Here’s the article about moi in Michael Paoletta’s column in the new Billboard (thanks Michael!).
MAKING THE BRAND: MORE THAN MEETS THE EAR
By Michael Paoletta, Blllboard
July 07, 2007
Last summer, Blake Robin took out a personal loan for $25,000 to keep his Nolita record label afloat, get some CDs manufactured and embark on a four-week trek of the United Kingdom. Sure, Robin, who records as Luxxury, was taking a risk.
Two weeks ago, after depositing a check from Pontiac in his bank account, a smiling Robin paid off the loan—suggesting that, even without support from a big industry machine, determined artists today can sometimes land the deals they need.
The first ad, for the Pontiac Solstice, was a triple cross-promotion with the Michael Bay film “Transformers” (due in theaters July 3) and the Maxim Hot 100 Countdown on VH1. It featured actress Megan Fox and pointed to killer3.com, where consumers could enter to win a Solstice GXP as well as a trip to Hollywood for the June 28 premiere of the movie. “Drunk” was then licensed for a Pontiac G5 spot.
The ads, which are nearing the end of their runs, have been airing on VH1 and MTV since May. They are also accessible at YouTube and such Robin sites as luxxury.com and discoworkout.com.
While it may not be the best song title for a car commercial, “Drunk” deftly drives the visuals in the spots. For the Solstice ad, Pontiac’s agency Leo Burnett needed a piece of propulsive music “to match the killer3 attitude,” says Jeff Cruz, creative director of Leo Burnett Detroit. “It was also important to have something that matched the technology feel of ‘Transformers.’ ” With a confident swagger in its rhythms and a techno vibe, “Drunk” fit the bill.
Leo Burnett used a different part of the song for the G5 spot to reflect the car’s digital applications, Cruz says.
The creative team at Leo Burnett became aware of the Luxxury track by way of Virgin Entertainment Group. For the past couple of years, Pontiac has been branding itself in Virgin Megastores via merchandise and participation in the Virgin Recommends music program. The multifaceted arrangement often finds the folks at Leo Burnett sharing campaign storyboards with Virgin staffers in return for musical suggestions.
After seeing the storyboards for the Solstice campaign, Virgin sent “Drunk” to Leo Burnett.
But Virgin was not alone in its fondness for Luxxury. After manufacturing 1,000 copies of the Luxxury album last summer, Robin sent copies to radio tastemakers like KCRW Santa Monica, Calif., and TV and film music supervisors. He also sent a copy to Heather Kreamer, formerly of creative agency Natural Energy Lab and digital distributor INgrooves, and currently music supervisor at mOcean, a trailer house in Los Angeles.
Key Razor & Tie Entertainment execs found out about Luxxury because of Kreamer, who gave a copy of “Rock and Roll” to R&T creative director of music publishing Peter Lloyd several months ago. According to Robin, Lloyd called him in May to let him know that he couldn’t stop listening to the CD. “Peter was talking about me doing co-writes and remixing for other artists,” Robin recalls.
A few days later, Razor & Tie salesman Anthony Livreri was talking to marketing execs at Virgin who tipped him off that Leo Burnett needed a piece of music for a Pontiac spot. Livreri shared this newsy nugget with R&T director of music licensing Manny Lorenzo and the lightbulb went off. He submitted “Drunk” to Virgin and Pontiac, and Leo Burnett immediately greenlighted the track. All necessary paperwork was completed within five days (it helped that Robin controlled his master recordings and publishing). And on the air the first spot went.
Now, the Razor & Tie team is actively looking for other synch opportunities for Luxxury. “For a long time, licensing was the stepchild of the publishing and record companies,” R&T senior VP of music publishing J.W. Johnson says. “Now, licensing is the new black.”
At press time, Robin remains in discussions with R&T regarding a co-publishing or administration deal. And R&T continues to pitch his music to supervisors and creatives.
As a one-man machine, Robin wholly acknowledges that the biggest change in his life is that the Pontiac campaigns are now the lead bullet points in his discography and bio.
“These days, my goal is to get signed to a label and find an agent,” Robin says. “But I don’t need one of the majors. I’d be happy with one of the cooler French or Australian dance/electronic labels that understand music and branding.”
Baron von Luxxury 