While I was out in LA last week, Nike announce that it purchased a New York based Tech company called VIRGIN MEGA (VMEGA). VMEGA is the brainchild of Ron Faris who was previously an executive of Virgin Mobile.
Essentially, the mission was to re-imagine the Virgin Mega stores of old as a mobile, digital only app. The app set it’s sight on the gamificiation of queue/line culture, with the goal of making product and content go viral, building brand religions, and peer to peer marketing to millennial’s.
VMEGA is near and dear to our Nue hearts because it’s a company we advised/consulted on at a very early stage, helped incubate, raise funds, do artist partnerships for, and more. We even moved our offices in with them during their early stages and all worked out of the Bowery for a glorious era of chaos and disruption!
I’m very happy for these guys. It takes a grand vision, extreme focus and non-stop hustle on every level to get an idea like this off the ground. If you know us at Nue, you would have heard us talking about VMEGA all of the time for the past year-and-half since it launched. We brought a bunch of friends, family, colleagues and artists (and their teams) on board.
Needless to say this was a win all around and as the VMEGA team gets fully integrated into Nike, it’s only a matter of time before their work is pushed to new heights. You can bet that Nue will be there to make an even bigger impact with the team.
In this new era, investing into music startups can seem tricky, but I’ve learned that the rewards can outweigh the risks when you have the right team on your side that can help you navigate the terrain. The power of music to connect more with consumers is clear and we’re seeing more forward thinking brands grasp this concept. Maybe you’ve thought about delving into the world of music/tech/brands but haven’t yet. We can help you get there as this is one of the most exciting times in music. There’s tremendous opportunity for everyone that wants to get involved.
At Nue Agency we’re passionate and excited! What about you? What questions do you have about how music can help you achieve your initiatives?
Shoot me an email, hit me on Twitter or give me a call and let me know how we can work together to achieve some thing truly special and keep the hits coming.
– @JesseKay
BEATS
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Rolling Stone
Apple Music’s Bozoma Saint John: It’s About Passion, Not Algorithms
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How Nike and Spotify joined forces to connect online with offline through music
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Chuck Schumer and Lin-Manuel Miranda to take on ticket bots
NYPost
Spotify launches a new Kids category with a focus on learning + language
Tech Crunch
The unpredictable and dramatic story of Jay Z’s Tidal
Business Insider
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