Twitter partners with 300, gives user data to music industry

Twitter knows that one of the best resources it has at its disposal is its user data. That’s why it’s made extensive deals with TV networks, news outlets and now, the music industry.

The social network has announced a partnership with 300 Entertainment, a company deeply ingrained in the music industry. Founded by former Warner Music group head Lyor Cohen, the company will reportedly develop software to mine the “full range” of music-related data on Twitter, including non-public information such as where tweets are sent from.

Excited to announce our exclusive new partnership with @TwitterMusic – working together on an unconventional approach to artist discovery!

— 300 Entertainment (@300) February 2, 2014

According to The New York Times, Cohen believes the deal to be as much about fan discovery as it is about finding new artists.

“There was a time not so long ago when we sold music to retailers and they sold to fans, but nobody knew who those fans were,” said Cohen at the launch of the partnership in Cannes, France. “I’ve spent most of my life not knowing who the customer is. Isn’t that a shame?”

In exchange for the rights to mine it, 300 will help Twitter organise its data and develop software that could potentially be used by record labels, artists, or even brands.

Bob Moczydlowsky, Twitter’s head of music, reckons the deal could help the social network tap an area that has massive potential, but which it hasn’t made the best use of in recent years:

Music is the largest topic of conversation on Twitter, so we’re really invested in building a win-win environment for fans, artists, labels, promoters and music services. This partnership is a great example because it is about helping artists and labels find each other. We’re looking forward to working with Lyor’s team in the coming months, and we hope they find great artists to sign as a result.

As The Next Web notes, Twitter’s own music product seemed promising on launch but failed to gain any real traction and was shutdown in October last year.

No money was exchanged in the deal between 300 and Twitter.