Continuation of our Tips from insiders series. Following our interview with the creator of Isitagoodplaylist, a site that helps identify fraudulent playlists, we decided to ask Tristan Schindler our questions about the collaboration between brand and artist.Tristan Schindler, founder of Xanadu Creative Services"I've held various positions over the last 15 years. Management at Etendard Management, development of synchronisation and brand relations at Wagram and Beggars, and finally I joined Universal Music France's in-house agency, A&R Agency, which later became A&R Studios. These experiences led me to develop my own structure, Xanadu Creative Services, which provides a wide range of services."The role of Xanadu Creative Services is divided into two major activities. Firstly, to serve and support artists in their careers. The industry is both fast-moving and increasingly demanding of artists. Artists are being asked to be communicators, social network experts, artistic directors, content producers and so on. My second activity is to help companies integrate music into their business model, or strengthen their presence in the current ecosystem."His advice for developing artists"You need to have a holistic vision of your career and your project. What is the message? How is it conveyed? By what means? You have to answer all these questions if you want your music to resonate today.""Developing your project takes time. The fantasy that your music will be put online and generate millions of streams on its own has to be put to rest. You have to multiply the exposure of your music and develop your community: content, concerts, marketing, featurings, community exchange, creative operations, etc. With or without a budget, you need a lot of willpower and perseverance.""Artists need to be aware that music alone is no longer enough""Musical branding is neither subsequent nor exogenous to the development of an artistic project. On the contrary, it precedes and is endogenous. A musical project without branding will find it hard to emerge from the shadows and the heap of tracks released every day on streaming platforms."The different types of collaboration between an artist and a brandProduct placement : Product placement in a video clip or at a release party, where a brand is associated with an artist's project in return for a financial contribution.Private concerts : These are non-ticketed concerts where the artist is paid by the brand to perform at an event organised by the brand itself.Brand content : These are the most common operations, where a brand calls on an artist to create content around a product.Collaborative collections : This is when a brand teams up with an artist to create a collection or a product. These operations often take the form of merchandising and the artists can earn royalties on sales.Endorsement : the brand decides to invest in an artist over a longer period (usually a year) to promote its products and message. In these endorsement deals, the artist can multiply the number of operations with the brand: in-store displays, private concerts, brand content, etc.The rules for a successful collaboration with a brandCorrespondence between the brand's target clientele and the artist's fanbaseShared values between the brand and the artistInvolvement and loyalty of the artist's communityHis predictions on future upheavals in the music industryThe music industry is in a state of flux. For example, a few months ago we carried out a study for the CNM, which is already out of date. It would be hard to predict the market over the next five years.However, we can see that the streaming model, which accounts for around 70% of the industry, is in the throes of change (the proliferation of artist-centric agreements, for example) and is subject to ongoing regulation (on its rates, for example). These changes will have a major impact on the industry.We are also seeing A.I. develop at breakneck speed, and we are in the midst of a post-industrial revolution: we need to prepare ourselves to see operational tasks gradually disappear, now that repetitive tasks have all but disappeared.