Project brief
A simple view of what needs to be delivered.
We are a U.S.-first music platform focused initially on hip-hop artists, music discovery and emerging culture. We are seeking a hands-on growth/marketing agency to design and execute an organic artist acquisition campaign. This is not a traditional awareness, social media management or follower-growth engagement. The primary objective is simple: Identify relevant hip-hop artists → reach them → create interest → onboard them → get them to publish content on the platform. We are particularly interested in emerging and independent U.S. artists who are actively releasing music, building audiences and looking for additional discovery and distribution opportunities. The selected agency will be responsible for developing the acquisition strategy as well as executing it. Potential acquisition channels may include: • Instagram and TikTok outreach • YouTube artist discovery • Spotify/SoundCloud/Bandcamp artist research • Artist communities and Discord groups • Reddit and online music communities • Micro-influencer and music curator partnerships • Direct artist outreach • Artist manager / producer / studio relationships • Hip-hop communities, showcases and local scenes • Referral and ambassador programs • Organic content and community-led acquisition We are open to unconventional approaches if they can produce measurable artist activation. Success will NOT primarily be measured by impressions, traffic, followers or engagement. The key metrics are: 1. Qualified artists contacted 2. Positive artist responses 3. Artist accounts created 4. Verified/qualified artists onboarded 5. Artists who upload at least one piece of content 6. Cost per activated artist 7. Percentage of onboarded artists who continue using the platform We expect the agency to operate as an execution partner, not simply provide recommendations or a strategy document. Please provide a proposed initial campaign, acquisition channels, team structure, expected results, assumptions & timeline
Scope
- Develop the U.S. hip-hop artist acquisition strategy
- Define target artist profiles and priority segments
- Build artist prospecting and discovery workflows
- Identify qualified emerging and independent artists
- Create artist outreach messaging and sequences
- Execute direct organic artist outreach
- Develop community-led acquisition channels
- Identify relevant artist communities and ecosystems
- Develop partnerships with curators, producers, managers and creators
- Create organic campaigns that drive artist signups
- Drive artists through onboarding
- Encourage newly registered artists to upload their first content
- Track artist acquisition funnel performance
- Run experiments across acquisition channels
- Optimize conversion from outreach to activation
- Provide weekly campaign reporting and learnings
- Document repeatable artist acquisition playbooks
Deliverables
- Artist acquisition strategy and channel plan
- Ideal Artist Profile / target segmentation
- U.S. hip-hop artist prospect database
- Outreach messaging and communication framework
- Organic acquisition campaign execution
- Community and partnership acquisition plan
- Artist onboarding conversion strategy
- Weekly acquisition and activation dashboard
- Weekly experiment and performance report
- Qualified artist outreach volume reporting
- Artist signup reporting
- Activated artist / first-upload reporting
- Cost-per-activated-artist analysis
- Final campaign findings and recommendations
- Repeatable artist acquisition playbook
Bid requirements
- Proposed artist acquisition strategy
- Channels you would prioritize and why
- Expected weekly artist outreach volume
- Expected artist response rates
- Expected artist signup rates
- Expected artist activation/upload rates
- 6–8 week execution plan
- Team members assigned to the engagement
- Examples of relevant creator or community growth work
- Examples of music, entertainment or creator acquisition experience
- Organic outreach methodology
- Tools and technology you plan to use
- Reporting methodology
- Estimated results and assumptions
- Fixed project fee
- Any optional performance-based commercial structure
- Clear definition of what your agency will execute directly
Evaluation criteria
- Ability to generate actual artist onboarding rather than awareness
- Experience acquiring creators, artists or communities
- Understanding of U.S. hip-hop culture and artist ecosystems
- Strength of proposed organic acquisition strategy
- Evidence of hands-on execution capability
- Quality of artist prospecting methodology
- Realism of proposed conversion assumptions
- Ability to measure artist activation and content uploads
- Speed of experimentation and iteration
- Quality of previous results and case studies
- Cost effectiveness
- Ability to create a repeatable acquisition engine
Eligibility
Agencies, specialist growth teams or highly experienced boutique firms with demonstrated experience in creator acquisition, music marketing, community-led growth or direct organic customer acquisition. U.S. hip-hop or music-industry experience is strongly preferred.