Blue Ant & Shed Creative Agency to Launch Multiplatform Music Offering

Blue Ant Media and Shed Creative Agency are rolling out A.Side, a new, millennial-targeted offering that will showcase today’s most popular music and cultural trends.

Launching this spring, A.Side will be a digital-first, multiplatform offering that will facilitate conservations with fans through a digital publishing platform, social media (Facebook and Snapchat) and a national TV network. Under the terms of the partnership, Blue Ant Media will oversee digital editorial and TV programming, while Shed Creative Agency will manage sponsorships and branded content for all platforms. With Universal Music Canada (UMC) on board as the first official music label partner, A.Side will co-develop original content with UMC via guest posts, social takeovers and live performances for distribution across all of A.Side’s platforms.

A.Side will replace Blue Ant Media’s existing AUX brand via its digital and linear television platforms. It will offer marketers customized solutions to align their brands with a group of music and pop-culture fans that skews toward a core target audience of female millennials across its digital platforms and linear TV. Sponsorship opportunities will be offered via A.Side’s short-form, social-first video and long-form content on A.Side TV.

“With A.Side, we are bringing music lovers everywhere access to trending news from across musical genres and artist-focused original content, all from a uniquely Canadian viewpoint,” said Jamie Schouela, the executive VP of Canadian networks at Blue Ant Media. “We’re excited to have Universal Music Canada on board as a partner from launch and look forward to working with other labels to showcase today’s best music talent, allowing both artists and brands to connect with fans in innovative ways.”

“A core part of Shed’s focus is to create unique and authentic music-based platforms for artists to connect with fans,” commented Dave Harris, Shed Creative Agency’s managing director. “A.Side gives us a national platform to tell amazing music stories and to bring this platform to brand partners, giving them access to a targeted music consumer at scale!”

“We’re enthusiastically partnering with A.Side to create unique content and live experiences for our artists,” remarked Kristen Burke, the senior VP of marketing at Universal Music Canada. “Having a direct relationship with active music fans via our owned platforms as well as third-party partnerships such as this allows us to connect artist with audience with a clarity, creativity and focus that engages all.”