Record Labels, Label Services, Distributors & Rights Holders

Whether it is executing chart-topping campaigns, or evolving business-wide marketing strategies that connect into evergreen retail marketing via D2C, we have helped labels, label services and other similar companies clients resolve a wide variety of challenges through the years.

Our core areas of operation are outline below, but our approach is never a boilerplate one; our clients’ needs inevitably differ and we have built a reputation for delivering robust, tailored solutions depending on challenges presented. 

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Strategy & Planning

Whether it is bringing additional expertise, or mentoring incumbent staff to deliver best-in-class strategies, we have over the years helped numerous labels with highly successful campaigns. Applying our artist-centric approach, we have delivered better results that have been more thoroughly tracked to deliver as much insight as possible via our own custom dashboards. 

MU x Because Music

We have worked with Because Music to review and improve its marketing practice and procedure on a worldwide basis. By working with key stakeholders across different locations, we have worked to overhaul how the marketing strategy is implemented, streamlining processes and bringing far more efficiency and effectiveness into campaign execution.

CRM & Owned Platforms 

As labels continue to build their own brand identities, we have helped many grow their owned channels by deploying cutting-edge CRM platforms that allow them to improve the quality of their relationships with fans. In an age where the likes of Amazon has ensured that all comms are personalised and highly relevant, we have planned, structured and deployed CRM systems that allow labels to do the same. 

This becomes particularly relevant as more and more companies engage with direct-to-fan retail, as it ensures significantly more conversions to sale, thus driving up revenues. 

MU x Dirty Hit

After Dirty Hit exited its relationship with Universal Music to become a fully-standalone indie label, we worked with the team there to migrate the very active label store from Universal’s Bravado platform to Ochre. This, coupled with a closer CRM integration, has allowed the store to deliver to best practice in terms of reach, sales and customer management.

Ecommerce

As times have changed – particularly post-Covid19 – retailing direct to fans has become more and more important. Motive Unknown has led the way in this space, delivering best-in-class store setups that tightly connects with our CRM work to deliver not just solid inbound traffic via the likes of Google Shopping and Facebook Dynamic Remarketing, but to also drive up retained audiences and lifetime value by ensuring customers are engaged in a high value manner thereafter. 

This work makes a material difference to labels; by selling directly, margins remain high and it financially delivers more back. As Covid19 struck, this meant that our clients were far more able to weather the harder times as they already had those high value channels in place. 

MU x Partisan Records

We have worked with Partisan on campaigns for IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Cigarettes After Sex, Laura Marling and more, strategising the European digital campaigns and executing all paid advertising. We also overhauled their D2C stores and built a new website/store experience for Fela Kuti, for whom Partisan owns the worldwide licensing rights.

Data Management & Paid Advertising

Whilst Motive Unknown is not an ad agency, we do execute all paid spends for our clients as part of our broader engagement with them. More rarely, we will take on bespoke ad campaign work, though it usually has a minimum entry point of around $10k for the campaign in question. 

MU x Domino Recording Co.

We have worked with Domino for a number of years, assisting them in their paid marketing activities for all campaigns, including Wet Leg’s UK #1 self-titled debut and Arctic Monkeys’ “The Car” album, among others.

Management Consultancy

With our experience across many labels and businesses, we also undertake management consultancy to help businesses evolve their own structure internally. To date we have built digital marketing departments for large labels, reviewed global organisational structures and have also headhunted new staff in the digital marketing space. Read more about management consultancy.

MU x BMG

After BMG acquired Motive Unknown client Infectious Music back in 2014, we worked with the team there to create a new digital marketing department, training staff, mentoring them, creating job descriptions for new hires and more. It was one of the first digital marketing teams to bring all paid advertising back in-house, and remains one of the most forward-thinking digital teams to this day.

What Is It Like Working With Motive Unknown?

Current & Past Label Clients