Nikon is partnering with a new online music label dubbed RCRD LBL, a joint venture between Engadget founder Peter Rojas and Downtown Records, who rep Gnarls Barkley and Cold War Kids.
The venture will offer free online music from existing and emerging bands and artist using a sponsorship model, of which Nikon is the first to climb aboard.
The site will offer a variety of music in exclusive and new MP3s, across a number of niches and genres.
Nikon's sponsorship will offer a photo widget, custom designed, where musicians and bands are able to be viewed within the widget. If you want, you can grab the widget and embed it in a website, iGoogle or OS X Dashboard.
Lisa Baxt, senior communications manager at Nikon Inc., said about the partnership: “Nikon’s partnership with RCRD LBL is a true extension of our commitment to the synergies between music and photography. The opportunity to collaborate with Peter Rojas and Downtown Records as inaugural sponsors of RCRD LBL is an exciting one, and we know that thousands of passionate music fans are utilizing the Web to find a way to better connect with artists they love. We see RCRD LBL as an incredibly powerful way to do so – through photography.”
Rojas, who will be the CEO of the online music label also said that "We're extremely excited about Nikon sponsoring the photography experience on RCRD LBL. It's no accident that we approached them as a launch partner for RCRD LBL -- Nikon is a brand that understands how important music is to people's lives and how critical it is to find new models for supporting artists."
I really like this deal because I've thought for some time that sponsorships may be a much better way to brand and market than possibly any other on the Web. It offers a lot more flexibility and opportunities, like with the photo widget, to create stuff that blends and is part of the offering, rather than the endless battle about if it will interfere with the users' experience.
This is a case where it adds something of value to the service, while not interfering in any way with the visitors.
The other great side of it is it gives users what they really want, access to music in the way they want it, while also making money for the providers of the platform for the music, along with the artists. This should be a win for everyone involved.
All of us need to think of ways to use sponsorships on the Internet. I think they're not given near the importance by companies and webmasters as they need to be.
Comment Preview