MUSIC MARKETING DATA BOOTCAMP: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools
Co-Presented by Water & Music Academy and Music Tomorrow
Today, it’s hard to find a job in music that doesn’t involve working with data. Strategy, analytics, and operational proficiency around music data are quickly becoming integral components of the modern music-industry skill set — especially in the context of cutting through the noise and making sure music gets heard by the right people, at the right time.
At the same time, in the face of stubborn data fragmentation, shortening viral hype cycles, and new consumption channels popping up on a weekly basis, marketing remains one of the most difficult functions of the music business to get right.
Against this backdrop, we’re thrilled to launch Water & Music Academy 004 — a music marketing data bootcamp, in partnership with Music Tomorrow.
Academy 004 will provide a comprehensive introduction to the state of music data, and the pivotal role it plays in digital music marketing. Over the course of eight sessions, we’ll walk you through how to develop a marketing plan, understand your audience behaviors, and benchmark your performance against your peers, using state-of-the-art data tools. We’ll also delve into how emerging technology is reshaping music marketing strategy in real time, across areas like recommendation systems, marketing automation, and frontier tech spaces like Web3, VR/AR, and gaming.
By the end of this course, you’ll have the deep industry context, case studies, and tactics you need to integrate data into your music marketing in a smarter way, no matter what vertical of the music business you work in.
Who is this class for?
People actively working with music data in their careers, with advanced beginner/intermediate knowledge of the music business.
Specifically, this course is designed for:
Music-industry professionals (especially artist managers and marketers) looking to expand their skill sets and elevate their day-to-day performance with data.
Founders, builders, and investors looking to build more innovative music data solutions that are empathetic to industry professionals’ needs and practices.
Data analysts in other industries who are looking to expand their music-specific data expertise.
At every step of the way, we'll combine nuanced insider context, an early-adopter pulse on the latest technologies, and an emphasis on practical applications for working professionals.
Structure & format
This course will be structured as a series of educational conversations built around data-driven case studies in music marketing.
Speaker series: Each session will include two featured speakers with on-the-ground experience using data to market music releases across the career and genre spectrum, plus a moderator from the Water & Music or Music Tomorrow teams.
Case studies: Discussions will highlight real-world problems — and solutions — in specific areas of digital music marketing, and what our speakers wish people would know before building out their marketing strategies.
Readings: We’ll also recommend async readings and resources, for those looking to dive deeper into the topics from our live sessions.
Course schedule & speakers
Introduction: Survey of industry data practices
Tues Oct 3, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Facilitated by course co-leads:
Julie Knibbe (Founder/CEO, Music Tomorrow)
Maarten Walraven (Co-CEO, Symphony.live)
Cherie Hu (Founder, Water & Music)
Setting targets and benchmarks
Thurs Oct 5, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Christine Osazuwa (Chief Strategy Officer, Shoobs)
Julie Knibbe (Founder/CEO, Music Tomorrow)
Moderated by Maarten Walraven
Developing your marketing plan
Tues Oct 10, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Maria Gironas (Founder, Cool Shit, Cool People)
Dani Chavez (Artist Manager / CMO, FM Group at YMU)
Moderated by Cherie Hu
Building a bulletproof fan CRM
Thurs Oct 12, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Alec Ellin (Co-Founder/CEO, Laylo)
Luna Cohen-Solal (Senior Audience Consultant, Atlantic Records)
Moderated by Maarten Walraven
Marketing automation
Tues Oct 17, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Alex Brees (Founder/CEO, un:hurd)
Kristin Grant (CEO, Westcott Multimedia)
Moderated by Maarten Walraven
Discoverability: Introduction to recommendation systems
Thurs Oct 19, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
David Hesmondhalgh (Professor of Media, Music and Culture, University of Leeds)
Moderated by Julie Knibbe
How to boost digital discoverability
Tues Oct 24, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Dmitry Pastukhov (Product Owner, Music Tomorrow)
Gene Avery Hogsett (Head of Digital Marketing and Advertising, Handwritten Records)
Chuka Chase (Co-Founder, SymphonyOS)
Moderated by Julie Knibbe
Closing remarks: New digital frontiers
Thurs Oct 26, 11:00AM–12:30PM EDT
Speakers:
Tina Rubin (Chief Commercial and Partnerships Officer, Wave)
Robin Shaw (Co-Founder/CMO, iiNDYVERSE)
Moderated by Cherie Hu
Pricing
Full Course: $600 for non-members || $450 for members
À-la-carte: $100/session for non-members || $75/session for members
Pricing includes access to live sessions, pre- and post-session readings, and video recordings of sessions after the fact.
*For à-la-carte purchases, please make sure you register on the correct dates for your topics of interest according to the schedule above. À-la-carte purchases are not transferrable from one session to the next.
*Water & Music members — please check your inboxes and our Discord server for your discount code!
About us
Water & Music produces research, education, and intelligence for the new music business. Through in-depth, data-driven analyses of market trends and a regular slate of virtual and IRL community programming, we equip music-industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators with the tools, frameworks, and connections to navigate technological change successfully. Our network spans thousands of paying members and contributors on the forefront of music and tech across six continents.
The Water & Music Academy provides a focused, advanced forum for professionals to bridge the gap between insights and action on critical music-tech trends. Our approach combines deep historical industry context with emerging, data-driven case studies, presented by speakers building the new music business on the ground today. Previous Academy topics included Web3 communities, artist teams, and global music rights.
Music Tomorrow is a company working at the forefront of data science to help distributors, labels, and publishers find new and better ways to work with data. Julie Knibbe founded the company in 2020 by tapping into the knowledge she acquired throughout 10+ years of experience building up data products for Deezer and Soundcharts. Over the past couple of years, the company has further specialized in explainable AI to help labels get their artists ranked up by streaming recommendation algorithms. Customers include Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, Sacem, Believe, Revelator, Because Music, Slammin Media, Handwritten Records, and many more.
