Ed Sheeran famously disappeared completely from social media between the end of his Multiply album campaign and the start of his Divide album campaign. But the transition from Divide into his No.6 Collaborations Project album in July was swift and he has been going heavy on the social media marketing for it, with sharing of music clips being central.
The first thing of note is the launch of the Ed No. 6 app for iOS and Android (initially only available in Australia). Warner Music Australia has worked with local B2B firm Tuned Global to build the app and it allows fans to record videos, add the music from any of the 15 songs from his latest album and then share the results on their social media platforms.
“You can create epic selfies, sing along with his collaborators, create your own dances and share all of this with your friends,” is how the app’s official page on WMG Australia’s website puts it. Should any of his fans be copyright lawyers, the site is also at pains to point out that the clips are all cleared for use this way (“100% legally”).
Oddly, it does not recommend a specific hashtag when sharing clips (sandbox hereby grants WMG permission to use #EdSharing retrospectively if it wishes). But another Sheeran sharing initiative does put hashtags at the centre of what it is doing.
To promote ‘Beautiful People’, his collaboration with Khalid, he has set up a TikTok challenge (something that has fast become the marketing essential of 2019). Using the #BeautifulPeople hashtag, fans are invited to upload videos that celebrate the “beautiful people” in their lives. Mawkishness aside, it’s a smart use of the video app and allows for use of the track in the clips themselves.
It is there to draw attention to the fact that Sheeran himself has only just set up an official TikTok account and he’ll pick his favourite submissions from the challenge (and he even joined in himself). What is most surprising here is less that it has clearance for the use of audio and more that it’s taken this long for Sheeran to get on TikTok given how skilled he’s been at social media throughout his career.
