In conclusion

Bernd Schmitt wrote in Experimental Marketing (1999), four years before the MySpace generation, that he felt consumers wanted “products, communication, and marketing campaigns that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts, and stimulate their minds. They want products, communication, and marketing campaigns to deliver and experience. The degree to which a company is able to deliver a desirable customer experience - and to use information technology, brands, and integrated communications to do so - will largely determine its success in the global marketplace of the new millennium.” In today’s financially challenged music industry, Ed Banger has shown how this “desirable customer experience” can be achieved.

On the blog threedworld, Tristan Burke (2008) described the Ed Banger phenomenon as a “carefully orchestrated assault on pop-culture.” The comment was written as a negative one, but I see this phenomenon as a good thing. Ed Banger has reached out beyond the club crowd to a more mainstream audience, mixing all the codes and reference to create party tunes without parameters. It has made the most of So Me’s creativity, the opportunites offered by MySpace and the audiences’ thirst for accessible dance to exploit a gap in the market.


The internet has enabled Busy P and his crew to reach like-minded people from all corners of the globe at any time. They keep fans advised of their whereabouts by updating the MySpace page with the latest photographs and flyers. The influence of blogs has also helped the Ed Banger label to gather momentum and reach different types of ‘scenes’. During my research for this project I found the Ed Banger lifestyle brand has raised multiple talking points that are discussed daily on numerous music, fashion and lifestyle blogs. Lifestyle brands such as Ed Banger are seen by their fans as the new religion and people are turning to them for inspiration and belonging.

Ed Banger has left other struggling independent record labels in its wake with its innovative and flexible approach to branding and marketing. It has signed acts that belong to more than one genre and created a desirable movement that has attracted a global following. It has utilised the talents of its art director So Me to such good effect that he is regarded as being as influential as the musical artists in the success of the label.

It is a testament to Ed Banger that other lifestyle music brands are starting to appear. In July New York producer DJ Junior Sanchez set up the Brobot label and lifestyle brand, which will include a production/recording studio, stylish toys and a clothing range. Its aims to be a lifestyle brand for all things fresh and to operate as a movement that understands where the future of entertainment is. As Brobot’s latest signing Retro Kidz state on their debut single “It’s a movement. It’s a new era right now.”

Ed Banger has raised the bar for independent record labels by pioneering the neccesary adjustment to the digital age. This has opened the door for brands such as April77Records and Brobot and I’m sure many others will follow suit. For the moment however Ed Banger lead the field, as Uffie raps on her song Robot Ouef : “We ain’t frontin’ we’re still about what makes you pop that head off. And if you hate it's ‘cause you’re not hot like the Ed Banger crew. ‘Cause from Tokyo to Scandinavia they say Ed Banger rules.”