A NEW ERA OF MUSIC TALENT PAYS TRIBUTE TO FREDDIE MERCURY WITH COVER SONGS ACHIEVING MORE THAN 13% ENGAGEMENT RATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

November 26, 2018 (LOS ANGELES) – BYGMusic – part music label, part marketing platform connecting brands with music fans on the social feeds of music artists – recently partnered with 20th Century FOX on a social media campaign tapping musicians to create content around the hotly anticipated theatrical release of Bohemian Rhapsody. The campaign mobilized a multi-genre cover song blitz, including emotional and retrospective anecdotes from the artists themselves about how Freddie Mercury and Queen have impacted their respective journeys as artists.

BYGMusic, which has a network of more than 3,000 music artists, tapped 12 artists with a cumulative social media reach of 15 million to film covers of Queen’s most iconic songs. Belting and crooning interpretations of Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions and more, the artists shared more than 70 social posts – including trailer shares – across all social channels to generate more than 5.5 million impressions in just five days, and a whopping 13 percent engagement rate, when the social benchmark is typically 3 to 4 percent.

“The convergence of music and film has always been special and Queen is arguably one of the most recognized bands in the entire history of music. Everyone knows their songs and, most importantly, connects to them,” says Krish Sharma, founder of BYGMusic. “For a group that has inspired countless new musicians, this was a storybook opportunity to leverage the power of social media, emotion, nostalgia and conversation through the lens of emerging talent.”

Artists who participated in the campaign include Sum 41, Big Freedia, Andie Case, Marty Ray Project, Dashboard Confessional, Catie Waters, Dia Frampton, With Confidence, Kristen Merlin, Miss May I, Bear Grillz and Megan Lee.

“Whenever I hear a Queen song, I’m instantly transported back to the passenger seat of my dad’s old Mazda,” said participating artist Dia Frampton. “Every time Bohemian Rhapsody came on, my dad, a former radio DJ in Seoul, South Korea, would always say, ‘Everyone said a six minute song on the radio would never work, but what did they know?’ My dad still has an old Queen vinyl signed by the band, their signatures smeared by the rain that day in Seoul, as he was walking out of a hotel room, having just finished an interview with Roger Taylor. I’m excited to see this new Queen biopic. It might be time to make a trip to see my pops so we can watch it together.

Marty Ray from Marty Ray Project – whose motto is “Expression not Perfection” – added: “When I was growing up, I tried my best to mimic my favorite singers and a lot of the time I could get really close to their sound. Every high and low note – I practiced it until I could hit every one of them just like they did. Through that time, I kind of judged who the greatest singers were, to me at least, by which ones I couldn’t seem to match perfectly. One of those voices was the great Freddie Mercury of Queen. I never could match his ability. Maybe no one can, but that made me fall in love with his songs.”

Now after four weeks in theaters, the film has climbed its way to being the second highest grossing music biopic in history with $152 million domestically and $320 million internationally, sandwiched between 2015’s NWA story Straight Outta Compton and – now third in the record books – the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

ABOUT BYGMUSIC

BYGMusic is revolutionizing the music business by connecting advertisers with emerging artists and their passionate social fans to ignite brand advocacy through authentic social campaigns, at scale. Founded by GRAMMY Award-winning record producer Krish Sharma, we have a growing network of more than 3,000 emerging music artists across every genre, nationwide. We specialize in strategically aligning groups of artists with individual brands for dedicated social media campaigns as a hybrid of music sponsorship and influencer marketing. As a result, brands are able to connect with music fans while helping keep new music alive.