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A street team is a term used in marketing to describe a group of people who engage with urban or campus communities to promote events. [1] [2] They are particularly prevalent in the music industry, which uses street teams for grassroots marketing and to promote awareness for artists and bands. [1]
The now ubiquitous "street team" model was originally developed by urban record labels, such as: Loud Records, Jive, Bad Boy Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, Priority Records, and Ruthless Records. Rap labels found it affordable and highly effective bridge to their target audience that did not require the traditional outlets found in print, radio, television mediums and elusive large scale record distribution deals. One of the first independent rock bands to introduce a version of the street team was Chicago folk-rockers the Drovers, who launched a "campus rep" initiative in 1991 for the college rock club circuit, copying practices used by the Mondale presidential campaign to activate registration and turnout at universities.
This grassroots tactic was partly born in the mid-1990s from the larger monopolistic record distributors trying to shut out rap and smaller music labels of the day from radio and mass distribution due to the early stigma of gangsta rap and "punk" on those genres as a whole.
Street Teams were used by smaller independent record labels as a tool to circumvent the larger out-of-reach distributors and corporate owned record labels. Other independent label owners used street teams as a way to build equity in their stable of artists for the benefit of gaining a courtship by a larger music label or record distributor to merge or sell part or all of the company. (see Loud Records sale late 1990s)
For the smaller labels trying to get in the door of the music business, the thinking was in part to build a loyal fan base in key markets first, getting a strong street hype and "street-cred," getting on the local radio stations through the hype/word-of-mouth, and moving on to the larger record distributors with a much stronger negotiating hand and a solid "sellable" commodity.
Through this method of building a solid fan base with disposable income first, the smaller label could wield greater power in their initial distribution negotiations for the benefit of their recording artists and their profit margins. Often, distribution deals for an "unproven" new artist(s) who comes with a built-in fan base, generally receive better upfront money deals than music artists had previously received without street teams sharing the music and spreading the word, (viral marketing) nationwide.
The position of street team representative was often filled by fans of an artist or young people looking for an introductory position in the music industry. In many cases, an influential teen referred to as a neighborhood "tastemaker" was sought out or pinpointed by a record label to be used as a conduit to their respective neighborhood, due to their stronger influence over other teens that looked to them for "what's hot" or "what's the next hot thing". The tastemaker was directed to create a team on the streets to make an unsigned music artist more popular through word-of-mouth and hype.
The concept for organized promotion teams in the music business can also be traced back to mid-1970s, when Starkey and Evans, two teenage Kiss fans from Terre Haute, Indiana created the Kiss Army as a group of fans determined to promote the Kiss name. Although this could be more attributed to fan clubs, fans worked together outside of their homes, to promote Kiss to other kids at school or while hanging out. This Kiss army was quickly taken over by the band Kiss itself and army recruits were offered limited edition merchandise and seating.
Usually unpaid, street teams for bands and artists are still often composed of teenagers who are rewarded with free band merchandise or show access in exchange for a variety of actions:
In some cases, points are assigned to an individual for a particular action, and those points can be exchanged for tickets to shows, or for band merchandise. Some bands even produce special items just for street team members.
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, artist financing and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.
The music of Uganda is broad and diverse, ranging from traditional indigenous music to Ugandan versions of many contemporary genres. Uganda is home to over 65 different ethnic groups and tribes, and they form the basis of all indigenous music.
Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, C-Murder, Mia X, Westside Connection, and Ice-T. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row Records, Hoo-Bangin' Records, No Limit Records, Posthuman Records, Rap-A-Lot Records, Rawkus Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, Ruthless Records Duck Down Records, and Wu-Tang Records. According to Billboard, "few record labels were as important to the rise of West Coast hip hop as Priority Records".
Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording and publishing arm of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The division's subsidiaries consist of two owned record labels—Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records—along with Disney Music Publishing, the publishing entity that administers the company's music, as well as Disney Concerts. Disney Music's Vevo account on YouTube is currently one of the most-viewed YouTube channels as of June 2023.
Independent music is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by independent record labels. Indie music describes a number of related styles, but generally describes guitar-oriented music straying away from mainstream conventions. There are a number of subgenres of independent music which combine its characteristics with other genres, such as indie pop, indie rock, indie folk, and indie electronic.
The music industry refers to the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts.
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New Music Economy is a term describing the emergent social, technical, political and economic context of the creative industries. This shift in context has been fueled by concurrent evolution within an ecosystem of interdependent technologies, institutions, and individuals; the result of which impacts the nature of creative property, identity, production, distribution and imagination.
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Direct-to-fan is a business model used by independent musicians, independent music labels, music marketing professionals, promoters, and others in the music industry. Direct-to-fan is also becoming a model used by the broad definition of artists, including comedians, visual artists, and other entertainers looking to build and leverage a fan community throughout their career.
Cadence Music Group, formerly MapleCore Ltd., is a music company founded in 1999 and located in Toronto, Canada. Cadence Music Group has multiple divisions, five record labels Cadence Recordings, Open Road Recordings, Pheromone Recordings, Physical Presents, and Known Accomplice. They also jointly own distribution arm Fontana North with Universal Music Group, a live ticket services TicketBreak and Fan Experience, and their licensing division called Cadence Songs.
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