At the intersection of culture and commerce, music remains one of the most powerful tools in a brand’s arsenal, but only if they get it right.
That message was loud and clear as Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest delegates descended on Hemingway’s Brewery on Tuesday afternoon last week to take in a full slate of content.
Hosted by Poppy Reid, co-founder and chief content officer at Curious Media, the How Brands Can Win in Music Culture panel brought together some of the industry’s sharpest minds to dissect the evolving relationship between brands and music, and the pitfalls of getting it wrong.
Music, the panel agreed, doesn’t just reflect culture, it shapes it. And in an era where audiences are more discerning, more sceptical and more empowered than ever, brands can no longer afford to treat music partnerships as simple transactions.
“There are so many opportunities for brands to truly stand behind music,” said Annabelle Herd, CEO of ARIA, who has overseen multiple brand collaborations across the music industry.
Herd urged marketers to rethink the way they approach the music world. “We [ARIA] partner with many brands each year, we encourage brands not to think of it as a sponsorship but as a partnership where you get to stand next to the music industry and support artists in a really unique way.”
For Herd, it’s all about co-creation. Brands need to engage in ways that honour the artist and their community rather than co-opt them.
“Music is an incredible way to co-create culture, so that when you work with that artist you are tapping into that community. Not exploiting them, but working with them,” she said.
It’s this philosophy that inspired the creation of the ad-land ARIA Awards, designed to celebrate creative collaboration between advertisers and musicians.
But authenticity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a baseline requirement. “You really have to lean into the community or the sonic palette that the artist brings with them,” Herd explained. “It has to really feel authentic to the artist.”
In a landscape shaped by misinformation, AI-generated content, and declining trust in institutions, the stakes are even higher. “There is so much distrust in the world, you don’t know what’s real, you don’t know what’s fake and AI is making that even harder,” she warned.
Duncan Collins, chief operating officer at TMRW Music Group, offered up a recent success story involving snack brand Red Rock Deli. “They approached us to make a soundtrack for one of their new lines,” he said.
The idea? A unique, sensory-led collaboration that mimicked the experience of enjoying a pack of Red Rock Deli chips. The result? The audio struck a chord both musically and in earned media.
“The PR they got from it was enormous,” he explained.
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But not every brand-music tie-up lands well. Collins pointed to one of the industry’s most infamous flops: the moment that U2 put their album in everyone’s Apple Music. The backlash was immediate, and the lesson was clear, force-fed content rarely works, especially when the audience hasn’t opted in.
Harry Wilson, managing director at noisy also didn’t mince words when describing where brands are going wrong. Calling out brands for being lazy. “We are so much better than that,” he said unapologetically.
His advice to marketers? Think less like a brand and more like the audience you’re trying to reach.
“Invest in your community. Invest in emerging artists, invest in grassroots festivals. That’s where you should be investing your money.”
