Musical acts are “so eager to get in front of baseball fans” because of the MLB's reach, according to Andrew Hampp of BILLBOARD. During any given week, MLB coverage reaches "upward of 30 million viewers across MLB.com, MLB Network, 30 in-stadium TV networks and broadcast partners Fox, ESPN and Turner Sports, with footage from Fan Cave concerts during promo time across all of the TV broadcasts." When MLB “really gets behind a synch, the impact can be even greater.” Data from Nielsen Soundscan found that after singer Tinie Tempah’s “Written in the Stars” was licensed as the theme of MLB’s postseason marketing campaign, the song “experienced a 77% sales bump" and generated an estimated $40-50M in "free media exposure.” MLBAM Head of Entertainment Ken Krasner said, “We have a lot of relationships with labels and artist managers we can leverage that allow our assets to really shine.” Rapper Nas “sought to tap that fan power when his album 'Life Is Good' hit shelves, teaming with the Fan Cave for a release-week concert that spanned hits, fan favorites and a handful of new songs.” The show “generated more than 5 million social media impressions, press coverage from more than 40 different outlets and upward of 30 user-generated YouTube videos during the first 24 hours alone.” It also was "one of the few stops Nas made during his press tour for the album." The “successful gig has prompted several more bookings -- Neon Trees is scheduled for an Aug. 28 gig, while other upcoming performances this month include OneRepublic (Aug. 9), Gym Class Heroes (Aug. 27) and the Band Perry (Aug. 30)” (BILLBOARD, 8/11 issue).
