. 2
Dwele
The Rolling Stones
Thirty Seconds To Mars
Jermaine Dupri Presents: Young, Fly & Flashy, Vol. 1
Lenny Kravitz
I don’t understand how those translate into “cable sale”
Do people run around saying “I will subscribe to Cable ‘ABC’ because that’s the only place I can see ‘We Are Scientists’ …?”
seriously now.
If anythig It will kill those artists in the rooster cause then they can’t show up in usual music channel if there is a fight between say USA Cable and the usual music companies like Warner/MTV/Viacom.
But frankly, the way things are going, those companies will start shooting at each other demanding ever higher TV fees and cutting exposure ever smaller, until nobody will remember what music video is about.
I hope they get that stupid faster.
I don’t understand how those translate into “cable sale”
Do people run around saying “I will subscribe to Cable ‘ABC’ because that’s the only place I can see ‘We Are Scientists’ …?”
seriously now.
If anything, it will kill those artists in the rooster cause then they can’t show up in usual music channel if there is a fight between say USA Cable and the usual music companies like Warner/MTV/Viacom.
But frankly with the way things are going, those companies will start shooting at each other demanding ever higher TV fees and cutting exposure ever smaller, until nobody will remember what music video is about.
I hope they get that stupid faster.
links for 2006-06-15
Nielsen ratings digitized After all, someone’s got to measure all of these new screens (tags: measurement Nielsen ratings mobile) Netflix: Web vid will trump TV If this is true, the company will finally pay off its name (tags: Netflix VOD) #1