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Can an iconic Canadian music media brand find a second life online?
Keith Sharp is getting the brand back together.
After more than a decade away, Sharp and Agency 71, a Toronto-based entertainment marketing agency, have re-launched the Canadian music publication Music Express – which originally published between 1976 and 1992 – as an online-only venture.
With between 30,000 and 40,000 monthly unique visits and just over 1,000 Facebook fans, TheMusicExpress.ca’s online following is a fraction of its print predecessor (it printed one million copies of its October 1987 issue, featuring Michael Jackson on the cover).
Sharp feels its commitment to the classic rock wing of Canadian music – Triumph, Trooper, plus a smattering of newer bands – will enable it to catch on with the hardcore fans who continue to buy their new albums and go to concerts. The site appeals to an older demographic (35+) that grew up listening to those bands.
“Who’s doing that? Nobody,” says Sharp. “We’re not concerned about guys like Drake because they’re getting all the radio airplay, but all these other bands aren’t – and they’re still making music.
“They’re not going away unless they drop dead on stage.”
Agency 71 founder/president Chad Maker was one of Sharp’s first calls when he started considering resurrecting the magazine late last year. Maker had been art director for Access, Sharp’s successor to Music Express that briefly served as the in-store magazine for music retailer HMV.
At the time, Sharp was working part-time as a security guard, devoting his free time to writing his memoir documenting his time with Music Express (Music Express: The Rise and Fall of a Canadian Music Icon, will be released by Toronto publisher Dundurn next year).
Music Express marks Maker’s first serious foray into “publishing,” but aligns with his 10-year-old agency’s expertise in marketing Canadian entertainment brands. “It was an easy fit for us and it’s close to our hearts too,” he says.
TheMusicExpress.ca site was soft-launched in October to test consumer interest, with the early results encouraging. “Our feeling is we will stand out,” says Maker. “What’s been proven in this first six months is that without a major push the fans are finding us. The future is quite exciting.”
Advertising will be a shared responsibility between Sharp and Agency 71. Maker says initial interest is coming from entertainment brands. “Once we’ve had the first year under our belt, we’ll be much closer to opening up the door to automotive or beer or whoever sees an opportunity to tie their brand to the audience they’re looking for,” he says.
It remains to be seen if the resurrected Music Express is here for a good time or a long time, but all of the principals have pledged to fight the good fight.
