Photo Credit: Stephen McCarthy / Collision Conf / CC by 2.0
Producer and DJ Steve Aoki has the most brand deals of any artist, even more than Snoop Dogg, according to new data from SponsorUnited.
With music festivals back in full swing, so too are the brand deals. According to a report from data analyst SponsorUnited, — using data spanning almost 30,000 posts and 13,000 brand deals across over 1,400 festivals and artists, and more than 8,300 brands last year — beverage brands embrace music festival sponsorships more than any other category. But in terms of artists with the most brand deals, it’s Steve Aoki leading the pack — even beating out Snoop Dogg.
The top 10 brands by deal volume all come from the beverage industry, with more than half coming from alcoholic-beverage companies like Bacardi, Bud Light, and White Claw. Coca-Cola is king at No. 1, with Red Bull at No. 2, and Coke competitor Pepsi came in at No. 5.
“They can be engaged with fans and serve whatever they’re serving over those multi-day experiences,” says SponsorUnited CMO Michelle Harmon-Madsen. “It’s the perfect match of reaching new audiences, reaching influential audiences, and being able to give them an experience that just can’t be beat in a digital or other environment.”
Beverage sponsorships may rule the music festival space, but they’re noticeably less active in terms of the sponsorship of individual artists. There, consumer products, technology, apparel, and accessories industries all surpass beverage brands when it comes to making deals with the artists themselves.
Producer and DJ Steve Aoki has more brand deals than any other artist, with 25. Snoop Dogg and T-Pain are tied for second place with 24 each. Three of the top 10 artists most endorsed by brands were women, and nine of the top 10 artists with the highest social media engagement were women — including Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, and BLACKPINK singer Rosé.
Harmon-Madsen says a brand is more likely to choose to endorse an artist over a festival if they have a particular message to share with a specific demographic that overlaps with that of the artist. “If you can make your message align with the fan authentically, you’ve got a great deal,” she continues. “If there’s a mismatch there, that’s where I think brands make mistakes.”
