Currently, participating record labels and artists are using the tool to retarget potential customers, launch exclusive promotions and disseminate original content to their target audiences. The platform, which is called found.ee, officially launched last week aiming to streamline marketing for the music industry.

"Found.ee is a platform that we have found to be highly effective in understanding our fans over time, and it ultimately helps us sell more music while reducing our advertising spends,? said Tom Whalley, founder and CEO of record label Loma Vista, Los Angeles. ?The platform enables us to capture fans, build an understanding of their interests, and then deliver highly-targeted content that leads them to purchase music, whether they prefer iTunes, Amazon, an independent retailer or from the band's Web store."

Loma Vista is a participating record label using the found.ee platform.

In addition to Sony Music, Universal and Loma Vista, there are several other companies using found.ee, including Kenny G, Marilyn Manson, Rancid, Spinnin? Records, Spoon, The Strokes and St. Vincent. 

Found.ee is equipped with a contextual ad intelligence feature that works to enable record labels and artists with the ability to show relevant ads to their audiences based on content they have previously expressed interest in.

The platform was created to serve three specific user types, which are record labels, artists and brands. For record labels, the platform serves as a way to monetize content and maximize reach and revenue-generating potential of their artists and brands. For artists, the platform enables them to connect with fans and prospective fans to engage in personalized ways, despite the channel. 

Lastly, for brands, found.ee provides access and intelligence across artists? fan bases they are looking to align with, without having to establish direct endorsement deals.

All clients of the found.ee platform can manage campaigns and navigate through them. Once users log onto the platform and create a short link, they can then use them as a retargeting pixel, enabling users to disseminate content as exclusive promotions, original content and pre-album order forms to their targeted audiences.

These short links are believed to be similar to what Bit.ly and others have created in other industries.

With cookie tracking, analytics interface and other measurement components, the platform captures contextual data and understands audience preferences. That data is then delivered to the music label or artist. The tracking and information-collecting component is fully integrated across all of users? target channels, including social media, cross-device mobile and the Web.

In the coming months, found.ee is developing a marketplace that allows brands to buy media reaching artists? fans and providing them with a new form of revenue.

Targeted mobile advertising efforts are becoming crucial for the music and entertainment industry.

In fact, mobile advertisers reaching out to streaming music services consumers should consider how to make ads more targeted in light of the services? struggle to be profitable, according to a Strategy Analytics report.

Marketers would be well advised to ride on mobile?s stronger feedback capability through collaboration with different stakeholders on the value chain of mobile carriers, over the top application service providers and others (see story). 

Record labels are learning to point out their core base of consumers.

In December 2014, a partnership between Columbia Records and The Weather Channel promoted a new album by rock band AC-DC by leveraging a custom native ad across mobile, tablet and Web platforms that played off the bad-weather title of a song on the album.

The Weather Channel leveraged local data from users to determine who received the ad for the album, ?Rock or Bust,? which includes the song, ?Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder,? based on current weather conditions. The campaign was another example of a traditional music company turning to mobile to engage customers and of Weather Channel?s efforts to make its weather information more personal (see story).