My first panel of the day got things off to a phenomenal start. With all the different mediums available, collaboration is a must. “The Convergence of Music on TV and Online” involved spirited panelists from all industries, and their words and advice were energizing, and should be heeded. The introductory question: How do you reach millions simultaneously? Each panelist had a different take on how to accomplish such a task.

Andrew Bennett, CEO of LP33.TV, an upstart website that filters and syndicates music (think Facebook meets MTV) feels everyone will succeed if they concentrate on “impressions”. For instance, a song is used on a popular television show. Conventional wisdom causes one to believe viewership of that night’s broadcast will provide applicable data. But it only tells a fraction of the story. The show may receive 8 million viewers that night, but what about the TiVo and DVR audience; or the Hulu and YouTube audience. Those numbers must be taken into account in order to understand the true promotional value. This type of information is something LP33.TV is leveraging to drive labels and artists to their site.

Remember product placement. Well, Sharon Masters, representative for Atlantic Records, discussed her company’s focus on “music placement”. Commercials, television, sports, and especially video games, all integrate music into their product. Aligning a band with a brand or event can have great financial impact for both parties. The monetary investment for the brand is minimal (at least for an indie act), which creates opportunity for significant return. While the royalty aspect may be lacking in terms of upfront money for the artist/label, the after effects can be huge. All those viewings via television and internet can transform into increased merchandise sales, bookings, downloads, etc.

Most musicians, artist managers, and upstart label heads were ecstatic about this bit of news. So how can their song show up on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (just an example, I’ve never watched the show)? It’s all about understanding the band and their audience. Don’t get me wrong, the song matters, too; but all too often, bands are marketed to an audience wearing earmuffs. And it doesn’t matter how hot your song is, if you don’t have the right people listening, you won’t see profits of any sort. Once again, LP33.tv to the rescue. They specialize in creating nuanced demographics for bands. So its quid pro quo: you find out what kind of audience you’re looking for, they tell you where that audience is located.

In summation, it’s not all about how many you reach at one time, but who are you trying to reach, and what methods are you utilizing to find them. PepsiCo can play a huge role in this venture. We can partner with these online companies and bands to increase our own brand. If we want to use a band to help market one of our many products, we can reach out to a website that has vetted the artist and located specific markets where they are most viable. Then align that data to our own marketing strategy and the possibilities are endless.