Without concerts, without opportunities to rehearse and jam together, many artists today are struggling with creative emptiness. To make matters worse, their livelihood is in jeopardy due to a lack of income and prospects. What used to be a barely sustainable dream for a few extremely successful musicians is hitting newcomers and local musicians particularly hard.
That’s where the JBL team comes in, with the "Back to Stage!" brand campaign to give musicians in Germany a performance platform during this challenging time. This large-scale campaign is a collaboration between our Consumer and Professional Solutions teams and offers an exclusive virtual stage: Over the course of eight weeks, one act per week will benefit from JBL’s high visibility and reach, and the active support of the brand and its partners in the music industry, including JBL brand ambassador DJ Armin van Buuren. Winners will also receive exclusive online masterclasses, as well as extensive product prizes from the JBL portfolio.
To participate, it is only necessary to register on the website jbl-back-to-stage.de and upload a song. Over an eight-week period, an expert jury will select one act per week from among all participants, who will then record an exclusive mini-gig on video and be featured for one week on IGTV and YouTube, flanked by large-scale marketing activities. JBL guarantees first-rate production of the 15-minute concert videos and invites the musicians to a studio equipped with JBL Professional audio gear. The videos of the weekly winners will run on IGTV and YouTube, supported by further marketing initiatives to build awareness. As part of the cooperation, short videos of the concerts will also be shown at DWJ drive-in cinemas that are equipped with the latest JBL DAB products. This provides for a large reach and offers newcomers and local acts the largest Covid-compliant stage possible.
A first-class jury of experts
The weekly winners will be chosen by a three-member jury led by star producer Liam Nolan, who has been working at the legendary Metropolis Studios in London for more than 10 years and is currently working with the JBL Professional team on another activation. Nolan is joined by Alex Gernandt, who has worked as editor-in-chief of the youth magazine BRAVO and as booker for the BRAVO Supershows. Today, Gernandt is a music journalist and freelance writer for Der Spiegel and GQ, among others. The jury is completed by HARMAN Acoustics Engineer and expert musician, Wolfgang Zieglmeier, who is currently responsible for audio tuning for HARMAN sound systems in BMW vehicles.
Golden Ticket to the Metropolis Studios with JBL Pro
From among all of the campaign’s weekly winners, the jury and fans will select an overall winner who will then have the opportunity to take an exclusive trip to London’s legendary Metropolis Studios. There, the winners will meet the successful participants of another JBL Pro campaign and attend a workshop where they’ll receive exclusive insight and practical tips for working in the studio directly from the Metropolis Studios team. And, with a bit of luck, the winners will even record their next song on-site—professionally guided and under ideal conditions.
Musicians can register for the “JBL Back to Stage” campaign starting on 1 March 2021 via the campaign website (JBL-Back-to-Stage.de), and upload their songs and entry information. One winner will be announced each week from 14 March 2021 onward. The campaign is scheduled to run for a total of 10 weeks and will be accompanied by extensive JBL communication and marketing initiatives.
“With 'JBL Back to Stage' we are launching a platform that brings together music fans from all over Germany and offers musicians, regardless of formation or genre, versatile support and a new perspective for their art. JBL is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and through this campaign we are once again emphasizing our long-standing commitment to musicians and performance. Even if we can only dance at home or sing in the shower at the moment, music connects and continues to help many people cope with these difficult times,” says Thomas Schnaudt, Director Marketing DACH and Strategic Partnerships EMEA at HARMAN.