In the fall of 2013, Lyor Cohen announced the launch of 300, a Google-backed company that was created by Cohen, as well as music industry heavyweights Kevin Liles and Todd Moscowitz. Cohen has now announced that 300 will be partnering with popular social media platform Twitter, in what Cohen hopes will help provide artists with development tools that can only be gleaned from understanding social media; as well as using the site to help find new talent. During his Midem keynote speech at the Cannes’ Palais des Festivals centre, Cohen explained his vision.
“In the modern A&R business we are all looking for talent in various places and certainly Twitter is a terrific place to look at talent,” Cohen said. “If you want to get signed, you have to engage with Twitter, and of course YouTube and we’ll be looking to try and develop tools that the rest of the music community can utilize.”
Cohen indicated that the music industry has to embrace the changing landscape and incorporate new approaches and new ideas. He feels that social media sites like Twitter are helping artists better understand how to build brands as individual entities.
“I think this is an amazing opportunity for entrepreneurs to be independent, especially in the music business,” Cohen said. “I see macro business models that are not on some chalk board, but that actually are reality. I certainly believe in streaming as being the future of a very healthy business and I want to be a part of that.”
“[300 is] a creative hub that goes beyond the creation of music and songs,” Cohen has said. “It’s a place where artists, managers, agents can access experience and tools so they could be highly participating in the artist development process.”
