Welcome back, last night we stayed up too late watching Bo Burnham's new Netflix Special. Have you seen it yet? Donât forget he started out on YouTube over 14 years ago. Masterpieces take time. Today Alice digs into history repeating itself. Enjoy âđťâđ˝.
In Todayâs Issue đŹ
â Why TikTok is the new radio
â How a 65-year-old music competition is making people learn Italian
â What you can learn from Emma Chamberlainâs partnership with Leviâs
TikTok Radio Is Just For YouÂ
Radio meets its Gen Z match with a SiriusXM and Pandora partnership
Last week, TikTok announced an exclusive partnership with Pandora and SiriusXM to create âTikTok Radioâ, a digital radio station that will âfeel like a radio version of the platformâs âFor Youâ page.â Launching this summer, the new music channel will broadcast trending sounds through the SiriusXM app and a series of playlists hosted by creators. Publish Press favorite, Bella Poarch, is kicking off the partnership with her own âTikTok Tastemakersâ playlist where her record-breaking Build a B*tch makes an appearance. P.S. did you see her billboard in Times Square? đ
Creators to Curators â TikTok creators actively create culture through their curation of trends, sounds and songs. A curated TikTok radio feed is the perfect example of using existing content to find favor with new audiences â especially Gen Z consumers, who potentially have never tuned into the radio before.
The Internetâs Best Incubator â Spotifyâs Viral Hits is a direct line to trending sounds on TikTok at any given time. The music partnership shows the industry's belief that TikTok can pull people off-platform and make them pay.
Our Take
By working directly with services like Pandora and SiriusXM, TikTok is further cementing their influence on music and culture. But the question that remains is do you think Gen Z audiences will pay for the new service? Or is radio a format they donât care to bring back?
Eurovision Finds Favor With Gen Z
The Eurovision Song Contest wasnât the only thing Italy won this weekÂ
Anyone else feel like suddenly learning Italian? Well, you arenât alone. Last weekend, Duolingo reported a ~56% increase in new learners taking up Italian, following Italyâs victory in the Eurovision Song Contest â an international song competition where artists perform original songs and compete for Song of the Year. The competition drew 183m viewers across 36 markets. Itâs no mean feat given broadcast TV is dying - letâs not forget this yearâs Oscars became the lowest-rated ceremony in history, with a 58% drop compared to last year.
Zitti E Buoni by Italian rock band MĂĽneskin won the competition, becoming Spotifyâs most-streamed song in Italian and charting in 30 countries. The competition, powered in large part by public voting, saw a surge in fan support for the band and sent MĂĽneskin to top spot.
So, how did they do it?
The Power of TikTok â The song began to gain traction on the platform as early as March, cementing the trackâs popularity long before it was performed at the Eurovision final. This interest has translated into the groupâs first ever entry on the UKâs Top 20 chart, plus two entries on Spotifyâs Global Top 50.Â
By the Numbers â MĂĽneskin flipped the script on a traditional broadcast competition, using TikTok to create buzz before the show even aired. Gen Z fans came through for the band. Zitti E Buino has been used to soundtrack 83k TikToks, with more than 1.1 billion combined views for #maneskin and #mĂĽneskin and 581m views for the bandâs frontman, Damiano David.
Our TakeÂ
The UK saw its largest Eurovision viewership (8.4m peak) since 2014. Similarly, Switzerland recorded a 182% increase in viewership, with Iceland reporting an 80% increase, thatâs almost half of the population watching. In the same week, Olivia Rodrigo became the youngest solo artist to top the UK album and singles charts at the same time. Itâs clear that digital-native fans have the power to influence institutional formats in big ways.
Sip While You Shop With Emma Chamberlain
Emmaâs latest pop-up is the best of digital and IRL for brands
It feels like just yesterday that we were spilling the (coffee) beans on Emma Chamberlainâs first â pop-up in LA. Over the weekend, she dropped another, this time in partnership with Leviâs to celebrate its 148th birthday, alongside six other âoriginal voicesâ for the brand. The pop-up ran from May 29-31 and featured a handpicked selection of vintage and second hand Leviâs curated by Emma, with Chamberlain Coffee to âsip while you shopâ.Â
Exit Through The Gift Shop â Emmaâs latest venture with Leviâs is the perfect example of the meshing of digital and IRL. Just last week, Emma hosted Coffee Talk with Hailey Bieber on Leviâs YouTube channel for the brandâs 501 Day. Creators like Emma are the digital bridge for brands to reach audiences online.
Our TakeÂ
The content â creator â commerce relationship is the gift that keeps on giving. Following the success of partnerships like Travis Scott x McDonaldâs, creator-brand collabs are on the rise. Charli DâAmelioâs partnership with Dunkinâ, saw a 45% increase in cold brew sales. Both Emma and Travis have something in common: youâre not just buying a product, youâre also participating in a fan experience. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt (literally). We think creators will continue to transition from âlink in bioâ merch to meaningful experiences in partnership with major brands.
đĽ In Other News
Poparazzi tops the app store
White House teams up with Snapchat to encourage Covid vaccinations
Bo Burnhamâs self-produced âderanged masterpieceâ lands on NetflixÂ
Jake Paul announces next boxing opponent, fight set for 8/28 on Showtime
đ Keep your eyes out for Fridayâs edition where Max will be diving into Khaby Lameâs wild creator story of gaining 2m+ TikTok followers per day. Our prediction: by the next Publish Press, heâll have knocked Bella Poarch off the spot as the 3rd most-followed TikTok creator in the world. Watch out Addison and Charli, youâre next!