Streaming radio service Pandora recently announced the launch of a lower-priced interactive streaming platform, the result of its purchase of Rdio last year. Unfortunately, the launch might not have the result many in the music business are hoping for; while it will surely convert a handful of listeners who couldn’t afford the standard $9.99 USD per month price, it won’t move the needle in a meaningful way. That’s because the hardest jump for people to make is not from $5.99 to $9.99 -- it’s from zero to a penny.

With the announcement of Pandora’s partnership with Ticketfly to enable in-app ticket purchases, it appears that streaming services have started to realize that they can’t survive on music listening alone. Spotify has deals in place with Songkick and Merchbar, and other services will likely follow suit over the course of the coming year. While these steps are laudable and needed, they are only the tip of the iceberg. In order for streaming services to survive and thrive, as well as compete with one another, they need to greatly expand their commerce offerings.

Over the years, Indonesia has been one of the most dynamic mobile ad markets in the world (Redwing) with mobile advertising platform Inmobi claiming that ad volumes grew 100% from 2011 to 2012.

As of right now, it looks like the age of the music streaming exclusive might be drawing to a close. While providing albums exclusively to one service might have led to a financial windfall for some artists, the resulting piracy and fan backlash proved to be too much for Universal Music Group, which sent out a decree declaring the end of the practice a few weeks ago. This is great news for listeners who want to stick with one service, but it also creates a new problem for artists -- in an age of declining album sales and advances, they need more sources of revenue. Music streaming services can no longer provide that, and brands can be the ones to step in and fill that role. If done well, branded album exclusives can provide a benefit for the artist, brand, and fans -- but done poorly, they can result in bad press and frustration.

Studies show that music helps with fundamental tasks like learning. It also improves memory and drives engagement. Adding a musical element to your marketing can build brand awareness, customer engagement and personalise the customer experience. Here are a few examples of the way in which music can help with your digital brand strategy.

With a massive population of over 250 million, big companies have their eyes set on Indonesia. Statistics show that the total number of mobile phone users for 2017 is expected to rise to a whopping 173 million, making this country an attractive territory for mobile marketing.  

But while Indonesia is a promising market because of the density of its consumers on mobile, geography is a hurdle for all marketers. With over 17,000 islands and more than 726 dialects spoken across the archipelago, how can brands reach this seemingly fragmented audience?

The influx of capital investments in emerging markets creates massive job opportunities, which in return gives millions of consumers new purchasing power. And with the growth surge of smartphone penetration in Southeast Asia, this region has undoubtedly became one of the most attractive markets for mobile and internet marketing. Throughout the years, I’ve seen how big multinational brands launched aggressive campaigns to win the race of capturing these territories first. But while “first strike” is important, it is equally significant to “strike the right note” with these consumers.

In recent times, there has been a major shift in how brands, labels and technology providers are engaging and communicating with consumers due to the digital revolution. What is often seen as three different enterprises leveraging the same universal language, music, must now work out a way to come together and provide the best music streaming services to engage music fans in the most memorable way. The digital landscape brings us now to a much more sustainable environment that allows brands to measure ROI while sending targeted messages to collect user data. In the end, this initiative will drive brand affinity, customer loyalty and ultimately, increase conversion. The key to working together effectively is to move from a client-supplier relationship  to one of a more unified approach and economy, namely the partnership between brands, tech platforms and record labels. Too often, the relationship between industry players is one that is more compartmentalised, instead of an opportunity to grow the market together by achieving a common goal. To collaborate successfully, there needs to be a transparent and open discussion between all parties involved, and a willingness to approach the market challenges with a fresh agenda.

Today, creators of mobile technology are catering to the market’s need for better quality of life. They are seeing the importance of finding ways to connect digital tools with emotional needs in order to increase customer engagement.

An exciting development for brands is that wearable technology lets you in on your consumers’ lives, habits and personalities, to tap into more data, forecasting their desires.

With an estimated worldwide audience of 3.6 billion according to Global Web Index, the 31st Olympiad kicked off with a dazzling opening ceremony in Rio at the weekend. These Olympic Games are expected to be the most watched ever and for this very reason, brands (official sponsors and otherwise) are on the lookout for opportunities to be associated with the biggest sporting event in the world and to capture the attention of Olympic fans as a means to drive business impact.

The Australian Olympic team has gotten off to a great start with two gold medals for men and women in swimming, another gold medal in women’s trap shooting and a the first Olympic media was a surprise bronze in men’s archery. The team’s hashtag #OneTeam has been trending all weekend as the first medals have been won.