Значок сайта 2PM

№256: Человек из леса

Веб Смит
Водяной знак_ByTailorBrands
Джастин Тимберлейк для Pendleton

DNVB / Медиа / Электронная коммерция: (1) Джастин Тимберлейк - один из самых талантливых музыкантов на земле, и он хочет выступать до 40 лет. (2) Музыкальная индустрия продолжает развиваться, и только самые смекалистые артисты правильно ориентируются в экономических ограничениях потокового вещания.

Подумайте об этих двух оценках, когда будете определять, чем является Man of The Woods.

Тимберлейк - проницательный бизнесмен. Поэтому, когда появились первые изображения его альбома Man of The Woods, можно было немного пошутить над тем, насколько неприкрытым выглядит продвижение мерчендайзинга. Ирония моего твита заключалась в том, что эволюция Тимберлейка не вызывает сомнений. Он также способен вести более долгую игру, чем большинство других артистов, благодаря своим предыдущим, небывалым успехам.

Веб Смит в Twitter

У Тимберлейка и Бруно Марса одинаковый набор навыков. Один понял, как развиваться, а другой делает нативную рекламу для Filson.

Вот вкратце о карьере Тимберлейка. Мистер Бил добился того редкого и неизменного успеха за три десятилетия, в течение которых менялась музыка, его необычная поп-мода и в основном неудачные решения по уходу за волосами. Он преодолел невозможный путь американской музыкальной эволюции:

To better understand Timberlake’s newfound interest in American heritage brands, consider that he is proudly from Tennessee and he was always inspired by the music of the region. 

Consider these two quotes from Refinery29‘s Album Review:

There was much debate about how Mumford & Sons/O Brother Where Art Thou? this album would get after Timberlake debuted its teaser trailer, but when the first two singles (“Filthy” and “Supplies”) were the straight-ahead dance pop we expected, it was assumed that Timberlake didn’t go full Montana — or even Tennessee. But there are strong country moments here, daringly on songs not involving Stapleton, who plays guitar on multiple songs.

and…

The key to understanding why this feels like cultural tourism may come in Timberlake’s interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1. He told Lowe that all of his records before were “aspiration,” either to a lifestyle or for him to “pay homage to my influences.” When you dabble in country or Americana but don’t have influences in mind to pay homage to, things are going to get weird.

When I was an elementary school kid in Houston, I lived down the street from a music hall owned by Kris Kristofferson, a place where he’d perform with musicians like Shel Silverstein. I also had the opportunity to watch several of Kristofferson’s colleagues in their later years: Merle, Waylon, and so on. It’s squarely here that Timberlake is drawing aspiration for the next decade of his career with the help of Chris Stapleton, wool, and a beard.

Few can take issue with his staying power. And staying power means that you have to be willing to adapt to remain at the forefront of your craft. Timberlake is the master of this. So now that we’ve established the musician’s newfound musical aspiration, let’s look at the merchandising deals that were organized by Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandising arm.

A scene from the Man of The Woods pop up at 138 Wooster, NY, NY

Each track from Man of the Woods had a collaborative item:

  • Filthy: Heron Preston
  • Midnight Summer Jam: YETI
  • Sauce: Best Made Co.
  • Man Of The Woods: Best Made Co.
  • Higher Higher: Jordan Brand
  • Wave: Warby Parker
  • Supplies: Best Made Co.
  • Morning Light: Pendleton
  • Say Something: Moleskin
  • Hers: Pendleton
  • Flannel: Levi’s
  • Montana: Levi’s
  • Breeze Off The Pond: Maestro’s Classic
  • Livin’ Off The Land: Best Made Co.
  • The Hard Stuff: by Leor Yerushalmi
  • Young Man: Lucchese

In exchange for cross promotion and sales, several heritage brands and DNVB’s joined in on this experiment through Universal Music Group. The end result: Timberlake has masterfully monetized streaming music in a way that most artists had only dreamt of before Universal’s Bravado arm came about.

In the end, perhaps I was right about the snide comparison between Mars and Timberlake. Just days after Mars’ musical mastery and charisma amassed him six Grammy awards, Timberlake officially left craftsmanship behind – choosing to use streaming music as a vehicle for commerce and reinvention.

The Man of the Woods album is wholly forgettable. With any luck and a few more American albums, Timberlake will eventually get that nod from southern rock’s good ole’ boys. But everything from the Nike SNKRS stunt (1) at Super Bowl LII to corralling Yeti and Heron Preston is pure 24 karat magic.

(1) The Super Bowl / Nike / SNKRS deal explained.

Подробнее о выпуске читайте здесь.

Выход из мобильной версии