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Wideawake's online life for Death Row

Wideawake Entertainment, the Toronto-based company that stirred up major buzz when it purchased the Death Row Records assets (including Tupac's unreleased recordings) for $18 million in January, is upping its online presence. It's created a proprietary platform with Trysomethingnew.ca where fans are able to download musical content and receive discounts from brand partners.

R&B singers Divine Brown and Sean Jones, who have been touring together since January, are currently featured on the site, which has deals from the likes of Lucky Brand Jeans, Sula Fragrances and Steam Whistle Breweries. "They all speak to a demographic that ties in with the music so it's comfortable to the consumer," says Lara Lavi, CEO of Wideawake, adding that they'll be looking for more partners going forward.

Advertising for the site corresponds with the Brown/Jones concerts across Canada, with ads in city papers and cards distributed by street teams around the time of each concert. So far, 50,000 cards have been given out, and with an 18 to 22% conversion rate, Lavi says the program has already surpassed her expectations.

Wideawake also plans to target Death Row fans with a re-skinned version of the site in the next few months. "They're going to be treated to never-before-heard Death Row tracks and they're going to get free downloads because we have well over 10,000 tracks," explains Lavi, adding that she hopes to partner the Death Row "Try Something New" site with brands appealing to the label's fan base. A larger Death Row online portal is also planned, with the two sites linking to each other. And while she doesn't want the portal to bombard visitors with ads, Lavi says that ad opps will definitely be there.

"Only 10% of the Death Row content ever went to the consumer in the first place," she says, "so we could go at this forever."

www.trysomethingnew.ca

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