KYNCL'S BULLISH ON SUPERFANS

Warner Music Group is working on an app that will allow artists to connect directly with superfans, said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl at Web Summit, in Doha, Qatar. It will launch later this year.

Kyncl informed listeners that he's assembled a team of technology talent to focus on “the people who consume the most and spend the most" and said, "We’re focused on making sure that artists get data on these superfans.” Goldman Sachs has identified “superfans” as a $4.2b addressable market opportunity.

"I firmly believe in the power of a superfan,” Kyncl continued. “And it hasn't really been figured out... So something we're working on at Warner are these direct-to-superfan experiences. A solution like this for superfans has to be a cross-platform solution. We, as a record label, are in a perfect position to do that because we work with all of the platforms. Historically, we haven't had the technology talent to do this, but now we do.”

During his talk, Kyncl touched on AI as well as the power of Warner’s global reach. As for the former, he said, “Control, attribution and monetization are at the core of our discussions with [DSPs].”

Kyncl further noted that the expansion of opportunities for artists to present music without a label has made it harder to grow and sustain success.

“The role that we play is to help turn the tide and help artists break through the clutter on a global scale,” he said. “You need to understand the ignition cities or countries … and how demand on the internet grows. We collect all of that data from digital service providers… so we can analyze and see how demand is moving. Then we can tailor our marketing campaigns for an artist based on the genre that they're in and their goals. That’s something only a large music company can do because of the global resources that we have. And I'm excited to keep investing into this expanding global demand for content. And it's not just traffic from America to the rest of the world; it's from everywhere to everywhere—the global trade routes.”